PPS Adopts New Program To Teach Reading . . . . 5 Cause of PU Student’s Death Released by Medical Examiner . . . . 8 “Stigma-Free Play-Along” Is Theme of Annual Chamber Jam . . . . . . 14 Langborg, Peters Star as PU Men’s Hoops Edges Harvard in Ivy League Opener . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Junior Paul Emerging as Standout for Princeton High Wrestling . . . . . 25
The New Year Begins With Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck In Ball of Fire . . . . . 13 Art . . . . . . . . . . . .15, 18 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 29 Healthy Living. . . . . 16-17 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 20 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 28 Performing Arts . . . . . 14 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 7 Princeton Family. . . . . . 2 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 29 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Youth Development Team Focused on Intiatives For Kids of All Ages Since merging with the Greater Somerset County YMCA and becoming a branch of that organization last March, the Princeton YMCA has been bolstering its programs that deal with children of limited resources. Key to this strengthening is Keshon Bennett, in charge of several youth initiatives involving children from preschool through high school. The YMCA’s new director of youth development and outreach, Bennett oversees the growth of the universal pre-K sites in conjunction with the Princeton Public Schools; the Princeton Young Achievers (PYA) afterschool program, with three learning centers in partnership with Princeton Community Housing and Princeton Housing Authority; and the ACE mentoring program that focuses on middle and high school students. “I have a nice, big calendar and a white board in my office, thank goodness,” he said this week. “But I have help. Slowly but surely, we are putting the team together.” Bennett was leading the camp at the Somerset Hills YMCA in Basking Ridge when he learned of the opportunity in Princeton. “When they told me about the programs, I was immediately interested,” he said. “About six or seven years ago I had come here to coach basketball, and I really loved the community.” Bennett, who turns 46 this month, grew up in Neptune. After working for Verizon for 16 years, he transitioned to education, teaching and coaching high school basketball. He coached in Plainfield before spending five years teaching at New York’s Success Academy. “I was attracted to the inner city,” he said. “I love coaching. But it goes way beyond that once you start to develop the relationships and mentor the students. It got me going in this direction and I haven’t turned back.” Since joining the staff at Princeton YMCA, Bennett has focused on program structure and staff recruitment. “Everyone is eager to get into a routine, and our priority is to ensure that our activities are operating well and our youth get a solid start to the second semester,” he said in a press release. Claudia Orostizaga is Bennett’s associate youth development director. “Claudia is a Princeton resident and Princeton Continued on Page 10
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Town Receives Grants for Improvement Projects Phases II and III of the Witherspoon Street project, improvements to Terhune Road, extension of the bicycle-pedestrian path on Cherry Hill Road, and reconstruction of Dickinson Street along with resurfacing of parts of Alexander Street and University Place will all be receiving significant boosts in funding in 2023 with a total of nearly $3.5 million in year-end grants from state and federal coffers. As part of a $1.7 trillion federal government bill that Congress passed on December 23, Princeton will receive $750,000 for Witherspoon Street Phase II and III improvements. Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman announced on December 27 that the Witherspoon Street undertaking, along with 14 other projects in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional district, would be receiving a total of more than $15 million in federal community project funding as part of the omnibus bill. “From mental health services to infrastructure improvements, these investments will make Central Jersey a better place to live, work, and raise a family,” she said in her announcement. “As New Jersey’s sole congressional appropriator, I take great pride in making sure my
constituents’ federal tax dollars come right back to their communities.” Princeton Assistant Municipal Engineer James Purcell noted that the federal funds for Phases II and III of the Witherspoon project would be added to $625,000 from the state in Municipal Aid for Phase II. Planned improvements on Witherspoon between Green Street and Franklin Avenue include underground utility upgrades, tree removal and replacement where necessary, sidewalk removal and
expansion, and roadway surface removal and replacement. Authorities have reviewed six bids that have been received and are expected to soon award a contract of approximately $4.3 million for completion of Phase II. Preliminary planning for Phase III, Franklin Avenue to Valley Road, has begun, and the awarding of a contract is anticipated by November 2023. With the help of a New Jersey Safe Streets to Transit grant of $636,000, Terhune Road from North Harrison to Grover Continued on Page 7
University’s Toni Morrison Tribute To Feature Multiple Events, Exhibitions “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory,” an exhibition that will go “beyond gallery walls and into the community, demonstrating the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of Morrison’s work,” according to a Princeton University press release, will open on February 22 in Firestone Library’s Milberg Gallery and continue through June 4. Drawing on the University’s Toni Morrison Papers archive, the tribute to the 1993 Nobel laureate, writer, and former
Princeton University professor who died in 2019 will be manifested in a number of different forms over the coming months. Morrison, whose novels included The Bluest Eye (1970), Song of Solomon (1977), Beloved (1987), and many more, taught at Princeton from 1989 to 2006. Morrison Hall, named in her honor, is home to the University’s Department of African American Studies. Going beyond the Morrison archive that includes 200 linear feet of research Continued on Page 11
SKATING ON THE SQUARE: Skaters enjoyed the eco-friendly synthetic rink on Hulfish Street behind the Nassau Inn on New Year’s Day. Skating at the rink continues every Thursday and Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and every Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. through February 26. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)
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