The Hopewell Township Committee on May 13 approved a $580,000 bond ordinance to fund the purchase of the tract, described as a donut hole in the 28-acre Pennytown site, which is located at the junction of Route 31 and Route 654.

The ordinance was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Vanessa Sandom, Allen Cannon, Harvey Lester and Michael Markulec voting yes. Committeeman Jim Burd cast the lone no vote.

“This 2.5 acres is situated smack in the middle of the Pennytown property,” Sandom said. “Having this property will facilitate the planning and construction of affordable housing units on the Pennytown site. The consensus of the township committee and planning board at this point is to move forward with 70 affordable housing units on the property.”

The purchase of the tract comes on the heels of a decision in March by township committee to scrap a deal to jointly develop the site with Kooltronic, which owns 76 acres on the other side of Route 654.

Hopewell had purchased the Pennytown site when with the intent of building 70 units of affordable units to help provide for its state-mandated fair share of affordable housing. The township then approached Kooltronic about a joint venture to develop a project encompassing both properties.

The joint plan called for the construction of 350 housing units, 22,000 square feet of commercial space and a community or senior citizen center across the Pennytown and Kooltronic parcels.

Under the plan, 228 residential units would be located on Kooltronic’s land, while the remaining 122 housing units and all the commercial/community space would be built on the Pennytown site. The affordable units would have been scattered throughout the development.

The township committee voted on March 25 to kill deal after officials were unable to reach a deal with Kooltronic.

The Pennytown site is integral to the township’s affrordable housing plan. Sandom said that the towship’s current affordable housing obligation calls for 420 affordable units to be constructed by 2020. Currently, Project Freedom on Denow Road accounts for 70 of those units, and the Pennytown project would double that number.

“Pennytown’s location is important for the township because it distributes the affordable housing throughout the township, as opposed to clustering the units exclusively in the southern part of the township, which currently houses all the existing affordable units,” Sandom said.

She adds that Project Freedom has also shown interest in building affordable housing on the Pennytown site. “We expect to enter into meaningful discussions with them and other similar groups in the next couple of weeks.”

District School Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer III, Steve Bergonzoni and Monique Hatten from USDA Food and Nutrition Service, N.J. Department of Agriculture Rose Tricario, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov, McKnight Principal Sylvia Zircher, Food Service Director Diane Tomori, and McKnight Assistant Principal David Bilenker

United States Department of Agriculture and New Jersey Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition officials presented Ethel McKnight Elementary School with the HealthierUS. School Challenge Award.

The award is presented to schools that that promote good nutrition and physical activity.

The school was awarded the bronze level prize, which includes a $500 prize, banner and certificate.

“Ethel McKnight School is committed to offering healthy choices in its cafeteria and only needed to make a few adjustments to earn this prestigious award,” Rose Tricario, Director of the N.J. Department of Agriculture’s Division of Food and Nutrition said in a statement.

The HealthierUS School Challenge is a voluntary national certification initiative for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. Sponsored by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the initiative encourages schools to take a leadership role in helping students to make healthier eating and physical activity choices that will last a lifetime.

To attain the Challenge, the school’s food service director revamped the school lunch menu to incorporate a variety of different dark green and red vegetables along with legumes. Whole grain items and breads were also increased.

McKnight School formed an active School Wellness Council with self-assessment and planning tool that schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs, which completed the Centers for Disease Control School Health Index.

In addition, students received hands-on nutrition education through teams of teachers, trained parent volunteers and Rutgers Family and Community Health Sciences faculty and staff.

McKnight School is one of 68 in the state that earned the award.

Schools receiving a HUSSC award commit to meeting the criteria throughout their four-year certification period.

To qualify for an award, a school must submit a formal application and meet basic criteria set forth by the FNS for food that should be served in schools. Healthier U.S. Schools must also have a local school wellness policy.

More information is online at fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/index.html.

The annual festival is scheduled for 4 to 9 p.m. June 23 at the farm, 330 Cold Soil Road, Lawrenceville.

Children activities include crafts, pony rides, and wagon rides.

Crafts include making bug boxes, antennas and firefly wings. There is a $5 charge for craft activities.

Miss Amy and her Big Kids Band is set to perform. Children can also participate in the “Art of Flying” by Schafer’s Gymnastics.

Pam’s Firefly Tent is set to include grilled chicken, hot dogs, corn on the cob, homemade salads, gazpacho, watermelon slices, pie, apple cider, doughnuts, cookies and more for purchase.

Terhune’s winery tasting room is set to be open for adults.

