Sunrise . . . Sunset . . .

Congratulations, Bridgewater!  We’ve made it through another year.  Although I think that 2012 has been good for many people, perhaps the reality is that it has been an unusually difficult period for most.
 
The Great Recession of 2007/2008 refuses to release its grip, causing financial and emotional pain; and, a great October storm has devastated the New Jersey coastline, seriously disrupting the lives of our neighbors along its length.
 
Nationally, the never-ending cat fights in Washington between the Oval Office and the Congress vis-à-vis the crisis of a non-existent budget, the enacting of temporary financial fixes, and the runaway level of debt – all foreshadow a deepening paralysis of leadership in our nation’s Capital.

Plumbing the Depths of Disgust.

This afternoon, the latest in a series of meetings began at 3:00 pm at the White House concerning the so-called Fiscal Cliff.  Although well-intended at the time, this is a misnomer originally coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in one of his speeches.   
 
The term has since been hijacked by the Oval Office, the U.S. Congress; and media outlets of all descriptions.  All three groups have irresponsibly used this appellation to confuse, to intimidate, to scare and, as a result, to further polarize an already jaded, divided and disgusted American public.

Newtown

When Priscille and I first heard of the horrific murders which took place at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the name immediately struck a chord.
 
Newtown, I remembered, is a location that we pass through when we travel to New England.  Part of our route crosses the Nutmeg State in a northeasterly direction, as we connect with Interstate 84 near Danbury.
 
On the way back home, we simply reverse direction, enter Connecticut from the Mass. Pike, and hook up with I-84 south towards Hartford.   
 
Every single time on those trips, we pass over a highway bridge bearing a sign announcing Newtown.  Deep below courses a narrow, dark blue stream dotted with homes along its shoreline.

Superintendent Addresses B-R Community

The following message from Schools Superintendent Michael Schilder is provided to the Bridgewater-Raritan community as a public service announcement.  It was released this evening via e-mail and is also available on the Bridgewater-Raritan School District web site.

Dear Parents, Community, and Staff,

I know this has been a difficult weekend for everyone and Monday will not be any easier. I did want to follow up Friday’s e-blast with more details on how the day and the rest of the week will be handled.

We are going to take a cautious and careful approach with students, especially at the K-4 level. I believe that in times of stress or crisis, children are best served by returning them to the comfort of their normal routines as soon as possible. Therefore, there will be no review of the event and no moment of silence.

“You Can Keep Writing Checks . . .

. . . but eventually, someone has to make a deposit.” 
 
That comment caught my attention Sunday morning, as I listened to Dan Gottlieb’s guest on his early morning program, Voices in the Family, aired on Philadelphia’s NPR radio station, WHYY FM.
 
The show’s topic centered on the issue of personal health, and of how a person can maintain it throughout life only by making periodic “deposits,” such as maintaining good eating habits, regularly exercising, and remaining socially active and engaged.
 
But it quickly came to mind that this compelling adage borrowed from Gottlieb’s radio guest is just as easily applicable to the current fiscal, monetary and budgetary mess bubbling hot within our nation’s capital.

Christmas: Marking an Event that Refuses to Abandon Hope

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent.  It signals the time of year when Christians worldwide prepare to commemorate the birth of Jesus, a child who would grow into an adult whose beliefs and teachings transformed the Roman world and, eventually, the face of Western Civilization. 
 

He is the wellspring of a religion comprising just under 2.2 billion  adherents across the globe.

Although Christianity is in a state of decline in many parts of Europe and faces incipient hostility and ridicule in America, it is holding its own and continues to expand, particularly in nations south of the Equator and in Asia.

 

Christie for Guv’

When a true-blue state like New Jersey gives its GOP governor Chris Christie a 67% favorability rating, it should come as no surprise that he recently decided to announce his bid for re-election to a second term.
 
Indeed, it is wholly consistent with Christie’s prior statements about his desire to remain here in The Garden State, and to see through as many of his priorities and goals as he can possibly implement. 
 
