Volume LXXVII, Number 36
“In the Company of Good Books” at the Milberg Gallery . . . . . . 5 All in a Day’s Work: Jim Ferry, Princeton Animal Control Officer . . . . . . . .8 Food Styles of 19th Century are Subject of PPL Talk . . . . . . . . . . 10 “Songs of Ourselves” — The Band and Walt Whitman . . . . . . 14 Sparked by Junior Forward Nee, PU Men’s Soccer Edges Rutgers 2-1 In Season Opener . . . 23 Bringing an 18-Game Winning Streak into 2023, Hun Football Primed for Another Stellar Season . . 30
Holly Howes Primed to Produce Big Senior Season for PHS Girls’ Soccer . . . . . 27 Art . . . . . . . . . . . .16, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 32 Family Wellness . . . . . 18 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . . . . 15 Real Estate. . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6 Young Princetonians . . 19
www.towntopics.com
Video Footage Sought By Police, NTSB In Helicopter Crash South Brunswick Police and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are asking residents and businesses if they have any recorded video footage related to the fatal helicopter crash last Thursday that took the life of a 44-year-old man. Pilot Josef Yitzhak, an Israeli, had taken off from Princeton Airport in a singleengine Robinson R22 in the late afternoon when he crashed into the woods and landed in a stream off of Lakeview Avenue, on the border of Princeton and South Brunswick Township. “We are asking for any video footage, on behalf of the NTSB investigator,” South Brunswick Police Lt. Gene Rickle wrote in an email on Monday. “We will continue to assist the NTSB, but the investigation is in their hands.” The NTSB is also asking anyone in the Kingston, Princeton, Montgomery, and Franklin Township area who may have either seen or heard the helicopter or the crash, or have Ring doorbell video, to email investigator Aaron McCarter at witness@ntsb.gov. At about 4:25 p.m. on August 31, multiple 911 calls came in to the South Brunswick Police Department reporting a helicopter crash near Route 27 and Lake Carnegie. A unit was dispatched to the area, along with a captain from the Kingston Fire Department. When they approached the helicopter, they were able to see that Yitzhak was partially submerged in the water, still inside. They were able to lift the aircraft up, pull the pilot out, and bring him to the shoreline. But his injuries were so severe that life-saving efforts were not possible, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Yitzhak was alone in the helicopter, Rickle said. Route 27 was closed for several hours after the accident. The helicopter was removed from the stream on Saturday, September 2 by the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration. The Delaware and Raritan State Park has since been reopened in its entirety. According to a LinkedIn profile for Josef-Ram Yitzhak, he was a flight instructor and commercial airline pilot whose experience included working for Aerojet in Africa. Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Birge Takes Charge as New PHS Principal Cecilia X. Birge is starting the 2023-24 school year as the new Princeton High School (PHS) principal, following her official appointment on Thursday, August 31 by the Princeton Board of Education (BOE) in approving the recommendation of Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Carol Kelley. An assistant principal at PHS since 2020 and a teacher of mathematics and special education before that, Birge, who lives on Leigh Avenue in Princeton, brings to the job a diverse background and a wide range of experiences in finance, business, and municipal government, as well as education. “During the selection process, Ms. Birge showcased her exceptional leadership qualities, along with her deep commitment to the success of all students, her passion for education, and her respect for the entire Princeton High School community,” said Kelley. “For these reasons I know she will be successful as the next principal of Princeton High School.” Kelley continued, “The Board is confident that Cecilia Birge is the right person to lead Princeton High School. We are delighted to promote an internal candidate who understands the building culture, the students, and the high expectations of the community.”
Birge succeeds Frank Chmiel, who was dismissed in March of this year. Kathie Foster, who has served as PHS interim principal since April, will assist Birge at PHS during a short transition period until the end of September. In her recommendation of Birge for the position, Kelley reported “careful consideration of community input from surveys, listening to staff, and a rigorous interview committee process.” Twenty-five applications were received
following the July posting for the position, and, after review and screening, five candidates were interviewed by the search committee last week before Kelley made her recommendation to the BOE. In a September 1 phone conversation, Birge shared some of her thoughts on education and the future of PHS as she described some of the transitions in her life that have shaped her career and views. Birge came to this country from China in 1990. Her mother had been raised in Continued on Page 7
“Transformation is a Wonderful Thing,” Eisgruber Tells PU First-Year Students
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber addressed the members of Princeton’s Class of 2027 at the University’s Opening Exercises on Sunday, September 3, urging them to look forward to “transformation” as an important part of their education over the next four years. In the annual ceremony that culminates a week of orientation activities and marks the start of the academic year, Eisgruber noted that “transformative” is the word he hears most often when talking to Princeton alumni about their education.
Quoting a passage from Toni Morrison, the late Nobel prize-winning author and Princeton professor, Eisgruber warned that transformation, learning, and growth, “are not easy, not for anyone.” He continued, as quoted in a Princeton University Office of Communications press release, “There will inevitably be not just triumphs but also sorrows, not just laughter but also tears, when we challenge ourselves, when we develop and change, and when we care deeply — as we should, as we must — about our academic and cocurricular endeavors and our community.” Continued on Page 9
WE SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM: People line up for some sweet treats at The Bent Spoon in Palmer Square on Saturday evening. With summer ending soon, residents and visitors discuss what they are looking forward to this fall in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)