Admission to the festival is free.

More information is online at terhuneorchards.com.

President and CEO of United Way of Greater Mercer County Herb Klein III, Michele Dahan, Association Headquarters (Trenton), Bonnie Mukerjee (Princeton), Everton Myers of Solvay, CEO of Solvay Jim Harton, Amanda Ramanan of FMC, John Lenox of Rider University and Jaclyn Immordino of Princeton University.

United Way of Greater Mercer County hosted their annual Community Awards Celebration at Greenacres Country Club in Lawrence June 13.

This year, the event theme was A Celebration of Dollars and Sense, which focused on the United Financial Empowerment Center and the economic benefit a dollar invested in UWGMC brings back to the community.

The Community Honorees were recognized for their outstanding commitment, support, dedication to UWGMC and to changing lives in greater Mercer County included.

Volunteer of the Year awards went to Michele Dahan of Trenton and Bonnie Mukerjee of Princeton.

Campaign Excellence Awards went to Princeton University, Rider University and Solvay.

Bank of America recieved the Special Event Awards and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Company of the Year Award went to FMC.

At the event, UWGMC announced that in 2013 the United Financial Empowerment Center prepared more than 1,400 free tax returns to individuals and families earning under $50,000 with an average return of $1,467.00. Preparers brought $2.09 million back into the county.

UWGMC also announced that $1.00 invested in UWGMC brings back $10.07 in economic benefit to Mercer County. This is an increase of 11.11 percent from 2012.

UWGMC focuses to improve the financial stability, self-sufficiency and health of Mercer County residents. They measure results in terms of changed lives, cost savings and economic benefit returned to the community.

More information is online at uwgmc.org.

Dustin and Dylan Roberts stand in front of the old schoolhouse located at the municipal complex. Dylan fixed the building up for his Eagle Scout project. Dustin is currently working on his own Eagle project. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)

After 10 years of scouting, Robbinsville twins Dustin and Dylan Roberts work together to become Eagle Scouts.

Nothing has shaped twin brothers Dustin and Dylan Roberts quite like joining Boy Scouts has.

The 17-year-olds have been a part of the organization since they were Cub Scouts. They have been on dozens of camping trips, earned over 40 combined merit badges, and formed the majority of their friendships through the association. Now, 10 years after they first joined, the boys are both taking the final steps towards the highest rank a scout can achieve: Eagle Scout.

“Being very active with them in the scouts, it’s a great transition to see,” said Don Roberts, the boys’ father. “They went from just wanting to run around and play and not really understanding the structure of the organization to really focusing and learning. As they started advancing in rank, the requirements went from being hands-on to more knowledge- and application-based. They really learned how to think things through.”

Don recalled an early learning experience that he considers to be particularly influential.

“One of the first things they learned was how to use a pocketknife,” he said. “They received cards that indicated they knew how to use it, but if they used it improperly, they got a corner torn off. If all four corners were removed, they got it taken away. They started learning things like personal responsibility at a very young age.”

Now, it’s apparent that lesson and others have stuck with them. They have each earned the 21 merit badges required to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, as well as demonstrating leadership in and out of the troop and writing a detailed final project proposal. Once the project is put into action and completed, they will be officially recognized as Eagle Scouts. Dustin put the finishing touches on his project on May 4.

“It was a lot of work,” he said. “There were a lot of emails. I had to talk to a lot of people. There were a lot of meetings and a lot of announcements. I felt so relieved.”

With good reason. Dustin decided to renovate one of the most well-known buildings in Robbinsville: “Little Red,” also known as the old township schoolhouse, now located near the library.

“I wanted to work on Little Red because the basement area is where our troop keeps all of our supplies,” he said. “Whenever we go on a camping trip, we pull our trailer into the parking lot area and take everything we need out of the basement. Our meetings are in the senior center that’s right next to it. I wanted to give back to the community for all the years my troop was able to use Little Red and what that meant to us. I wanted to get all of the new younger scouts involved so that they could develop an appreciation for the building as well.”

Dustin had to pitch his project to a number of Boy Scout committees before he could proceed. He had to include lists of supplies and materials, as well as deciding how to delegate different jobs and taking photos of what exactly he planned on renovating and why.

He then had to meet with a committee of township officials to make sure what he wanted to do was plausible before he got started. Because the interior is structurally sound, Dustin and his team wanted to focus solely on the exterior.

Once he outlined the proposal, he was given the OK, provided that he abide by the restrictions laid out by the township historical society. He could proceed as long as he used cedar wood in any additions and matched the new coats of paint to the original shades.

