November 27, 2019

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP–Hightstown Engine Company #1 firefighters were called to the NJ Turnpike at 8:04 pm to Mile Marker 68.5 South Bound for a well involved truck fire.

Upon arrival of the first responding units firefighters found a 53 foot length moving truck fire well involved in fire. Mutual aid fire departments were called from Robbinsville Township Fire Department, Cranbury Fire Department, Monroe Township Fire Department, East Windsor Fire Company.

No further information was available, firefighters were still on scene at time of this report.

November 23, 2019

By: NJ State Police

***PLEASE SHARE***

The New Jersey State Police is seeking the public’s assistance with identifying a man who committed multiple vehicle burglaries earlier today between the hours of 1 a.m and 4 a.m. in the townships of Millstone and Upper Freehold, Monmouth County.

The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall, stocky build, wearing a green-hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and gray and white sneakers.

The suspect was observed entering unlocked motor vehicles and removing items.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Hamilton Station at 609-584-8115.

As always, we urge residents to lock their vehicles and keep valuables out of sight.

Anonymous tips are welcome.

December 18, 2019

TRENTON — A Mercer County grand jury returned a nine-count indictment this week charging Billy M. Woodard, 54, in connection with five residential burglaries in Mercer and Middlesex counties, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced.  The charges include three counts of burglary in West Windsor Township and two counts of burglary in Plainsboro Township.

In September 2019, a Mercer County grand jury returned a 55-count indictment charging Woodard with 19 burglaries in West Windsor, four in Robbinsville, six in Princeton, four in Lawrence and two in Hopewell.  He was also indicted on many third- and fourth-degree theft charges related to the burglaries.

Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen M. Petrucci presented both cases to the grand jury.

Prosecutor Onofri stated that, between June 2018 and May 2019, West Windsor Township and surrounding jurisdictions were inundated with a rash of residential burglaries.  A comprehensive and massive investigation was conducted by the West Windsor Police Department’s Detective Bureau, under the leadership of Chief Robert Garofalo, to determine if they were the acts of the same person or persons, and to identify those responsible and apprehend the culprits.  The exhaustive efforts led to identifying Woodard as the lone actor in more than 20 residential burglaries during the aforementioned time frame. In almost every single case, the burglaries took place while the residents were at home and asleep.

During the extensive investigation, lead West Windsor Detectives Eric Woodrow and Jason Jones sought assistance from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit (SIU).  Ultimately, Woodard was apprehended during the commission of a residential burglary in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, on May 30, 2019. He remains in custody in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is charged with numerous burglaries in that jurisdiction.

“Although Woodard has been linked to 22 residential burglaries in West Windsor Township, the investigation is ongoing,” Chief Garofalo said.  “The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the WWPD ask residents to continue your vigilance and be observant and considerate to your neighbors.  If you feel something is abnormal in your community, please don’t hesitate to contact your local police department immediately.”

Prosecutor Onofri and Chief Garofalo thanked the following agencies for the support and resources provided during the investigation:

• West Windsor Police Department
• Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office
• Hopewell Township Police Department
• Lawrence Township Police Department
• Princeton Police Department
• Robbinsville Township Police Department
• Plainsboro Township Police Department
• Lower Makefield Township (PA) Police Department

Despite having been indicted, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A Mercer County grand jury returned a nine-count indictment this week charging Billy M. Woodard, 54, in connection with five residential burglaries in Mercer and Middlesex counties, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced. Photo provided by: Mercer County Prosecutors Office

November 29, 2019 (updated 11/30/2019 to include official information from NJSP)

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP–One person has died in a bus accident on the NJ Turnpike and several others had moderate to minor injuries. A bus traveling south on the NJ Turnpike was en route from New York City to Philadelphia, PA., NJ State Police said.

The south bound bus was in the area of mile marker 56.9 lost control and ran off the roadway by the Crosswicks Creek Bridge. It appears the guardrail and barrier had kept the bus from falling off the embankment of the bridge and into the creek below.

The Robbinsville Township Fire Department, IAFF Local #3786, Bordentown Township Fire Department IAFF Local #3091 were dispatched at 8:49 pm, also numerous first aid squads were requested and responded to the scene.

New Jersey State Police said that there were at least 20 passengers on board the bus at the time of crash and some passengers left the scene on their own.

There were seven injuries reported, six were minor and one moderate. The one “moderately” injured person had to be extricated and was transported to Capital Health in Hopewell. One injury was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton and five refused treatment.

The NJ State Police did not release the name of the deceased, pending notification of family members.

The bus was operated by Skyliner Travel and Tours Bus Corp from Astoria, NY

A Hyundai traveling behind the bus was damaged by debris of the crash but did not impact the bus. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the NJ State Police.

Editorial, Opinion

December 5, 2019

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–State Senators Bob Smith and Linda Greenstein have proposed S2776 that bans several plastic items and adds a 10 cent fee tax to paper bags that are the alternatives to plastic.

The intent of the legislation by enacting a “ban” of items is the way to go but any “tax” should be eliminated from bill.

If plastic is really harming the environment lets ban it rather than tax it. Lets not tax the alternatives such as “paper” bags since they break down in the environment, can be recycled and composted and do not cause harm like plastic.

Lets make this bill about the “environment” and not about the money and fee taxes by eliminating the tax language on paper bags in the bill.

