www.robbinsvillesun.

com
APRIL 24-30, 2013
FREE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Kids View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Police Blotter . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 11, 18
Meet me in St. Louis
RHS Robotics team advances
to world championship. PAGE 15
JOE GRAZIANO/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Dr. Daniel Stobie, chief of staff at NorthStar VETS in Robbinsville, offers a villager in Malawi a
taste of honey from a new beehive. Dr. Stobie and other veterinarians visited Malawi to work
with villagers on animal care and sustainable food projects. See the full story on page 14.
A taste of honey
Residents air
objections despite
$76 tax cut
By JOANNE DEGNAN
Editor
The Township Council intro-
duced a revised $21.7 million mu-
nicipal budget that provides an
average $76 tax cut, but some resi-
dents took issue with the pro-
posed 2013 spending plan, with
one former councilwoman calling
the tax break an election-year
gimmick.
The budget, as introduced on
April 11, would reduce the munic-
ipal tax rate from 54 cents to 52
cents per $100 in assessed value.
A resident whose home is as-
sessed at the township-wide aver-
age of $381,000 would pay $1,981 a
year in municipal taxes, a de-
crease of $76 over 2012.
Overall, the 2013 budget docu-
ment shows revenues and appro-
priations now total $21,736,716 not
the $21.9 million as the mayor had
first proposed back in February.
The township ended 2012 with
a $3,618,695 surplus and will use
$3,050,000 of the 2012 surplus to
support operations in the 2013
budget.
The surplus at the end of 2013
is, at this time, projected to be
$568,695, CFO Deborah Bauer
said.
Forgive me if Im not a little
more excited about a 2-cent elec-
tion year decrease in taxes, for-
mer councilwoman Sonja Walter
please see TAXES, page 13
Salary increases, iPads in new municipal budget
By JOANNE DEGNAN
Editor
A review of the proposed 2013
Robbinsville budget shows all
municipal employees are in line
for at least a 2 percent pay raise
this year, but some will apparent-
ly be getting even higher salary
adjustments, often because of
promotions or increased work re-
sponsibilities.
The salary issue was raised
during the public comment por-
tion of the April 11 Township
Council meeting by Patriot Drive
resident Sonja Walter, a former
council member who ran against
Mayor Dave Fried in the 2009 elec-
tion.
Are there raises in this years
budget? Walter asked Council
President Ron Witt during a pub-
lic comment period that preceded
the councils vote to introduce the
budget.
There are 2 percent (raises) I
believe for municipal employees,
please see SALARIES, page 5
Girls U9 International Soccer
Rville Comets 4,
Harrison Cherry Bombs 1
The undefeated Robbinsville
Comets defeated the Harrison
Cherry Bombs 4-1 on April 13.
The Comets used goals by Brit-
tain Ruscito (2), Delanie Perrine
and Aleca Fotiou to secure the
victory in a hard fought and phys-
ical battle. Emma Horan and
Maddie Pike created energy and
an offensive spark while Alena
Pietrini provided a lockdown de-
fensive presence. Jaimee McEn-
tee and Cara Alban were out-
standing in goal making a num-
ber of key saves to preserve the
victory.
Rville Comets 3,
Glassboro Doves 0
In their hardest test to date, the
Robbinsville Comets overcame a
strong defensive effort by the
Glassboro Doves on April 14 to se-
cure a 3-0 victory, improving their
record to a perfect 6-0.
The score was a tense 0-0 at
halftime when the Comets took
control on two goals by Brittain
Ruscito and one by Delanie Per-
rine. Kolette Schulz, Emma
Horan and Kailey Pacifico played
a tremendous all-round game and
Yianna Mazzella displayed her
play-making skills on offensive.
Becky Blitz and Caroline Coggins
were sensational in goal earning
the combined shutout.
Little League
Rookie League (ages 6-7)
Dairy Queen v. Efinger Sports
In Rookie League action on
April 11, there were outstanding
plays in the field from Ari Pollack
with a diving stop at first base to
get the out. Also, Andrew Hegel
made two great catches on pop-
ups in the infield, including one
diving from the mound. Dairy
Queens catchers Grant Paulus,
Drew Schimer and Jack Morgan
also provided excellent defense.
Timely base hits came from
Christian Yoo, Ryan Dzeizdic, and
Jack Lustik.
Travel Softball
Rville Rampage 10U
Capture Tournament
The Robbinsville Rampage 10U
travel softball team took to the
fields again recently to partici-
pate in the Lincoln Park Spring
Fever Fast pitch Softball Tourna-
ment. The Rampage breezed
through the seeding round of the
tournament, going 3-0 behind
shutout pitching performances
by Brynn Hopkins (seven strike-
outs) and Emelia Bercaw (13
strikeouts). Offensively, the team
was led by Gina Mollica who
rocked five hits (two doubles and
a triple), both Brooke Torrington
and Bercaw chipped in four hits
apiece and Sonia Bharatiya
smacked a home run.
During elimination play, in the
semi-finals, the Rampage were
one run behind and down to their
last out in extra-innings before
they loaded the bases on three
perfect bunts by Becca Siracusa,
Mackenzie Martin and Karina
Bharatiya. Gina Mollica then
lined a single to center field, plat-
ing the winning runs and sending
the Rampage to the champi-
onship game.
In the championship, the Ram-
page trailed 3-2 going in to the
fifth inning when Emelia Bercaw
came up big for the Rampage,
blasting a three-run home run to
right field to put the Rampage up
for good. The game ended in the
6th inning on tremendous defen-
sive play with a first to home to
third double play, perfectly exe-
cuted by first baseman Mollica,
catcher Julia Dottino and Hop-
kins at third base. Then Brianna
Haggerty threw out a runner try-
ing to advance to third base to end
the game and bring the champi-
onship to Robbinsville.
2 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
PROFESSIONAL WEBSITES.
PEASANT PRICES.
youth sports scene
MIKE COGGINS/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
The Comets Kolette Schulz (center) moves the ball toward goal after
a nice pass from Emma Horan (left) during travel league play. Brit-
tain Ruscito, No. 7, is at right.
Lunch - 11 AM
Registration - Noon
Tee Off - 1 PM
4 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
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Buy any homemade pasta sauce
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First round of school projects
By JOANNE DEGNAN
Editor
The Board of Education has
awarded a $2,364,000 contract for
renovation work at Sharon
School and Pond Road Middle
School, projects that will be paid
for with funds from the $18.9 mil-
lion referendum voters approved
four months ago.
The school board voted April 11
to award the contract to Paul Otto
Building Company of Cranford,
which was the lowest bidder of
the six companies that were
vying for the project. Bids ranged
from $2.3 million to $3 million.
The projects include renovat-
ing the cafeteria area and kitchen
in the oldest part of Sharon
School, which dates to 1954, and
creating three new classrooms in-
side the Pond Road Middle School
Media Center.
The school district is expecting
this work to be done by the time
the new school year begins in
September.
Business Administrator Bob
DeVita said April 12 that the dis-
trict intends to go out to bid in
June for the major project: a 27-
classroom, two-story addition to
Sharon School, as well as the ex-
pansion of the Pond Road cafete-
ria. These projects are expected to
be complete by September 2014.
The added space provided by
the projects will enable the K-3
Sharon School to become a K-4
building, thereby relieving the
overcrowding at the grade 4-8
middle school where there are
currently 1,111 students.
Originally, the plans had called
for 24 new classrooms at Sharon
School, but Spiezle Architects
was recently able to reconfigure
the space without expanding the
additions footprint to give the
district three extra classrooms.
The original plan for PRMS had
been to create five new class-
rooms inside the media center,
but that was recently changed to
three classrooms.