Dustin’s role was minimal in terms of actual work. The Eagle Scout applicant is supposed to do as little work as possible. Instead, he is meant to act as a sort of project manager. His job is to delegate tasks and help as needed.

One of their major tasks was constructing new shutters.

“The old ones were 10 or 12 years old, so they were rotting,” Dustin said. “They were getting to the point where they were about to fall off. It took one weekend to build all of the shutters and one weekend to put two coats of primer on them. It took another weekend to paint them white.”

Another was repainting the porch. Due to a mishap, this took two weekends to complete, one longer than expected. The first weekend, some younger scouts didn’t follow Dustin’s specifications, and the job had to be redone the next weekend.

They also powerwashed the building, trimmed hedges and shrubbery and adjusted the glazing on the windows. Dustin and his team of family, friends and other scouts logged more than 500 hours of work during the project’s five weeks.

Dylan worked with Dustin every step of the way. The only times he didn’t, he said, were when he was working on his own project. He is planning on sending 100 care packages to a military troop in Afghanistan.

Both Dylan and Dustin are planning on going into the armed forces after college, so the cause is close to both of them.

“I just wanted to give back to the troops who are out there right now,” Dylan said. “My whole family is into the military, so I talked to my cousins and got their advice. That pushed me a lot. While I was making up a list of what I was going to be sending, I asked soldiers, other family members and anyone who was interested what they suggested.”

One of his cousins helped him find a troop to sponsor, but as he started to type up his proposal, the troop returned home. Luckily, he found another soon after.

Because of operations security, Dylan does not know the exact demographics of the troop. He was told that there are around 80 soldiers in the troops, but to shoot for 90. He decided to go for an even 100. He plans on sending materials like food, toothbrushes, DVDs and even two coffee makers. His sister, a fifth-grade teacher, will have her students write letters to the soldiers.

“They really enjoy getting letters from anyone,” Dylan said.

Any little bit helps, he said.

“This troop is unfortunately living in really rough conditions,” he said. “They have no refrigeration. They’re not close to anything. It’s like a camp. They don’t have a coffee maker, so, with the help of my father, a gentleman is donating two propane-powered coffee makers that would have cost $200 alone.”

He is also accepting cash donations to cover shipping costs. He will donate any leftover money or materials to a local soup kitchen, something that he had to outline in his original proposal.

The boys started filling out their Eagle Scout paperwork last August but have been preparing for this much longer. Their mother, Nina, said she’s seen them grow a tremendous amount through Boy Scouts.

“There are several badges that are based on nation and community, as well as all of the community service projects that they do, including their Eagle Scout projects,” she said. “Dylan’s is based on the nation, and Dustin’s is based on the community. Those are two great components of the Boys Scouts that I see in both of them. They’re developing into leaders, and it’s all based on the Boys Scouts.”

Don agreed.

“As the boys got older, there were more advanced things that they could do,” he said. “It opens their minds in many different ways. Some of the challenges they’ve had to do even include learning communications. It has really stretched them.”

Both boys said they can’t imagine a life without scouting. Dylan hopes to serve in the Army and Dustin in the Marines, and both said staying active in the Boy Scouts all but made the decision for them.

“It has been the biggest influence on me,” Dustin said. “It’s how I got into everything I’m into. I have no idea what I would be like if I hadn’t joined Boy Scouts.”

What makes is better for them, though, is that they’ve gotten to experience everything with each other.

“It means a lot that we’re able to work together,” Dylan said. “We help each other out. The whole Boy Scout community helps each other out one way or another. If we’re Boy Scouts, we’re there to help people.”

Hopewell Valley Central High School’s Top 10 students Nigel Bates, Scott Brown, Lauren Gilmore, Megan Hill, Molly Hunt, Ryan Kuchinski, Mandy Lee, Maia Miller, Michaela Ovale and Melissa Rolwood.

Journalist, lawyer, nurse, nutritionist and engineer. Those are just a few of the professions that Hopewell Valley Central High School’s outstanding graduating seniors are looking forward to as they end their high school years and begin their college careers.

Although only one plans on playing sports at the collegiate level, many of the seniors played sports in high school, including cross country, track, field hockey, cheerleading, tennis, soccer, and softball.

Extracurricular activities were diverse with the students participating in orchestra, marching band, jazz band, a cappella groups, student council, Club For the Cure, and Teens Against Tobacco Use.

Three will be attending Georgetown and one will be going to the Ivy League at Columbia.