I belong to an organic CSA and for the past couple of years they have provided “Compostable” faux plastic bags as an alternative to regular vegetable bags. I tried to compost the bags in the summer of 2018 and they did not break down well and in the spring of 2019 I found them in the garden wrapped around the tines of the rotor tiller.

In the summer of 2019 the CSA ran out of regular plastic vegetable bags and the only choice was to use the compost bags so when I returned home I proceeded to start an experiment to see how long it would take to break down the “compostable” bag.

Results of the experiment is that paper bags break down and the faux plastic also breaks down but takes a little longer than paper to break down. Paper bag will also break down in the environment in a similar way not causing harm to the environment like plastic bags do:

Video final results after 3 months: November 21, 2019:

7 Weeks October 7, 2019

10 Day Compost Update, August 30, 2019:

Start of composting experiment August 20, 2019:

Composting video on how to compost:

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December 5, 2019

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)– Shirley Bishop is retiring after serving as Robbinsville Township’s affordable housing consultant for 15 years.

Ms. Bishop had opened her own private consulting firm in 2002 and prior to that served as the Executive Director of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) for eight years and served as president of the Board of Professional Planners.

For the past 15 years Ms. Bishop has been invaluable in helping Robbinsville Township remain compliant regarding its lawful affordable housing obligation. Her guidance in preparing two “Third Round” plans for the Township in 2008 and 2018 the latter after the New Jersey Supreme Court vacated all prior substantive certifications, has been widely applauded as a master class in town planning. As stated in the proclamation.

Robbinsville Township Mayor David Fried on behalf of the Township Council recognized Shirley Bishop for her 15 years of expertise, professionalism and dedicated service to the Robbinsville Community and issued a Proclamation at the Town Council Meeting on December 5, 2019.

December 9, 2019

This is the full unedited press release from West Windsor Police Department:

INCIDENT:   2019-32225 Serious Motor Vehicle Collision involving School Bus 

DATE & TIME OCCURRED:  12/9/2019 at 3:02 pm

LOCATION OCCURRED:  New Village Road Westbound at Village Road Southbound

OFFICERS:     1)  Chief Garofalo #143

                        2)  Det. Sgt. Skwierawski #465                        3)  Sgt. Lai #470                        4)  Traffic Officer Sabatino #83—Lead Investigator                        5)  Traffic Officer LaRocca #85                        6)  Det. W. Jones #84                        7)  Det. Woodrow #101 

OTHERS INVOLVED:

1. West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company (Station #43)
2. West Windsor Division of Fire & Emergency Services (Squad #45)

DRIVER #1:  54 year old W/F                        Resident of Trenton, NJ 08610

DRIVER #2:  17 year old W/F

                        Resident of East Windsor, NJ 08520

DETAILS:  At 3:02 pm, Patrol, Traffic, & Administration responded to the intersection of New Village Road at Village Road on a report of a Serious Motor Vehicle Collision involving a School Bus.  Upon arrival, a passenger of Vehicle #2, a 9 year old female, sustained a head laceration.  Driver #2, a 17 year old female sustained a wrist injury, while another passenger, an 11 year old female complained of back pain.  Station #43 and Squad #45 responded to the scene for the injuries.  In addition, the intersection was closed as a result of the crash. 

                     The following was determined:  Vehicle #1, a 2019 yellow School Bus, was traveling South on Village Road, stopped at the stop sign for the intersection of New Village Road and was turning left.  Vehicle #2, a 2005 Dodge Neon, was traveling West on New Village Road and approaching the intersection of Village Road.   Vehicle #1 began its left turn, entered into the intersection, and into the direct path of Vehicle #2.  The vehicles collided in the West bound lane of New Village Road.    

                      All (3) occupants of Vehicle #2 were transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center (Trauma).  There were no reported injuries reported by any occupants of Vehicle #1.  The collision is still under investigation of the WWPD’s Traffic & Detective Bureaus.  The Lead Investigator, Traffic Officer Sabatino, requests that if anyone has any information into this incident to please contact him at [email protected], (609) 799-1222, or on our Anonymous Phoneline (609) 799-0452. 

The roadway was closed for approximately 45 minutes. ***************Please note that charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.Advertisement: SAVE 20% at Buy CBD Online – CBD Oil, Gummies, Vapes. Use coupon code dennis during checkout.

December 9, 2019

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

WEST WINDSOR, NJ (MERCER)–The Robbinsville-Allentown Ice Hockey Team defeated Steinert at Mercer County Park Ice Rink tonight with a final score of 9-0. There was heavy fogging due to the high humidity and temperature causing photos to be a little hazy.

Robbinsville #22 T. Thomas scores against Steinert

Robbinsville #12 JP Sferra scores against Steinert

December 1, 2019

By: Dennis Symons, Jr.

A Winter Storm Warning is issued for the Mercer County Area by the National Weather Service.

Allentown, Millstone and Upper Freehold seem to be under a Winter Weather Advisory at this time. Follow the official National Weather Service website for official information on the weather. This may change so keep checking the NWS website.

View current briefing on this storm here.

To sign up for Emergency Alerts from official sources from Nixle see the story that was posted earlier this month.

December 14, 2019

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)–The Robbinsville Township Fire Department, IAFF Local #3786 escorted Santa via fire engine though town. A “Santa Tracker” was available to help residents know when Santa would be in their area. The fire department also collected can goods and other items for the Robbinsville Food Pantry.