Three gives us rooms that are
large enough to create instruc-
tional space without taking away
too much of the media center,
DeVita said.
Voters approved an $18.9 mil-
lion construction referendum in
December to addresses over-
crowding at the K-8 levels by ex-
panding the elementary and mid-
dle schools.
The district has a current en-
rollment of 2,900 students and its
elementary and middle schools
are a combined 334 students over
their intended capacity.
There will also be hundreds of
new children enrolling in the dis-
trict in the next few years because
of approved housing develop-
ments ready to be built.
See the architectural renderings
of the school projects online at
www.robbinsvillesun.com.
The following items were
taken from reports on file with
the Robbinsville Township Po-
lice Department:
Someone stole 30 pieces of
drilling equipment valued at ap-
proximately $25,000 from a busi-
ness in the Windsor Industrial
Park sometime between 7 p.m.,
April 6 and 9 a.m., April 7.
Patrolman Robert Morgano
took the report. There are no
suspects at this time.
***
Someone stole a ground-
mount air conditioning unit val-
ued at approximately $3,500
from outside a business on the
first block of Main Street some-
time between April 1 and April
8.
Patrolman Bryan Boccanfuso
took the report. There are no
suspects at this time.
***
A 49-year-old Oklahoma man
was charged with DWI and
other offenses at 10:19 p.m.,
April 9 after a traffic stop on
Route 130 South.
Patrolman Wayne Haugh saw
a vehicle weaving and pulled it
over near Robbinsville Storage.
The driver failed field sobriety
tests and was arrested.
The accused was also charged
with careless driving, reckless
driving, obstructing traffic and
failure to maintain lane.
police report
Visit us online at www.robbinsvillesun.com
for the non-contract municipal
employees, and there are a couple
of others that are in there that
youll be able to see when the
budget is released, Witt said.
Prior to the budget introduc-
tion, the public can only glean
general information on what the
draft document contains by lis-
tening to council discussions and
the questions council members
ask administration officials.
Once introduced, the budget is
no longer an internal working
document and is available to the
public for review.
An examination of the $21.7
million budget document after its
April 11 introduction shows a 2
percent increase in the line item
for council salaries, which would
raise the pay of the five part-time
council members salaries to
$4,968 each in 2013.
The line item for other ex-
penses for the Township Council
would increase 75 percent from
$3,520 to $6,150. Asked for further
details about this on April 16,
Business Administrator Joy
Tozzi said the increase would pay
for five iPads.
They are looking to cut down
on paper costs with the council
packets being so large they want-
ed to save more trees by going pa-
perless, Tozzi said.
Collectively, salaries and wages
in the recreation services line
item would increase 17 percent,
from $75,521 to $88,701. Tozzi said
most of the increase reflects a
promotion given to the head of
recreation who was originally
hired as a manager and promoted
last November to director, raising
his salary from $56,100 to $65,000 a
year.
There is also a 7 percent in-
crease budgeted for legal fees in
2013, which would increase from
$236,753 to $253,066. The Town-
ship Council and mayor have pre-
viously discussed a plan to have a
member of Township Attorney
Mark Rosellis legal firm work
part-time in municipal offices.
Roselli is paid a $12,000 a month
retainer to handle township legal
matters.
General administration salary
and wages are increasing by
$42,784 (46 percent) while the total
for salaries and wages listed
under the mayors office is de-
creasing $25,141 (30 percent).
The total budget for salaries in
the mayors office is declining,
even though the council has dis-
cussed giving the mayor a $2,000
raise that will bring his salary to
$12,320 a year, because of the way
salaries are being reallocated
under different departments
budgets in 2013.
Tozzi said April 16 that some
township officials have portions
of their salaries split among dif-
ferent departments based on
what type of work they do, and
the percentage of salaries allocat-
ed to various departments can
change year to year.
In 2013, some people whose
salaries were previous charged to
the mayors office are going to be
charged to other accounts.
It can get complicated, Tozzi
said.
Asked if anyone aside from the
recreation director was receiving
a raise exceeding 2 percent, Tozzi
that other salary adjustments
were expected in the municipal
clerks office and the finance of-
fice, the latter tied to employees
who have been promoted with in-
creased responsibilities.
Tozzi, who earns $85,000 a year
as township business administra-
tor, said she is in line for a $5,000
salary adjustment, which would
be charged to the general admin-
istration account.
The townships communica-
tions officer, who had been work-
ing for Robbinsville as a part-time
consultant at $35,000 a year (paid
partly out of the economic devel-
opment budget), has been added
to the general administration ac-
count as of Jan. 1 as a full-time
employee earning $45,000, which
is another reason for the increase
in the general administrations
salary line, she said.
The engineering budgets
salary and wages line item shows
a $59,370 increase, but the town-
ship engineer, who is also the di-
rector of community develop-
ment and economic development,
is not receiving any adjustment to
his $159,681 salary beyond the 2
percent raise all employees are
slated to get, Tozzi said.
The line item increase in engi-
neering department salaries is
due in part to the hiring of an
$18,720 a year part-time assistant
in that office, but mostly because
more of the engineers salary is
being reallocated to the engineer-
ing budget instead of the general
administration budget, Tozzi
said.
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Salary increases, iPads
in new municipal budget
SALARIES
Continued from page 1
letters to the editor
in our opinion
Let the public back in
6 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
A
nyone whos ever planned a
wedding knows its risky to
invite people and hope they
dont come. There is always a chance
someone will.
For years, the townships Technical
Review Committee (TRC) has been
inviting the public to attend its month-
ly 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting by pub-
lishing meeting dates and agendas on
the municipal website. Apparently,
they too were just hoping that no one
would come.
After The Robbinsville Sun attended
a Feb. 26 TRC meeting about a propos-
al to build a gas station and Wawa on
Robbinsville-Allentown Road, and
then made inquiries after a March 26
TRC meeting about the Gordon-Simp-
son project was cancelled (according
to the township website), then inexpli-
cably held anyway, the Planning Board
attorney advised the township engi-
neer TRC meetings arent really open
to the public or press after all. The Sun
was told it could not cover future Tech-
nical Review Committee meetings.
What is the Technical Review Com-
mittee and why should we care? The
TRC, which includes the township en-
gineer, the attorneys for the planning
or zoning boards and other profession-
al staff, is the advisory body that re-
views developers proposals before ap-
plications are made to the Planning
Board or the Zoning Board of Adjust-
ment. A TRC meeting is an opportuni-
ty for developers to receive frank ad-
vice from township officials on what
changes are needed to make their
plans acceptable to the land use
boards that will eventually be voting
on them.
In his April 1 legal opinion, Plan-
ning Board Attorney Jerry Dasti
wrote the public does not have the
right to attend a TRC meeting because
the TRC in not a public body. There-
fore, TRC meetings do not come with-
in the definition of a Meeting as de-
fined by the New Jersey Open Public
Meeting Act, he said.
If the TRC isnt really a public body,
why does the Township Code require
TRC members to elect a secretary and
chairperson every year, and fix a reg-
ular meeting schedule that shall be
posted in the Municipal Building? If
the TRC isnt a public body, why does it
record its meetings and why does the
Township Code require the TRC secre-
tary to prepare and provide the min-
utes of TRC meetings to the township
Planning Board and Zoning Board of
Adjustment members?
And if TRC meetings are only inter-
nal work meetings for staff, as town-
ship officials now claim, why have
they been posting meeting notices and
agendas on the municipal website for
years?