In lieu of picking the top 10 students based on grade point average, high school administration selected 10 outstanding students, not listed by GPA.

The school does not keep class rank, so the following students are listed alphabetically.

Nigel Bates

Williams College (environmental science)

Schools: Pinon Valley Elementary, Colorado Springs, Colo. (00-04); Hopewell (04-06); Timberlane (06-09).

Clubs: Orchestra (cello), U Got Male (a capella chorus).

Sports: Cross country, Track.

Collegiate sports: Cross country, Track.

Favorite memory: “Trips to the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island with the cross country team.”

Memorable quote: Dream on! But don’t imagine they’ll all come true. ­­­–Billy Joel, Vienna

Scott Brown

Northwestern University (journalism)

Journalist/Activist

Schools: Bear Tavern (01-06); Timberlane (06-09).

Clubs: Student council (treasurer), Jazz band, Con Brio (a capella group), U Got Male, S2J2 (tutoring in Trenton), Marching Band. Sports: Cross country, Track.

Favorite memory: “When a few friends an I wrote a satirical newspaper about the world ending and distributed it around the school on December 21, 2012, the day the world was supposedly going to end.”

Memorable quote: The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma. ­–Patrick Star

Lauren Gilmore

Georgetown University (nursing)

Nursing

Schools: Timberlane, Stony Brook, Bear Tavern.

Clubs: Teens Against Tobacco Use, LEAD, Club For the Cure, Kids For Kids, Be the Change. Sports: Field Hockey.

Favorite memories: “Participating in the Spanish Exchange.”

Memorable quote: Never a failure, always a lesson. –Rihanna

Megan Hill

University of Richmond (political science/leadership studies)

Government or Law

Schools: Hopewell, Stony Brook, Timberlane.

Clubs: National Honor Society, Four years as class liaison, Teens Against Tobacco, Winter musical, Chamber Singers.

Sports: Cheerleader.

Favorite memories: “If there’s one moment I won’t forget, though, it’s winning first place for our class float in both junior and senior years. These moments epitomized fun, school spirit, and showed that hard work really pays off.”

Memorable quote: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. –Mark Twain

Molly Hunt

The College of William and Mary (undecided)

Schools: Toll Gate (00-06); Timberlane (06-09)

Clubs: Model U.N.; Club DORM; Latin Quiz Bowl.

Sports: Tennis.

Ryan Kuchinski

Georgetown University (history)

Law

Schools: St. John’s International (00-02); Bannockburn (02-03); Hopewell (03-06); Timberlane (06-09).

Clubs: Model U.N., Student Council, Peer Leaders, Leadership Corps.

Sports: Tennis, Soccer.

Memorable quote: Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is nothing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. –William Jennings Bryan.

Mandy Lee

Georgetown University (culture and politics)

International Nonprofit/Foreign Service

Schools: Bear Tavern (00-06), Timberlane (06-09).

Clubs: Model World Health Organization, Peer Leaders, Class of 2013 Vice President.

Sports: Softball. Favorite memories: “Dancing in a kimono for our senior year ‘Mulan’ homecoming float.

Memorable quote: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” ­–Ferris Bueller.

Maia Miller

Stanford University (product design)

Engineer

Schools: Stony Brook (05-06); Timberlane (06-09)

Clubs: Science Olympiad, Student Council, Club DORM.

Memorable quote: Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. –Louis Brandeis

Michaela Qvale

Columbia University (acting and political science or business management)

Acting, Producer or Broadcast Journalist

Schools: Toll Gate (00-06); Timberlane (06-09).

Clubs: Club DORM; Winter musical.

Sports: Cross country, Track.

Memorable quote: We must overcome the notion that we must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre. –Uta Hagen

Melissa Rolwood

University of Delaware (nutritional science)

Nutritionist

Schools: Bear Tavern, Hunterdon Christian Academy.

Clubs: Club For the Cure, Cross Country.

Sports: Cross country, Track. Favorite memories: Traveling to Germany as part of the German Exchange Program.

Ewing Kiwanis team members served breakfast to Ewing High School’s graduating class on June 7, 2013. Members served about 280 students. Pictured are Ewing Kiwanis members Mark Wetherbee, Kevin Burdwood, Barbara Gusz, Linda Reasoner, President Joe Schmeltz, Bruce White, Don Cox, Jerry Spencer, Karl Reasoner, James Kostinas, Paul Karns and Mike Tucker.

