IS SU E! EN TE RT AI NM EN T
AR TS & VOL. 69, NO. 23
Friday, June 7, 2024
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Serving the Valley’s Communities and Schools Since 1956
‘It was time’
Honoring the fallen
Police Chief Doug Pinelli will retire next year
Pennington Police Chief Doug Pinelli (center)
By ANDREW HARRISON Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of Doug Pinelli
Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony in Pennington on May 27.
Pennington Police Department for Pennington will be losing a long- 20 years, became the borough’s chief time public servant in the police de- of police in 2020, first serving as inpartment when Police Chief Doug terim chief and then appointed chief Pinelli retires next year. after his employment agreement was Mayor Jim Davy announced dur- authorized by Borough Council that ing a Pennington Borough Council year. meeting on June 3 that Pinelli had He has led the police department submitted his retirement letter for his as chief since the retirement of forretirement, Feb. 1, 2025. mer Public Safety Director William “It was just kind of a last-minute Meytrott and Pennington’s switch decision. While it was an extremely from a public safety director model hard decision it was time,” Pinelli to police chief. said, explaining it was “unfortunateMeytrott had also served 20 years ly, one of the hardest decisions I had as the civilian head of the police deto make.” “It took a lot of back and partment before Pinelli became the forth.” police chief. Pinelli, who has served with the Pinelli joined the Pennington po-
lice force in 2004 and served as patrol officer until he was promoted to sergeant in 2016. The next year, he was promoted to sergeant first class. When thinking about his 20-year career with the police department, Pinelli has discussed and explained to adjacent chiefs that “there were definitely things I wanted to see through, but I was not able to do.” All in all, the chief believes the police department will be able to “muddle” through anything moving forward. “…I’m leaving (the police department) in good hands.” See PINELLI, Page 8A
Photos courtesy of the Pennington Parks and Recreation Commission
2024 Pennington Memorial Day Parade.
The Pennington School holds 183rd commencement The Pennington School held its 183rd Commencement Exercises on Saturday, June 1. Head of School William S. Hawkey, Ph.D. granted diplomas and certificates to the 104 members of the Class of 2024, which includes students from six states and five countries outside the United States. The Commencement speaker was Dr. Jacob N. Shapiro, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. Senior prizes were awarded on May 31. Polaris Hayes of Trenton and Zixi Yu of Belle Mead were valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Hayes earned The George Parnos Award for Excellence in Science which is awarded for individual excellence in scientific challenges. She Courtesy of The Pennington School also shared The Howard Cressman
Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics with Yu. Additionally, both Hayes and Yu earned certificates in applied science and were recognized as members of the Cum Laude Society. In the fall, Hayes will attend California Institute of Technology and Yu will attend Princeton University. Students from New Jersey include: • Basking Ridge: Dowon Zio Kim • Belle Mead: Zixi Yu • Bordentown: Ashton Gabrielle Bridges, Ananya Reddy Madireddy • Branchburg: Tyler Robert Bryant Hope • Cresskill: Brett Samuel Morr • Crosswicks: Matthew Jude Lynch, Jr. • Ewing: Onan Javier Benedith,
Juneteenth and Pride celebrations
By KATHY CHANG Managing Editor
Mercer County has a number of events lined up to celebrate Juneteenth and Pride Month. Juneteenth What We Commemorate on Juneteenth – A Discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 13 as a virtual program at the Mercer County Library System. For more information call (609) 882-3148 or visit mcl.org. Juneteenth became a federally recognized holiday in
2021, but do we really understand what this day represents? Dr. Richard Bell, professor of History at the University of Maryland, discusses the struggles of enslaved African Americans during the Civil War and the events leading up to their eman-
cipation on June 19, 1865. The African American Cultural Collaborative of Mercer County will hold a Juneteenth Festival from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday, June 15 at the Mercer County Park Festival Grounds, 1638 Old Trenton Road,
West Windsor. For more information call (609) 474-4073, email trentonaapride@gmail.com, or visit taacf.com/juneteenth-performers. The festival will feature music, performances, food, and other festivities. Hosted by Kevin “Deekay”
See PENNINGTON, Page 3A
Francois, this day-long celebration will feature singer Vivian Green, and other performances by Farafina Kan, Lin Rountree, DJ Fatha Ramzee, Cintron Band, Chelsey
See CELEBRATION, Page 5A
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Micah Breyanna Bowser, Jonah William Celentana, Samantha Joan Lambdin, Cassidy Downs Zelt • Flemington: Shayna Mehta • Hamilton: Mackenzie Ann Kotch, Morgan Elizabeth Kotch • Lambertville: Makayla Veronica Tudor • Lawrence Township: Tristan Remi Hocquaux • Lawrenceville: Hailey Marie Adamsky, Shahrin Naeem Akhtar, Broderick Roy Coddington, Sebastian Drezek, Sandhya Bala Mahadevan, Morgan Alexis Matthews, Mason Hammer Meyerson, Sophia Marie Murphy • Maplewood: Adam Fisher, Aiden Jonah Haase Monmouth Junction: Jai Pranav Raman, Mia
Greenhouse Open 7 Days a Week Monday Saturday 9am to 5pm Sunday 9am to 3pm
Summer Sales Inside see Page 3 for our weekly specials
GaskosFamilyFarm.com
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Index Calendar ........................... 2A Classified ......................... 9A Town Forum ..................... 4A
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