In my opinion members of the pub-
lic attending the TRC meetings would
be counterproductive since there is a
substantial give and take between the
applicant and the township represen-
tatives concerning the proposed appli-
cation, Dasti wrote in his letter. That
give and take would be thwarted if un-
interested members of the public were
in attendance.
Which begs the question: How do
citizens silently observing a meeting
whose format allows no public com-
ment manage to thwart the give and
take of the proceedings by their mere
presence?
P.O. Box 7
Windsor, NJ 08561-0007
609-529-6611
The Robbinsville Sun is published weekly by
The Robbinsville Sun, P.O. Box 7, Windsor,
NJ 08561-0007 and mailed to every address
in our community. If you are a Robbinsville
resident, but not currently receiving a copy
of The Robbinsville Sun, please contact us at
609-529-6611.
PDFs of the newspaper are free and available
online at www.robbinsvillesun.com. Non-
residents may obtain a six-month subscrip-
tion of the newspaper mailed to their home
or business for $39.99. For more informa-
tion about delivery, call 609-529-6611.
Email news releases, photos and calendar
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Photos submitted for publication considera-
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Calendar items must include the name of the
event, date, time, full street address, admis-
sion fee (if applicable) and a contact email or
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For advertising information with The
Robbinsville Sun, call (609) 529-6611 or
email advertising@robbinsvillesun.com.
The Robbinsville Sun welcomes suggestions
and comments from readers including any
information about errors that may call for a
correction to be printed.
SPEAK UP
The Robbinsville Sun welcomes letters from
readers. Brief and to the point is best, so we
look for letters that are 300 words or fewer.
Include your name, address and phone
number. Phone numbers are for verification
purposes only and will not be printed.
We do not print anonymous letters. Email
letters to news@robbinsvillesun.com or
mail to P.O. Box 7, Windsor, NJ 08561-0007.
The Robbinsville Sun reserves the right to
reprint your letter in any medium includ-
ing electronically.
PUBLISHER Dave Doran
EDITOR Joanne Degnan
The general media has gone
soft on the president
It was refreshing to read the column en-
titled Campaigning waylays governing
by Andrew Aromando in the April 10-16
edition of The Robbinsville Sun.
The general media print, online and
television has gone soft on the president
in regard to the economy, debt, deficits,
Benghazi, entitlements, Fast & Furious, re-
ligious freedom, window-dressing legisla-
tion, executive orders and the sequester to
name a few while the president flies all
over the country blaming everyone else for
every issue.
The perpetual campaign and same tired
speeches day after day has made this presi-
dent a bore.
Ed Nelson
In your words
Send us a letter to the editor:
news@robbinsvillesun.com.
APRIL 24-30, 2013 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN 7
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interfaith views
By DAN GRECO
Pastor
Lifetree Community Church
It happened again. As the sto-
ries emerged of bombs exploding
on the crowded streets of Boston
and a fun-filled day of racing
turned tragic, everything simpli-
fied.
I watched as news reports
pieced together what was unfold-
ing. Very quickly, my petty little
problems melted away. In a mo-
ment, all that work I had to do
wasnt so urgent anymore. That
bathroom-remodeling project I
hadnt finished? Forgotten.
As the news sank in, I just
wanted to hold my kids close, hug
my wife, and say a prayer for our
brothers and sisters in New Eng-
land as they walked through a
dark day.
These moments happen too
often. In the middle of our day,
well hear news of pain and suf-
fering.
And in that moment, all the
things we stress over, hope for,
and complain about, are instantly
prioritized.
What matters most? These
things that are consuming so
much of our energy, are they
worth it?
In times of pain and suffering,
everything simplifies. My first-
world problems arent so big
anymore. The state of my lawn
just doesnt matter that much
when I hear of 8-year-olds losing
their life. What bothers me most,
is how, after a few days, I find my-
self right back where I was.
Whining about this or that,
stressing over things that arent a
big deal.
Why cant I just maintain that
sense of clarity about what mat-
ters most?
Too often it takes a tragedy to
wake me up from my fog of fool-
ishness.
So, today, lets try again. Lets
do our best to remember whats
important.
Lets hug our kids good and
tight, try to speak with kindness
to those we love, and try to resist
the temptation to stress about
stuff that doesnt matter. We
wont get it all right, but hopeful-
ly, well get it more today than we
did yesterday. And that does mat-
ter.
A moment of clarity
MIKE FRANK/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
About 150 parishioners of St. Gregory the Great Church gathered
April 14 to pray a balloon rosary that was later launched over the
schools soccer fields.
Lifting prayers heavenward
St. Gregory the Great Church
After the 9 a.m. childrens litur-
gy on April 14, about 150 parish-
ioners and friends prayed a
rosary constructed of 60 large
balloons and a 6-foot cross that
was designed by children of the
parish.
Several parish ministries at St.
Gregs helped build the rosary,
which was done in the papal col-
ors of gold and burgundy in
honor of Pope Francis. After
praying together, the parish-
ioners released the rosary into
the sky as a visible witness to the
churchs devotion to the Blessed
Mother.
The event was sponsored by
the Home Life Ministry and as-
sembled by the Knights of Colum-
bus Council 7677.
Participants included the
Knights, the Altar Rosary Society,
the Social Concerns Ministry, the
Evangelization Ministry, St. Gre-
gory the Great Academy, CCD
children, and the After-School
program.
THURSDAY APR. 25
Chair Yoga Class: 10 a.m., Rob-
binsville Senior Center, 117 Route
130. No registration required. Free
class under the direction of Connie
Ferrara for seniors 60 and older. For
information, contact 259-1567.
Coffee Donuts and a Movie: 1:30
p.m., Robbinsville branch of the Mer-
cer County Library System, 42 Rob-
binsville-Allentown Road. Screening
the 2012 Academy Award nominat-
ed picture Lincoln. Pre-register
online at www.mcl.org.
School-age Storytime: 4:30 p.m.,
Robbinsville branch of the Mercer
County Library System, 42 Rob-
binsville-Allentown Road. For chil-
dren in kindergarten and up. Regis-
tration required online at
www.mcl.org or call 259-2150.
FRIDAY APR. 26
Toddler Tunes: 10:30 a.m., Rob-
binsville branch of the Mercer Coun-
ty Library System, 42 Robbinsville-
Allentown Road. This music pro-
gram is for children of all ages,
accompanied by an adult. Online
registration required at
www.mcl.org. For questions, call
259-2150.
Ravens Boys Varsity Baseball v.
Hopewell Valley: 4 p.m., Rob-
binsville High School, 155 Rob-
binsville-Edinburg Road. Game sub-
ject to change. Check online at
http://www.usatodayhss.com.
Ravens Girls Varsity Softball v.
Hopewell Valley: 4 p.m., Rob-
binsville High School, 155 Rob-
binsville-Edinburg Road. Game sub-
ject to change. Check online at
http://www.usatodayhss.com.
Robbinsville Little League Opening
Night Ceremonies: 5:30 p.m., Tan-
tum Park, Meadowbrook Road.
www.robbinsvillelittleleague.org.
SATURDAY APR. 27
Ravens Boys Varsity Lacrosse v.
Delaware Valley Regional: time
TBA, Robbinsville High School, 155
Robbinsville-Edinburg Road. Game
subject to change. Check online at
http://www.usatodayhss.com.
Medicine Disposal Day: 10 a.m. to 2
p.m., Robbinsville Police Headquar-
ters, 1117 Route 130 North. Residents
are encouraged to dispose of their
unused, unwanted medicines safely
at this Operation Take Back NJ
event sponsored in conjunction with
the township police and the Rob-
binsville Municipal Alliance for the
Prevention of Substance Abuse. For
further information, call 918-0002
ext. 100 or email rmapsa@rob-
binsville-twp.org.