Becky Taylor, co-president of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail Corporation, presents a commemorative caricature to Sheree Davis, Manager, Bureau of Commuter and Mobility Strategies of the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Davis received the Trailblazers Award during a reception at the Hopewell Valley Country Club on June 12, 2013. (Photo by Cie Stroud)

Department of Transportation manager Sheree Davis was honored with the first Lawrence Hopewell Trail Trailblazer’s Award June 12 at Hopewell Valley Golf Club.

Davis, the Bureau of Commuter and Mobility Strategies manager, was honored for her commitment to the development and viability of LHT.

Davis has supported the trail since its inception in 2002. She commissioned the RBA Group to conduct an investigation into the feasibility of the LHT, potential uses, possible routing and technical considerations. She also helped the LHT through three of the most problematic sections of the 22-mile route.

LHT is comprised of more than 20 miles of bicycle and pedestrian recreational trails through public and private lands in Lawrence and Hopewell Townships. It was conceived by employees of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Lawrenceville campus in 2001.

Trail maintainers aim to provide alternative forms of transportation to reduce reliance on automobiles and promote health, fitness, recreation and outdoor education.

Lincoln Highway Association to celebrate Route 206’s centenial June 22 and July 1.

By Paul A. Larson and Dennis P. Waters

We know it today as Route 206, but in years gone by it was known by many other names, from the Assunpink Trail used by the Lenni Lenape, to the King’s Highway traveled by armies in the American Revolution, to the Lincoln Highway in the early days of the automotive age.

This year we celebrate the centennial of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States. Conceived in 1912 and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, predating the 1922 dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. by nine years.

As the first coast-to-coast automobile road across America, the Lincoln Highway became affectionately known as “The Main Street Across America”—although in many parts of the western U.S. it barely qualified as a road, much less a highway.

As part of the primary thoroughfare connecting New York with Philadelphia, the section of the Lincoln Highway through Lawrence was among the best-maintained in the country. However, in 1913, today’s U.S. 206 was still a decade away from becoming a paved road.

The 1913 route crossed the Delaware River on the Calhoun Street Bridge built in 1884. A vintage iron marker noting the Lincoln Highway state border remains on its downstream side near the Pennsylvania abutment. In 1924, the highway was rerouted to use the lower “free” bridge, which we now know as the “Trenton Makes” bridge, as the LHA wanted no tolls along the highway.

The Lincoln Highway was marked with a variety of markers and signage, including on bridge abutments, trees, telephone posts, and concrete markers. An original example of the almost 3,000 concrete markers installed by Boy Scouts in 1928 still exists in Princeton, and may be the last remaining marker of its kind in the state of New Jersey.

By the late 1920s, the Highway’s route across the country was well established, but was no longer referred to as the “Lincoln Highway.” As the federal government became more involved in financing highway construction, it began a push to replace highway names with highway numbers. The Lincoln Highway through Lawrence became NJ-13. Later it became NJ-27 and eventually U.S. 206 in the early 1950s.

The name lives on, however. If you go online to Google Maps you will see “Lincoln Highway” as one of the several names of Route 206 through Lawrence.

Keep an eye out for vintage and classic cars on U.S. 206 on June 22 and again on July 1, as two centennial tours will be driving through Lawrence Township. The first will be part of the Lincoln Highway Association’s centennial celebration and the second part of an international centennial tour.

Both tours are starting out in New York City’s Times Square, the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway, and ending the first day of their respective tours in the Philadelphia area. Both tours will most likely reach Lawrence just after lunchtime.

For more information on the Lincoln Highway Centennial Tours, see Lincoln Highway Association Centennial Tours online at lincolnhighwayassoc.org/tour/2013.

The Lincoln Highway Association will host the Official Lincoln Highway Centennial Tours. The two LHA tours will start simultaneously the last week of June in New York City and San Francisco, and take one week to reach the midpoint of the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska, where the centennial celebration will be hosted at the Great Platte River Road Museum on July 1.

The International Centennial Tour, based in Norway, is shipping classic and vintage cars from Europe and will spend a month, beginning July 1, driving the entire length of the Lincoln Highway from New York City to San Francisco, a distance of 3,389 miles. Their cars will then be shipped back to Europe from San Francisco. For more information, go online to lh2013.com.

The Hamilton Elks recently celebrated its 51st anniversary with a dinner and awards ceremony honoring those who exhibited outstanding achievement during the past year. Exalted Ruler Robert Van Hise presents Past Exalted Ruler Harry Schulz with an award acknowledging his commitment and dedication to the lodge, while Joseph Foley was presented with the Citizen of the Year Award, citing his service to the lodge and community; particularly in the area of Special Needs Children.