March 12, 2020
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (MERCER)–Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin provided the following update to residents regarding Hamilton Township’s response to COVID-19.
“As of 3 pm on March 12, 2020, there are NO presumptive positive cases in Hamilton Township. However, given the fluid situation, the township is taking the following steps to reduce potential exposure to our residents and employees:
With thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee to their shared concern for the safety of our residents and employees, the Hamilton St. Patrick’s Day Parade, scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2020, is postponed to a date to be determined;
Our Municipal Court will be limiting the number of cases heard each day and is requesting only the Defendant, and their attorney, appear to the Court;
Our Municipal Library is cancelling all meeting events at the library, is increasing cleaning, is cancelling some book sales, and is considering other actions as well;
Our Senior Center is cancelling all activities at the center, but will remain open to seniors to pick up their meals through the Mercer County Nutrition Program;
Our State of the Township, scheduled for Thursday, March 19, 2020 is postponed; our Municipal Job Fair scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2020 is cancelled; and other non-essential Township events or meetings will be cancelled or postponed as well; and
The Township is permitting any employee with a doctor’s note directing they, or a family member they care for, to be quarantined without the use of sick time so as to limit the spread to any other employees.
As any additional cancellations, postponements, or other service disruptions are decided, we will continue to post those items to our Township website, social media pages and email system. Hamilton Township government remains open and is here to serve our residents.
We also want to thank Dr. Scott Rocco, Superintendent of the Hamilton Township School District, and his staff for their collaboration in providing updates to us and to our residents.”
Full Press Conference Video 3/12/2020
Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin and Township Officials on the coronavirus.
Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin and Township Officials on the coronavirus.
Dr. Scott Rocco, Superintendent of the Hamilton Township School District
Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin on the coronavirus.
Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin, Township Officials and Dr. Scott Rocco, Superintendent of the Hamilton Township School District at press conference on COVID-19 coronavirus. March 12, 2020. Photos and video by: Dennis Symons, Jr.
March 12, 2020
ROBBINSVILLE TOWNSHIP, NJ (MERCER)–Out of a continued abundance of caution associated with the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, Robbinsville Township, in conjunction with the Robbinsville Irish Heritage Association (RIHA), has cancelled the March 21, 2020 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Robbinsville and Hightstown Municipal Court also has been cancelled for next week.This afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy recommended the cancellation of all public gatherings of 250+ people, including parades, concerts and sporting events, saying “social distancing works.”“We are in constant contact with health officials regarding the spread of the virus and the many merits of social distancing during these extraordinary times,” Mayor Dave Fried said today. “My primary responsibility is to keep our community safe. We are doing everything in our power to do just that by limiting large assemblies and encouraging personal responsibility with proper hygiene and health-oriented habits.”Additionally …
* All Robbinsville Schools will be closed on Friday, March 13 and all after-school activities cancelled.
* All Senior Center activities suspended beginning Friday, March 13 until further notice.
* The March 24 Town Hall Meeting at the Senior Center to discuss recreation opportunities at Miry Run also has been cancelled.
* The March 28 Mercer County Hazardous and Electronic Waste event at the Dempster Fire Training School.
March 12, 2020
To our Berkshire East and Catamount Guests and Employees:
Berkshire East will close for the season today, Thursday, March 12 at 4pm and Catamount Ski Area will not reopen this weekend. COVID-19 has been discovered in the surrounding hill towns and multiple people are being quarantined. To be clear, no known Berkshire East or Catamount customers or employees have been effected by this illness, but as the GM of these businesses, I have a responsibility to my employees and my customers to act swiftly to contain any potential virus spread in areas that I can control.
In 2006, I was buried in an avalanche in British Columbia. While being buried in that tumble of snow the only thing I could think of was “this isn’t worth it…” This experience informs me now as the only thought that comes to me is, “no ski turn is worth a life.”
My role in this business was given to me by my father who loves being at the mountain every day. His demographics put him at a higher risk than others. If I can’t recommend that he visit his facility, how can I ask anyone else to do the same? Our staff is our family. Our guests are our tribe.
Thus, with conviction, we believe that our businesses can be leaders (however small) in beating back COVID-19 from its current beachhead by immediately closing for what remains of the winter season.
There simply is no benefit to remaining open.
The best science shows that this type of aggressive mitigation is both inevitable and overwhelmingly in support of the public good.
We urge other business leaders and our elected officials to follow suit in continuing to aggressively close down public spaces so we can proactively begin to get this insidiousness behind us.
We send the full weight of our prayers to the healthcare workers and their families who are on the front lines of this battle. As this illness spreads exponentially, we must all take immediate action to “flatten the curve” in order to allow our nations health care workers to make effective headway against the current caseload of COVID-19.
We shout from our mountain tops that you can make a thousand daily impacts by washing your hands, not touching your face, practice social distancing and simply sit back while doing everything in your power to stop the spread.
This is certainly an inconvenience to our customers and will result in major changes for our staff. None of this is going to be easy and we are passing into unknown territories. But like any good skier knows, you beat back challenging situations by pressing forward into them aggressively and decisively.
Lastly, this is personal, I’m related to medical professionals working in hospitals with active outbreaks. We shut down out of love and support for these people and the staffs in these hospitals.
We are confident in the future. We will announce a reopening date for our whitewater rafting, zip lines, aerial adventures, and biking in the coming weeks as guidance comes down from the CDC, the NIH and WHO.
Jon Schaefer
Catamount Ski Area / Berkshire East Ski Area
Ski Resorts Start Closing Due To COVID-19 Precautions, Catamount and Berkshire East Closed For Season. File Photos by: Dennis Symons