How to Talk to Your Child About
Healthy Relationships: 10 a.m. to 12
noon, Robbinsville branch of the
Mercer County Library System, 42
Robbinsville-Allentown Road. A free
program to help you give your pre-
teen and teenager the knowledge
and skills to have healthy, positive
dating relationships and avoid sexu-
al violence. Presented by Woman-
space. Registration required at
www.mcl.org or call the library at
259-2150.
Family Movie Night: 7:30 p.m., the
fields at Tantum Park, Meadowbrook
Road. Enjoy The Lorax (PG) on an
outdoor screen. The concession
stand will be open in this fundraiser
for Robbinsville Little League. For
more information, visit the recre-
ation links on the township website
at www.robbinsville-twp.org.
FRIDAY APR. 28
YWCA Young Wonders Preschool
5th Annual Fashion Show & Silent
Auction: doors open 12 noon, show
starts 2 p.m., Nottingham Ballroom,
Mercer Street, Hamilton. Enjoy
spring and summer fashions pre-
sented by The Childrens Place of
The Shoppes at Hamilton. Ambient
DJs will be providing the musical
entertainment. Over 70 items are in
the silent auction including sports
memorabilia and tickets to various
entertainment destinations. Tickets
are $8 in advance and $10 at the
door. Call 609-587-1815 to reserve
tickets.
We Can Change the World, a spir-
it-filled concert presented by the
ecumenical Community Christian
Choir, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the
Seventh Day Church, 2290 Route
33. Concert is free to the public with
a free-will offering donated to desig-
nated charities. For more info, go to
www.ccchoir.com or call 609-587-
7076.
MONDAY APR. 29
Senior Art Club: 10 a.m., Senior
Center, 117 Route 130. Free oil or
water-based painting for seniors 60
and older with all levels of expertise.
Must bring your own art supplies.
For more information, contact 259-
1567.
Ravens Boys Varsity Baseball v.
Allentown: 4 p.m., Robbinsville High
School, 155 Robbinsville-Edinburg
Road. Game subject to change.
Check online at http://www.usato-
dayhss.com.
TUESDAY APR. 30
Create a Rainbow Childrens Craft:
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Robbinsville
branch of the Mercer County
Library System, 42 Robbinsville-
Allentown Road. No registration
necessary. Drop in and make a craft
with the materials provided. Call
259-2150 for information.
Chair Yoga Class: 10 a.m., Rob-
binsville Senior Center, 117 Route
130. No registration required. Free
class under the direction of Connie
Ferrara for seniors 60 and older. For
information, contact 259-1567.
Babytime: 10:15 a.m., Robbinsville
branch of the Mercer County
Library System, 42 Robbinsville-
Allentown Road. Rhymes, songs and
simple stories for children ages 6 to
24 months accompanied by an
adult. Pre-registration required at
www.mcl.org or call 259-2150.
Ravens Boys Varsity Lacrosse vs.
New Egypt: 4 p.m., Robbinsville
High School, 155 Robbinsville-Edin-
burg Road. Game subject to change.
Check online at http://www.usato-
dayhss.com.
Robbinsville Little League Night at
the Trenton Thunder: 7:05 p.m.,
Waterfront Park, Trenton. (Trenton
Thunder, AA affiliate of the New
York Yankees vs. New Hampshire
Fisher Cats, AA affiliate of the
Toronto Blue Jays). Tickets cost $10
each. Email scottyvz@gmail.com.
CALENDAR PAGE 8 APRIL 24-30, 2013
MULCH
Natural Brown
$
19
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per yard
Black
$
24
00
per yard
Natural & Color Enhanced
Certified Playground
Wood Chips
Delivery or
Pick-Up
John Stanley
609-918-1668
www.TimberwolfTreeService.com
10% OFF
12 yards or more. With coupon. Expires 5/31/13.
Heating, Plumbing,
Cooling and Fuel
SINCE 1925
Licensed On-Staff
PIumbers FuIIy Insured
16 Gordon Ave. Box 6097 Lawrence, NJ 08648
609-896-0141 IawrenceviIIefueI.net
S50 OFF
Separate Hot Water Heaters
Must present this coupon at the time of purchase.
May not be combined w/ any other offer. Expires 5/1/13.
10% OFF
Any Service
Up to $100. Must present this coupon at the time of purchase.
May not be combined w/ any other offer. Expires 5/1/13.
S100 OFF
Heating/Air Conditioning InstaIIation
Must present this coupon at the time of purchase.
May not be combined w/ any other offer. Expires 5/1/13.
Lic. #13VH00927200
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Three Robbinsville students
are being honored for their artis-
tic efforts to encourage township
residents to shop locally.
Mayor Dave Fried announced
the winners of the Keep It Local
Robbinsville art contest on April
12. The winners are: Sharon
School first-grader Ashley
Roberts, Pond Road Middle
School sixth-grader Kaylee
McEvoy, and Robbinsville High
School 10th-grader Allison
Kroepfl.
Students of all ages were asked
in February to create a poster
that best illustrated the message
Keep your Money Where Your
Heart Is - Keep It Local Rob-
binsville. The 50 entries received
were grouped into three age cate-
gories elementary, middle
school and high school and post-
ed on the townships Facebook
page for viewers to judge. The art-
work receiving the most Face-
book likes won.
Ashley, Kaylee and Allison will
be presented with their prizes in
the next few weeks, which will in-
clude a pizza party and other gifts
donated by vcsalon and other lo-
cally owned businesses.
Robbinsville Township has
embarked on an effort to encour-
age residents to shop locally and
use local vendors for the services
they use, Fried said. We are ex-
cited about the launch of this pro-
gram to keep businesses, resi-
dents and local charities all sup-
porting each other and all the stu-
dents did a beautiful job.
The campaign will be officially
launched June 8 at the Rob-
binsville Township Community
Day festivities. The winners
posters will be used to promote
the Keep It Local Robbinsville
program and will be displayed in
township businesses and online
promotions.
10 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
Keep it Local art contest winners announced
ROBBINSVILLE TOWNSHIP/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Top left: Pond Road Middle School sixth-grader Kaylee McEvoys entry won the middle school division.
Top right: First-grader Ashley Roberts created this winning poster in the elementary division for the
Keep It Local Robbinsville art contest. Below: Robbinsville High School sophomore Allison Kroepfl won in
the high school division.
Scholarship deadline May 1
The Robbinsville-Hamilton
Sunrise Rotary Foundation re-
minds graduating high school
seniors that the application dead-
line for Rotary scholarships is
May 1.
Each year the Rotary awards
about $6,000 in scholarships to
seniors who reside in either Rob-
binsville or Hamilton and plan to
attend a two- or four-year college,
or vocational or technical school.
Individual awards range from
$250 to $1,000.
More information about the
foundations college scholarships
program, as well as the applica-
tion, are on the Robbinsville-
Hamilton Sunrise Rotarys web-
site, www.rhrotary.org. Questions
about scholarships may be direct-
ed to Tom Lanigan by calling 609-
581-2211 or emailing him at tlani-
gan@firstchoice-bank.com.
APRIL 24-30, 2013 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN 11
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The following Robbinsville
High School game results were
compiled from head coaches re-
ports for the week of April 8.
Girls Track and Field
The Ravens girls track and
field team split a double dual
meet at home on April 10 against
Hamilton West and Notre Dame.
The girls lost to Notre Dame 83-57,
but defeated Hamilton 87-53.
The girls record is now 2-1.
