Volume LXIX, Number 35 Princeton University Is Building Eruv, a Virtual Boundary, to Accommodate Observant Jews. . 11 Spike Lee, Bruce Springsteen, and President Obama Featured in a Column on When the Levees Broke . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Putting a Premium on Improved Fitness, PU Field Hockey Looking for Fast Start. . . . . . . . . . 24 PHS Boys’ Soccer Has Talent for Title Run; Focused on Developing Winning Mentality . . . 27
Director of American Repertory Ballet Douglas Martin Wants to Forge Relationships Inside and Outside the Studio . . . 16 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Area Exhibits . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 32 Home Improvements . . 35 Music/Theater . . . . . . 17 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 New to Us. . . . . . . . . . 20 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 7 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Two New Trucks Bring Fire Department Up to Date Thanks to a $1.4 million purchase funded by the municipality of Princeton and Princeton University, the town’s allvolunteer fire department will soon have a new ladder truck and a new engine truck to replace older vehicles that date to the 1980s and are being used “beyond safe and useful life,” according to a recent report made to Princeton Council by Princeton Fire Chief Dan Tomalin. While Council has already approved the purchase of new equipment, to which the University is contributing $500,000, Mr. Tomalin’s August 24 power point presentation detailed specifics about the new trucks and the state of some of the old apparatus that is still in use. Despite several construction projects including high-occupancy dwellings that have increased density and population, the fire department is currently operating with 33 percent less fire apparatus than it had a decade ago. “In 2001, we had five engines. Now we have two,” Mr. Tomalin said. There are times, when all four of the department’s trucks have already left the firehouse to respond to a fire, that some members of the department have to drive to the scene in their own vehicles. That makes it difficult “for commanders to maintain accountability, a key safety component, on scene,” Mr. Tomalin’s presentation reads. It also “causes delays and uncoordinated arrival of resources.” The purchase of the new vehicles will not eliminate the situation of firefighters arriving at incidents in their own cars, but it will “reduce it by a great deal,” Mr. Tomalin told Council. Asked by one Council member whether the town has been unsafe because of the state of its current firefighting equipment, Mr. Tomalin said, “Obviously, having all of your apparatus available to go on a call is safer than not having it. But our town is not unsafe. We have a mutual aid agreement with all of our surrounding towns.” Councilwoman Heather Howard asked how the fire department coordinates with Princeton Fire and Rescue Squad (PFARS) in terms of equipment. Mr. Tomalin responded that while the two organizations do have some similar equipment, PFARS is strictly a rescue operation “so there isn’t much redundancy with them.” Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Fatal Accident Still Under Investigation
The Princeton Police Department has not yet completed its investigation into the August 26 automobile accident at Stockton Street and Library Place that took the life of Princeton Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus Donald Capps, 76. According to the latest report, his wife Karen, 73, remains in stable condition at Capitol Health Regional Medical Center, where Mr. Capps died at 8:54 p.m. the night of the accident. According to Seminary President Dr. Craig Barnes, in a statement on the Seminary’s website, “Don Capps represented the very best in our profession. He was an accomplished scholar whose works shaped the field of pastoral theology. He was a beloved teacher who taught generations of future pastors to care not only for others but for themselves. He made a lasting impact on the church and our campus community, and we will miss him dearly.” Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Seminary Robert Dykstra referred to his colleague’s kindness. “He always erred on the side of unfailing kindness on behalf of the individual. Don would shower attention on individual students and others who found themselves somehow off the beaten path, whose ideas about and experiences of God were spoken only hesitantly. It’s fair to say that Princeton
Seminary, the discipline of pastoral theology, and the lives of many who have found themselves on the far edges of a Christian community in which they don’t quite fit, but cannot quit, will not see the judicious likes of Don Capps again.” In 1981, after earning his BD and STM from Yale Divinity School and his MA and PhD from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, Mr. Capps joined the Seminary faculty as the William Harte Felmeth Professor of Pastoral Theology. He drew on his training as a psychologist of religion in both his teaching and his writing. His research interests included pastoral care, psychobiography, and the psychology of religion, art, and poetry. His
courses covered pastoral counseling, poetry, and the care of souls, pastoral care of the life cycle, and people with chronic psychological disorders. Mr. Capps authored or co-authored over 30 books and over one hundred chapters, articles, and reviews. His publications include Men and Their Religion: Honor, Hope, and Humor (2002), A Time to Laugh: the Religion of Humor (2005), and The Decades of Life: A Guide to Human Development (2008). He was an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Upon his retirement in 2009, the Seminary’s Board of Trustees elected Professor Capps to Continued on Page 6
Mayor Lempert Hears Residents’ Thoughts On Leaf Blowers, Bicycles, Closed Streets “It’s a great program,” says Mayor Liz Lempert of “Meet the Mayor,” the oncea-month “open office hours” opportunity she created soon after assuming office. Originally based at Witherspoon Hall, “Meet the Mayor” is now held on Fridays from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in Hinds Plaza. However, the next meeting will not be until Friday, September 25. “Walk and talk outside, weather permitting,” says an announcement for the event. If the weather
is bad, “office hours” are held in the lobby of the adjacent Princeton Public Library. “The topics are all over the place,” Ms. Lempert reported, and there’s been a decided uptick in traffic since she relocated to Hinds Plaza. Rather than setting up formal appointments for “small” issues, she says, the informality of the setting encourages passers-by to come over and chat. A repeat complaint in recent months has Continued on Page 10
ON THE PROWL: Princeton High football head coach Charlie Gallagher surveys the action during a recent scrimmage. PHS, which went 8-2 last fall on the way to the West Jersey Football League’s Valley Division title, is currently in preseason camp. The Little Tigers kick off their 2015 season when they play at Hamilton on September 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
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