Volume LXXIV, Number 30
Home Sweet Home Pages 28-31 NJ Governors, Families Help Support Morven . . 5 Student Entrepreneurs Create Startups . . . . 10 Two Opportunities to Comment on Maple/ Franklin Site . . . . . . . 11 Rounding the Bases with Sgt . Pepper and Philip Roth . . . . . . . . 13 Summer Chamber Concerts Continues Series . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Comedy “Grudges” Gets Online Premiere . . . . 15 Walton Enjoyed Memorable Career for PU Women’s Golf . . . . 22 Palmeri Shines for Hun Baseball in Last Dance Tournament . . . . . . . . 24
Brian Frost Competes for PHS Baseball at Last Dance Event . . . . . . . . . .25 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . . 18 19 Classified Ads . . . . . . 29 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New to Us. . . . . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 26 Performing Arts . . . . . 17 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 27 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Three New COVID Cases; Health Dept. Focuses On Schools Opening The Princeton Health Department reported three new cases of COVID-19 last week, the first new cases in Princeton in more than two weeks. There have been 198 cases in Princeton since March, with 134 recovered, 34 currently active cases, 18 confirmed COVID deaths, and 12 additional deaths probably COVID-19 related. One of the new cases, at Princeton Care Center, is being documented as a “suspected reinfection” and the other two were related cases tied to travel to the Jersey Shore, where the two individuals stated they were socializing and not maintaining appropriate distance or masking. Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser emphasized that people must be careful, especially when vacationing. “Be extra cautious with social distancing and make sure you’re not putting yourself in harm’s way, because that’s a way to reintroduce COVID cases in Princeton,” he said. Grosser noted that he’s pleased to see no other new cases coming in, which he cited as evidence for effectiveness of social distancing and masking efforts. He pointed out that the Health Department has been working closely with the longterm care facilities, PCC and Acorn Glen, where public health measures have been implemented and both facilities are successfully controlling the virus. ”We’ve been fortunate that the cases have been slow in trickling in, giving us the opportunity to do contact tracing to stamp out the spread,” Grosser said. “Without a huge influx of cases we can do that effectively.” With the curve of coronavirus infections mostly flattened in Princeton, and many businesses opened in the past month, the focus of the Princeton Health Department has turned to the schools and their plans for September reopening. Grosser has been meeting with a subcommittee of health officers in the state, working to identify standards for schools to reopen safely. The issues involved include required health screenings, how to social distance and enforce mask wearing, operational protocols, and contact tracing. “How can schools participate in contact tracing and how can we get nurses to be our eyes and ears, so if they have a probably or confirmed case we can take measures to stamp out the spread?” he asked. “With everything we have Continued on Page 7
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Wednesday, July 22, 2020
PPS Prepares Flexible Plan for Reopening With September fast approaching, plans for reopening area schools continue to evolve. The changing status of the COVID-19 pandemic; increasingly outspoken concerns of parents, teachers, and staff; and guidelines from the governor and health departments influence the proposed reentry plans from day to day. On June 26 New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that schools will open in September. His 104-page “Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education” generated more questions than answers, as educators work on one or more of three models: fully-opened schools, remotelearning only schools, and a hybrid model that provides both in-person and remote schooling. Each model includes a multitude of different options, and educators are anticipating the need for more flexibility than they have ever experienced before. Princeton Public Schools (PPS) presented a proposed reentry plan last week and a revised proposed reentry plan on Monday, July 20, both following a hybrid model, keeping the safety of children, teachers, and staff in focus, along with excellence in education and all the logistics that go with it. Barry Galasso, PPS interim superintendent since July 1, has worked in public education for more than
50 years, but this is new territory for him. “This will be the hardest thing most educators will ever do,” Galasso said in a phone conversation last Friday. “This is really hard. Normally when we deal with issues there are variables. But there are thousands of variables to deal with here, and it’s the unknown that makes it so difficult. School people are working hard to do everything the governor has asked. He’s going to have to provide direction to allow maximum flexibility.”
Murphy announced on July 20 that schools could allow all-remote learning. A survey sent out to parents last month by the PPS indicated that 15 to 20 percent of parents would not send their children back to the school buildings in September. In the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district, which has adopted a hybrid plan with primary focus on remote learning, 60 percent of elementary parents, 55 percent of middle school parents, and 50 percent of high school parents said they would Continued on Page 7
Princeton Small Business Resiliency Fund Is Busy Processing Grant Applications Three weeks into its campaign to assist small businesses in Princeton that have been affected by the ongoing pandemic, the Princeton Small Business Resiliency Fund (PSBRF) has received more than 30 applications for grants of up to $5,000. Those administering the fund are hoping that more will apply before the deadline of July 31. “We’re trying to make sure we get the word out to let all of the Princeton businesses know this is available,” said John Goedecke, who is president of the Princeton Regional Chamber Foundation and immediate past president of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of
Commerce. The fund is a collaboration of the municipality, Princeton University, and the Chamber. The University pledged an initial donation of $250,000 to launch the fund, and has also provided a dollar-fordollar match of up to $100,000 in additional donations to the fund. To qualify, for-profit businesses must have 25 or fewer employees, a storefront in the municipality, be open to the general public, and have been in business since September 2019. Qualifying applicants must have less than $2 million in gross Continued on Page 8
SATURDAY AT THE FARM: Jersey fresh produce and flowers are now in abundance at Terhune Orchards on Cold Soil Road. Pick-your-own blueberries are also available while supplies last. Visitors share their favorite ways to enjoy blueberries in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)