First-place winners for the RHS
girls team were: Myana Morris-
Bullock (100 m); Makenzie Bay-
less (1600 m); Erin Holzbaur (400
m); Paris Hughes (800 m); Noel
Jancewicz (javelin, high jump,
long jump); Chloe Hoag (triple
jump); Andin Fosam (discus, shot
put).
The Ravens were set to host the
Mercer County Relay Champi-
onships Saturday, April 20, after
The Robbinsville Sun had gone to
press.
Ravens nest
By BETTY ODONNELL
Recently while out with a col-
league in search of a restaurant
that would offer both a lively bar
area where I could settle down
with a Bombay Sapphire Martini
speared with hand-stuffed blue
cheese olives, along with a menu
offering interesting dining choic-
es, we headed over to the Centro
Grille and were thrilled that we
did. The bar area, nicely separat-
ed from the dining room, was live-
ly and busy. I noticed many famil-
iar faces.
My colleague and I ordered our
drinks and were seated at a table
in the dining room. We were
greeted by our friendly and com-
petent server, Jennifer.
The dining room was casual
and comfortable with just the
right amount of ambiance to sug-
gest that this was going to be a
good night.
The menu looked interesting,
something for everyone even if
we had come with our kids. We
began with a few appetizers, the
Bourbon Jumbo Shrimp ($10)
wrapped in bacon with a sweet
and zesty sauce were fantastic!
The Mahi Mahi Tacos ($10) spe-
cial tequila lime sauce with
grilled pineapples was a pleasant
surprise, as was the Sweet & Sour
Crispy Calamari ($10) with its
balsamic glaze and a delicious
crunchy texture. The appetizers
were served in large portions that
could easily have been a quick
meal.
Next, we were fortunate to
enjoy a sneak tasting from the
new spring menu featuring local-
ly grown produce and organic in-
gredients that will make its
debut on the menu April 26. A
beautifully plated almond-crusted
red snapper drizzled with a black
current emulsion was delicately
prepared and served on a bed of
roasted brussel sprouts ($21) was
my favorite. Next we dined on
sliced, perfectly done marinated
Black Angus ($29). We finished
with a Spiced Chai Bread Pud-
ding ($6) and a Chocolate Mousse
Dome ($6) with berries and
whipped cream a Centro signa-
ture dessert.
Finally, here is a destination
restaurant where the community
can come together with their fam-
ilies have a quality meal at a nice
price point, enjoy a cocktail, and
catch up with some friends.
James and George Karalis and
Joe Immordino are the owners of
Centro Grille and are Rob-
binsville residents. Recently Cen-
tro sponsored the very successful
after-party for the annual Rob-
binsville St. Patricks Day Pa-
rade Keeping it Local.
Betty ODonnell is a longtime Rob-
binsville resident and lover of all
things culinary.
JOANNE DEGNAN/The Robbinsville Sun
Robbinsville Township Council President Ron Witt (center) reads a
proclamation in recognition of National Donate Life Month to raise
awareness about the nearly 5,000 New Jersey men, women and chil-
dren currently on waiting lists for organ donations. Terry and Mark
Meade, of Donate Life Mercer, accepted the proclamation on behalf of
the New Jersey Sharing Network.
Donate Life Month
Send us your Robbinsville news
Have a news tip? Want to send us a press release or photos? Shoot
an interesting video? Drop us an email at news@robbinsvillesun.com.
Call the editor at (609) 529-6611.
Centro Grille: A dining destination right here in Robbinsville
12 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
Evening Custodial Position Available:
Duties include indoor and outdoor custodial and light
maintenance, e.g., cleaning, set-up, garbage pickup,
stripping/scrubbing floors, snow removal, etc., for a large
Catholic Church and school campus.
The incumbent must be able to lift 50 lbs, work mandatory
overtime during the week and on weekends as needed, and
have a valid drivers license. Must be able to operate floor
cleaning equipment, snow blower, and Kubota. A background
check is mandatory before employment.
Hours: Mon-Fri 4:30PM12:30AM.
Attn: Parish Business Manager
4620 Nottingham Way
Hamilton Square, NJ 08690
Please send resume to:
Student entrepreneurs win awards
TAWRYE MASON/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Build Your Own Craving, a Virtual Enterprise snack company created and run by Robbinsville High School
students, advanced to the semifinals at the International Trade Show in New York City on April 11. The
following day, BYOC placed in the Top Ten outstanding booths. From left are: Nicole DeMentri, co-design-
er for the booth; Sirena Aguiar; Ryan Febles, President of BYOC; Tori Sankey, co-designer for the booth,
Brandon Snyder, David Haftel, Dominic McAnany. Not pictured: David Pastuna.
TAWRYE MASON/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Cache Cupcakes, another Virtual Enterprise company created and
run by students at Robbinsville High School, received an honorable
mention for best booth design at the International Trade Show in
New York City on April 11. From left are booth designer Lauren Guidi-
das, CFO Sarah Scneid and Cache Cupcakes President Alex Angeli.
Cache Cupcakes website, designed by Christa Principato (not
shown), won third place overall out of more than 70 teams.
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Send us your Robbinsville news
Have a news tip? Want to send us a press release or photos? Shoot
an interesting video? Drop us an email at news@robbinsvillesun.com.
Call the editor at (609) 529-6611.
told the council, noting last year
there had been a 1.4-cent increase
in the tax rate. Im just wonder-
ing if anything could have been
done sooner than this year to de-
crease our taxes because it does
seem that there are manipula-
tions.
The mayor and two council
members are up for re-election
this year, but in 2012 when taxes
increased an average $54 a home
there were no regular municipal
elections, other than a special
election to fill a council vacancy.
In 2011, when three council
seats were up for election, there
also was no municipal tax in-
crease.
Councilman David Boyne, the
winner of the special election,
who was not a member of council
when the 2012 budget was adopt-
ed, agreed with Walter.
I too believe that particular
tax increase last year was unnec-
essary, and you know I said it last
year as well, Boyne told Walter.
Mayor Dave Fried, who did not
attend the April 11 meeting, has
said the proposed 2-cent reduc-
tion in the tax rate for 2013 is
made possible by $650,000 in new
tax revenue coming in this year
from the Amazon warehouse
project being built on a vacant
tract near Old York Road.
State law requires one-time
rollback taxes be paid to towns
whenever land assessed as farm-
land, and consequently taxed at a
much lower rate, is sold and
changes to another use.
Several days after the council
meeting, Fried issued a statement
saying that he was bewildered
by the election-year gimmick ac-
cusation.
We are being accused of wait-
ing until an election year to pro-
pose this tax cut, Fried said.
Yes, because I called Amazon
CEO Jeff Bezos personally and
told him to delay plans for his
Fortune 500 company so that the
Amazon deal would come to
fruition in an election year to
benefit me, he added sarcastical-
ly.
Two other residents at the
meeting took issue with the
spending in the proposed 2013
budget, which will have a full
public hearing and adoption vote
at 7:30 p.m., May 9.
Rich Cruser, of Windsor-Edin-
burg Road, criticized the priori-
ties in the $1.8 million fire depart-
ment budget because no money is
provided to purchase a tanker
truck to serve rural areas of town
that lack hydrants.
Deputy Fire Chief Daniel
Schaffener, who was sitting the
audience, said the department
had to get rid of its old tanker be-
cause it was becoming too costly
to maintain.
We have mutual aid compa-
nies that are available right over
the border there that do have
tanker trucks and theres an auto-
matic response to the areas that
dont have hydrants so there isnt
really a delay its perfectly well
planned, Schaffener told Cruser.
Cruser, however, was not per-
suaded.
We need a tanker, thats what
we need, Cruser responded.
You cant depend on another
company to bring water. What am
I suppose to do? Stand there with
my hand on my butt while anoth-
er company decides to bring
water? This aint right.
Jared Drive resident Jim Gui-
didas took issue with the $15,000
budgeted for a redevelopment
study for the Foxmoor Shopping
Center, where small businesses
have been struggling since the
2011 closing of the supermarket
that anchored the center. The
shopping center is owned by Fox-
moor Associates, a subsidiary of
Delaware-based Pettinaro Enter-
prises.
I just want to voice a concern
about the amount of money we
are potentially putting toward the
redevelopment of Foxmoor, Gui-
didas said.
Im all for small business, but
Im also a little bit leery of taking
township funds and using it to re-
develop a privately held busi-
ness.
APRIL 24-30, 2013 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN 13
4 FREE
BAGELS
With the purchase of a dozen
Expires 4/30/13.
owned & operated by Robbinsville resident Jim Lillis
34 Robbinsville Allentown Rd., Robbinsville NJ 08691
609-259-4388
2 FREE
BAGELS
With the purchase of a
1
2 dozen
Expires 4/30/13.
Open House
Tbursoay, May 9tb
5pm -7pm
Residents air objections
TAXES
Continued from page 1
When the news |s sweet,
We Tweet!
When the news |s b|tter,
We Still Twitter!
Fo||ow us at
tw|tter.com/robb|nsv|||esun
14 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
NorthStar VETS docs mission builds perspective
By JOANNE DEGNAN
Editor
They traveled 7,900 miles to
breed a sturdier goat, build
healthier chickens, and bait the
swarming honeybees so that
Malawi villagers can outlast the
hungry season, but along the way
these local veterinarians learned
something themselves.
The 10-day trip was organized
by NorthStar VETS Chief of Staff
Daniel Stobie through Villages in
Partnership (VIP), a nonprofit
that unites churches, schools,
businesses and community
groups to form relationships with
impoverished villages in Malawi
and support long-term sustain-
able projects that improve peo-
ples lives.
In an interview in his North-
Star VETS office in Robbinsville
last week Dr. Stobie reflected on
his experience working with the
other New Jersey veterinarians
to educate the Malawi people
about the best ways to care and
breed their animals to increase
production of sustainable food re-
sources.
But what was envisioned as a
teaching experience also turned
out to be a learning experience
for the doctors.
They are a very joyful people
who have very little and we can
learn a lot from that, Stobie said
of the Malawi people he worked
with. Here in America there is
often discontent. People here al-
ways are searching for more,
wanting more.
VIPs founder and director, Liz
Heinzel-Nelson, who has been
doing work in Malawi for many
years with her husband, the Rev.
Stephen Heinzel-Nelson of Allen-
town Presbyterian Church, per-
suaded Dr. Stobie to put together
the veterinary team that made
the trip to Africa March 1-10.
NorthStar VETS hospital paid
for the groups travel, and a
fundraiser over the winter raised
$30,000 to pay for the animals,
medicines and supplies the vil-
lagers would need.
Accompanying Dr. Stobie were
veterinarians Manoel Tamassia,
a specialist in reproductive medi-
cine and genetics who works at
NorthStar; and Laura Coffee, a
veterinary pathologist whose
area of expertise is poultry and
aquaculture.
Tim Schuler the official state
apiarist (beekeeper) also accom-
panied the group.
Different animal projects have
been started in Malawi over the
years to help sustain the villagers
during the rainy season, when
food supplies have been depleted
and new crops wont be ready to
harvest for several months.
Goats, chickens, cows, and bee
hives were introduced as a source
of food and a source of income
that comes with the sale of eggs,
milk, cheese, honey and the prod-
ucts that can be made from
beeswax such as candles, lotions
and soaps.
But these well-intentioned ef-
forts to launch animal projects
have also come with problems,
which the veterinarians were
asked to troubleshoot.
They have a native goat, but
when they introduced dairy goats
for milk a lot of these European
breeds were not able to survive
the climate and the diseases that
are there, Dr. Stobie said. So
they bred the local goat to the Eu-
ropean goat and they got off-
spring that could survive, but also
couldnt produce any milk.
Dr. Tomassias task was to use
his expertise in genetics to work
out a crossbreeding schedule for
them so they can get an animal
that will not only survive but also
produce milk, Dr. Stobie said.
Heinzel-Nelson said that while
eating breakfast one morning in
Disi, the veterinarians discovered
something that had escaped the
notice of others.
They were eating eggs and
they said to me, Liz, the yolks are
too white and that means the
chickens arent getting enough
protein, she said. And I would
say what does that matter and
theyd say if chickens arent get-
ting enough protein they wont
lay as many eggs.
The solution was simple and
inexpensive, she said.
There was this guy cutting the
tall weeds with a thrasher and
they said gather that up and put it
in the chicken pen so the chick-
ens will peck at that and get the
protein that they need, Heinzel-
Nelson said.
The veterinarians also said the
eggshells were too thin, which in-
dicated the chickens had a calci-
um deficiency. Villagers were told
to feed the chickens crushed
eggshells and grounded up shells
from the snails and mollusks in
the fishpond.
The beauty of it was they
were never offering solutions that
were ridiculously expensive or
unrealistic, Heinzel-Nelson said.
Dr. Stobie, a small animal sur-
geon who is also a beekeeper, said
he worked with Schuler to teach
the villagers how to attract
swarms of wild bees that emerge
after the rainy season to inhabit
new hives set up in the villages.
Here in the U.S., if you want
bees you go and just buy bees, but
thats not an option in Africa, Dr.
Stobie said.
What will make a swarm of
bees go into a beehive is if theres
been other bees there. Theyre at-
tracted to the scent, or
pheromones of the other bees.
What the villagers needed to do
was lure the bees by melting
beeswax harvested from occupied
hives and painting that inside
empty hives to attract a swarm,
Dr. Stobie said.
Villages in Partnership had
about 10 beehives set up, but they
were empty because they were
new, Dr. Stobie said.
Using makeshift paintbrushes
that the villagers created from
twigs, twine and pine needles, the
veterinarians showed the people
how to melt and coat the inside of
the hives with melted beeswax.
Time will tell if the veterinari-
ans succeed in their efforts to
breed stronger milk-producing
goats, establish new beehives and
improve the quality of chickens
and their eggs, but Dr. Stobie says
he is hopeful. The veterinarians
intend to return every year for
five years to make sure the ani-
mal projects are sustained.
I do feel like we made a differ-
ence, Dr. Stobie said. Like any-
thing, you have to plant the seed
and watch it grow.
JOE GRAZIANO/Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Dr. Daniel Stobie, chief of staff at NorthStar VETS in Robbinsville, gives a beekeeper a protective suit
and veil during a recent trip to Malawi where a team of New Jersey veterinarians worked with villagers
on animal care and sustainable food projects.
APRIL 24-30, 2013 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN 15
RHS robotics advances to world championships
By ALLY DRAKE
Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Fifty of the best and the bright-
est from New Jersey, Delaware,
and eastern Pennsylvania com-
peted in the FIRST Robotics Mid-
Atlantic Regional Champi-
onships, but Robbinsville High
School and its alliance partners
came out on top in a victory that
advances RHS to the world cham-
pionships in St. Louis.
The Stabler Arena at Lehigh
University was filled with robot
driving, Frisbee-flying, and pyra-
mid-climbing action during the
weekend of April 12. Ultimate
Ascent was the name of the
game, and the goal was to shoot
Frisbees into goals of varying
heights and point values.
For additional points, robots
climbed to one of three levels on a
pyramid at the end of each
match. Each qualification match
lasted 2 minutes and 15 seconds
and was played between two al-
liances of three randomly select-
ed robots.
The competition at Lehigh Uni-
versity was quick to heat up, with
one of the first matches ending
with a score of over 200 points! It
soon became clear, however, that
victory would be hard-won, with
scores sometimes differing by
only a couple points. Teams were
forced to make every point count,
facing the fiercest competition of
the 2013 season.
Nemesis quickly rose in the
rankings thanks to its superb
drive team: students Josh Falk,
Antonio Papa, Dan Gavrushenko
and mentor Scott Meredith. In
one of the closer matches, Neme-
sis was losing with seconds left on
the clock. The crowd began to
count down, 3...2...1..., and Neme-
sis climbed the pyramid at the
last second to take the win! In
fact, by the end of the second day,
Nemesis was the second-ranked
team.
Not all of the action was taking
place in the arena, however. Back
in the pit area, scores of judges
visited Nemesis to see the robot
and learn more about the team.
Students presented the teams
business plan and community
outreach events to the awed
judges. The safety advisers also
stopped by to visit Nemesis Safe-
ty Captain Parth Mandrekar to
ensure the team followed all regu-
lations.
The third and final day of com-
petition kicked off on Saturday.
Dance music blasted and teams
cheered as the last few qualifica-
tion matches were played. Al-
liance selections for the finals
were made before lunch, in which
the top eight teams picked two
others to join them in the finals
matches. Working with Storm Ro-
botics from Lenape Regional
High School and Sa-BOT-age from
Downington High School East in
Pennsylvania, Nemesis was part
of the first-ranked alliance.
In the quarterfinals, Nemesis
faced off against the exact al-
liance that had triumphed over
them in the TCNJ District Event.
This time, however, it was Neme-
sis who emerged victorious. As
the quarterfinals advanced into
the semifinals, scores were be-
coming higher and matches were
growing closer. One nail-biting
match ended with a final score of
191 to 171!
Eventually, Nemesis fought
their way into the finals. The win-
ner would be determined by best
two out of three matches. After
winning the first match, Nemesis
got ready to face off for the title of
MAR Champion. As the match
began, robots went flying across
the playing field to collect disks,
and shot one after another into
the goals. There was no doubt it
would be a close one, as specta-
tors lost count of all the disks fly-
ing into their targets.
Teams cheered and waited in
eager anticipation as the final
score was tallied by the referees.
The announcer called attention
to the projection screen where the
outcome would be displayed.
With a final score of 140 to 136 ...
Alliance One takes the crown!
A triumphant roar erupted
from the stands as Nemesis and
its alliance celebrated their hard-
fought victory. At the awards cer-
emony, Nemesis was presented
with the Excellence in Engineer-
ing Award, recognizing the team
for its elegant and innovative in-
take for the swift retrieval of Fris-
bees. Nemesis now advances to
the World Championships being
held this week (April 23-26) in St.
Louis.
Now that weve won the MAR
Championships, it will be excit-
ing to go to the World Champi-
onships and see how we stack up
there, student Josh Falk said.
Visit the teams interactive
website, frc2590.org, at any time
for updates on the 2013 season.
Ally Drake is a junior at Robbinsville
High School and member of Team
2590 Nemesis.
Special to The Robbinsville Sun
The winning alliance from the FIRST Robotics Mid Atlantic Regional Championships at Lehigh University is shown above (from left): Team
1640 Sa-BOT-age from Downington High School East, PA; Team 2729 Storm Robotics from Lenape Regional High School, Team 2590 Neme-
sis from Robbinsville High School. The victory advances Robbinsville to the world championships in St. Louis.
16 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
Fundraisers to help send
Pond team to global finals
By JOANNE DEGNAN
Editor
The Pond Road students who
won the state Destination Imagi-
nation tournament have organ-
ized three fundraising events to
help defray the cost of their trip
to the global finals in Knoxville,
Tennessee next month.
The DI Global Finals are an in-
ternational creative problem-
solving competition where thou-
sands of teams from all over the
world will gather May 22-25 to
solve various challenges using
technical, theatrical, structural,
improvisational or scientific
skills.
The six Pond Road eighth-
graders who earned an invite to
the tournament need to raise
$8,300, plus their transportation
costs so that they, as well as the
parent or guardian they are re-
quired to bring, can attend the
three-day event.
The team will hold its first
local fundraiser Thursday, April
25 at Moes Southwest Grill on
Hickory Corner Road in East
Windsor. The restaurant will do-
nate 15 percent of the proceeds
from meals sold that day to the
Robbinsville DI team whenever
diners present a copy of the DI
teams flier.
Team members will be at the
restaurant with extra fliers, or
the fliers can be downloaded in
advance from the Robbinsville
Irish Heritage Associations web-
site at
www.RobbinsvilleIrish.org.
The second fundraiser is a
clothing drive on Saturday, May 4.
The DI team will be distributing
fliers over the next week to vari-
ous Robbinsville neighborhoods
requesting gently used clothing,
shoes, handbags, briefcases, back-
packs, belts, ties, gloves, hats,
scarves, baby accessories, table-
cloths, blankets, pillows, drapery,
small rugs, comforters, sheets,
towels, quilts, pots and pans,
bikes and kids toys.
Donations will be collected on
May 4, but can also be dropped off
any day before collection day at 8
Acacia Drive. Leave items in tied
plastic garbage bags near the
garage anytime, except when it is
raining. No books, tapes, break-
able items, or toys larger than 24-
by-24 inches can be accepted.
The third DI fundraiser is a
bake sale that will be held during
the Womens Expo at Robbinsville
High School on Saturday, May 11.
The Pond Road Middle School
team, known as the Hex Girls,
who placed first in their age
group in the statewide tourna-
ment are: Abigail Valerio, Melis-
sa DeShaw, Bonvie Fosam, Megan
Marsala, Rachna Sridhar and
Kaeleigh Sturgeon.
The Robbinsville Education
Foundation (REF) will host its
10th annual Golf Classic on May
21 to raise funds for the Pond
Road Middle School pre-engineer-
ing program.
This years outing will be held
at Mercer Oaks Country Club in
Princeton Junction and includes
lunch, dinner and a full round of
golf. Participants will include
celebrity golfer Irving Fryer, a
17-year NFL veteran who was re-
cently appointed head coach of
the Robbinsville High School foot-
ball team. Fryar and his friends
will be in the Grill Room at noon
to meet and greet the golfers.
One of our core values has al-
ways been that a strong athletic
program is best built upon the
foundation of a strong academic
program, said Schools Superin-
tendent Steve Mayer. In this
light, I am thrilled that the REF
golf outing brings athletics and
our academic program together
in a unique way to support the
growth of the engineering pro-
gram at Pond Road School.
Project Lead the Ways
(PLTWs) primary mission is to
spark student interest in science,
technology, engineering and
mathematics. Through PLTW,
Pond students learn concepts re-
lated to these fields of study
through hands-on projects ad-
dressing open-ended, real-world
problems. They also develop and
present innovative solutions. The
program is designed as a feeder
program for high school courses
in these subjects. The REF has
committed over $61,000 to this ini-
tiative to date.
The golf outing kicks off with
lunch at 11 a.m. in the Grill Room
followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
Cocktails will be served at 5:15
p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Partici-
pants can win prizes in several
golf categories and 50/50 tickets
and door prizes will also be avail-
able.
Sponsors to date include Home
Delivery America, First Choice
Bank and Triangle Copy of East
Windsor. Various levels of spon-
sorship are still available. Those
interested in sponsoring the golf
classic should contact Jodi
Stephens at 609-371-0071 or jod-
girl@gmail.com, or Debbie Baer
at 609-731-7951 or
capesplit2@aol.com.
Tickets cost $150 per golfer. In-
dividuals interested in support-
ing the REF without golfing can
attend the event for dinner only
for $50, or can make a check dona-
tion. For registration and spon-
sorship information, go to
http://www.wtpsmercer.k12.nj.us
/Page/5616.
Tickets on sale for REF golf outing
Two local dancers in ballet
rendition of Shakespeare classic
Two Robbinsville dancers will
be performing in DanceVision
Performance Companys original
ballet, A Midsummer Nights
Dream, based on William Shake-
speares classic comedy and set to
Mendelssohns score.
Emily Pollack, a Sharon School
student and dancer at Princeton
Dance and Theatre, and Nicole
DeMentri, a Robbinsville High
School junior and dancer in the
conservatory program at Prince-
ton Dance and Theatre, are both
part of the production. Emily
dances the role of a pixie and
Nicole dances the roles of a spi-
der in A Midsummer Nights
Dream.
Risa Kaplowitz, DanceVisions
artistic director and choreogra-
pher of The Snow Queen and
The Secret Garden, uses her
ethereal choreography to bring to
life this wonderful tale of magical
characters caught up in a
comedic entanglement of love,
jealousy, and fun, where fairies,
pixies, and sprites make mischief
with the lives of unsuspecting,
love-struck mortals.
After intermission, DanceVi-
sion will also perform Gradua-
tion Ball as a special bonus fea-
ture, with original choreography
by David Lichine, and staged by
Sergio Manolo Molina. (DeMentri
dances the role of a senior girl in
Graduation Ball.) Watch what
ensues as a group of male cadets
are invited to a dance at a girls
school in this humorous and play-
ful ballet.
Performed by the regions most
talented young dancers, this bal-
let double feature is sure to please
audiences of all ages. Perform-
ances will be held 3 p.m., Satur-
day, May 4; and 2 p.m. on Sunday,
May 5 at The College of New Jer-
seys Kendall Theater, 2000 Pen-
nington Road, Ewing.
Tickets cost $20 for adults; and
$15 for children, students, and
seniors. Group discounts are
available, and DanceVision is of-
fering a special discount to stu-
dents studying A Midsummer
Nights Dream. To purchase tick-
ets, visit www.dancevisionnj.org,
or email info@dancevisionnj.org
for more information about dis-
counts.
DanceVision also offers a free,
educational talk one hour prior to
each performance. Get a preview
of the story, and learn about the
process of translating great liter-
ature into dance. Simply come to
the theater one hour early and
show your ticket stub to attend.
Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Emily Pollack (front) and Nicole
DeMentri, both of Robbinsville,
will be performing in DanceVi-
sions original ballet, A Midsum-
mer Nights Dream, at The Col-
lege of New Jersey on Saturday,
May 4 and Sunday, May 5. For
tickets, go online to www.dance-
visionnj.org.
Send us your Robbinsville news
Have a news tip? Want to send us a press release or photos? Shoot
an interesting video? Drop us an email at news@robbinsvillesun.com.
Call the editor at (609) 529-6611.
Our weekly community newspaper is the place to
convey the message about your business and your upcoming events!!
HELLO
Robbinsville
How To Contact Us CALL US 609-529-6611 or EMAIL US ads@robbinsvillesun.com
18 THE ROBBINSVILLE SUN APRIL 24-30, 2013
By Justin Feil
Special to The Robbinsville Sun
Anthony Giesler was on the
Robbinsville High School base-
ball team last year, but his role is
far bigger this season.
Instead of coming off the
bench for an at bat or to pinch
run, the Ravens senior has been a
fixture in the starting lineup and
in the outfield.
It feels a lot different from last
year, Giesler said. I feel more
relevant. You have more of a lead-
ership role and the kids look up to
you. With everyone else being
young, they want someone to look
up to.
Giesler is one of five seniors
who have helped RHS get off to a
4-3 start (as of April 15), when the
Ravens defeated Lawrence 8-0.
The speedster who bats out of the
ninth spot had a pair of hits and a
stolen base in the win.
Hes making the most of his
opportunities, said Ravens head
coach Tom Brettell. Hes got un-
believable speed. Hes one of the
fastest guys Ive ever coached. I
think he was 5 for 7 to start the
season. He puts the ball in play.
Brettell said Giesler does the
little things right.
To me, hes like another lead-
off guy, Brettell said. If you get
him on base and get to the top of
the order and get Ryan Fischer on
too, were in business. Hes a guy
whos waited his turn and is mak-
ing the most of it.
The rest of the Ravens are fol-
lowing suit. After a thrilling
come-from-behind victory in
their season opener, Robbinsville
knocked off perennial power
Steinert to give wings to their
loftiest expectations.
When we beat Steinert,
Giesler said, that definitely
showed people were on the map,
and were going to be a relevant
team.
Against Lawrence, the offense
didnt need much thanks to the
pitching of Anthony DeChiara,
who carried a no-hitter into the
fifth inning before settling for a
two-hitter with three walks and a
pair of strikeouts.
Our pitching definitely locks
it down for us, Giesler said. If
we put up three runs, we can win
a game. We dont need a ton of of-
fense, our pitchers solidify things
for us.
DeChiara and Michael Fischer
also had two hits apiece against
Lawrence, while Stephen Dranoff
scored three runs. Evan Bohan,
Dranoff, Ryan Fischer, C.J.
Gearhart and Dan McKiernan all
had one hit each.
Every day theyre going to
come out and play hard, Brettell
said.
Theyre baseball players.
They love to play the game.
The Ravens new-look team did-
nt wait for the season to begin to
start gearing up for the year.
During the offseason, we all
got together and tried to get some
little offseason practices done,
Giesler said. We tried to better
ourselves.
Im definitely happy with my
success. Coming off the bench
since last year, I didnt know how
Id be, if Id be rusty, if I didnt
have my timing right. Im happy
with my success and how its
helping the team.
Giesler gets his turn
and makes the most of it
campus news
Ian K. Rosengarten, of Rob-
binsville, earned academic hon-
ors from the Harpur College of
Arts and Sciences at Binghamton
University, in Binghamton, New
York, by making the universitys
Deans List for the fall 2012 semes-
ter.
kids view
Have you ever seen a dog with a
blister, or an injury? This is a
sign that this dog has been in a
dogfight. Dogfighting is an illegal
contest where trained dogs fight
or even kill each other for specta-
tors entertainment. The dogs are
forced to fight until one cannot
continue to fight any longer. I be-
lieve this should stop!
About 20,000 dogs die every
year because of dogfighting. Ac-
cording to the Humane Society,
most dogs often die because of
blood loss, shock, dehydration, ex-
haustion, and/or infection. The
animals used to train these dogs
are often stolen or bought
through free to good home ad-
vertisements. Not only are dogs
affected by this crime, but people
are as well. Small children are
often present at these matches
and they start to obsess over vio-
lence.
Some people think dogfighting
is a fun and entertaining sport.
They also think it is a good place
to make companions. The main
reason why people like dogfight-
ing is because of the gambling.
They enjoy seeing the blood and
financial gains from the wins.
In my opinion, dogfighting is
wrong. If you see or hear about
dogfighting, call the police right
away. Dogfighting happens every-
where, whether you know it or
not. Please stop dogfighting by
ending this cruel sport.
Sahya Nara, age 12
The Sun welcomes submissions
from K-12 students. If your essay is
published you will receive a com-
plimentary ice cream from Maggie
Moos, 2350 Route 33. Email sub-
missions to jdegnan@robbinsville-
sun.com and include your name,
age and phone number.
Dogfighting is cruel
Send us your Robbinsville news
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