Earlier this year, despite all of the media attention about the possibility of his angling for the VP spot on the national presidential GOP ticket, Christie steadily refuted all claims to that effect
 
He was completely adamant and sincere about his statements that he is a Jersey Boy, that he loved his job and his state, and that he wanted to stay on the job right here.  I liked that attitude and still do.

Israel: Here to Stay

Why is it, I often wonder, that the rest of the world seems to get its nose bent out of shape whenever Israel moves to defend itself against unprovoked military or terrorist attacks as they rain down upon its citizenry and its sovereign territory?
 
Some of the answer lies in the fact that most Arab nations of the Middle East have not accepted the presence of Jews in their midst ever since Israel was established in 1948.
 
Yet, the concept of the eventual re-establishment of a nation for Jewish people in the land of their ancestors is not new – the Palestine region was being considered as a homeland for Jewish people at the time of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, long before the establishment of Israeli statehood.  The European Holocaust of World War II only accelerated the process.

The Heat and Lights are Returning to Bridgewater

Late this morning, Jim, a customer service representative from JCP&L, said that prior to the latest weather blast in the form of last night’s visit from Athena-the-nor’easter, “it looked like by Friday at midnight,”  [tomorrow] power would be restored to all customers in Bridgewater, where many households were still out of power.
 
But as of 11:09 this morning, however, Jim wasn’t as confident because of the need to assess the current condition of the double whammy from Sandy and Athena. 
 
He said that the “crews were still out there” in Bridgewater this morning, but that there was a “possibility that they could be moved around”  [outside of Bridgewater], and that he “didn’t know specifically” whether or not the crews would remain.
 
Hang in there.  The cities are up and running.  See all of the white on JCP&L’s outage map.  Perhaps now, crews will concentrate on an ‘edge city’ like Bridgewater.
 
The telephone number for JCP&L is 800-662-3115.
 

**********************************************

 
UPDATE AS OF 3:33 PM today:  After this long blackout, power finally has been restored at our home in Bridgewater.  It will take the weekend for us to get everything back up and running inside the house and to clean up the mess.

JCP&L to Send out Estimated Bills

A giant falls to Hurricane Sandy. (Bergeron Image.)

In a conversation this afternoon with a customer service representative from Jersey Central Power and Light (a subsidiary of www.firstenergycorp.com), I was advised that the remaining power outages in Bridgewater will  be restored no later than by the end of the day on Sunday, November 11^th.
 
But no guarantees were forthcoming.
 
When asked about obtaining credit for the days during which JCP&L customers in Bridgewater lost power, the customer rep said that there is a “99% chance” that estimated bills will be sent out, and that they will be based upon either the previous month’s bill, or that of last year for the same billing period.
 
Additionally, I was told that customers will need to call JCP&L for an adjustment if the estimated  bill appears to be too high.  No other information was provided during that call concerning an automatic billing adjustment following the next meter reading.
 
The telephone number for JCP&L is 800-662-3115. 

Bridgewater School Board Elections.

Breslin and Cullen Deserve Another Term.  Petrozelli?  Not so Fast. 
 

Sample School Board Ballot

Tuesday’s school board elections should have taken place in April, as they always have. 
 
Had that happened with no other moves by Bridgewater and Raritan’s Board of Education, those elections would have provided you with an up or down vote on the Bridgewater-Raritan School Budget, in addition to your having the ability to choose three board members.
 
However, this is no longer possible.  Earlier this year, five school board members – including incumbent Daniel Petrozelli – successfully initiated a resolution to take away the public’s right to vote on the Bridgewater-Raritan School Budget.  That was not necessary under New Jersey law. 
 
Petrozelli was appointed to the BR-BOE in an open public meeting from a field of many other candidates.  The board interviewed each candidate in an open public meeting and discussed each of their qualifications.

All in the Same Boat

Rain on Window Pane (Bergeron Image)

I was about to write on politics, but today I just don’t have the heart for it. 
 
With Hurricane Sandy about to blast into Central New Jersey, all of our attention should be focused on surviving this once-in-a-lifetime storm.  It will surely will disrupt millions of lives along the Eastern Seaboard and bring misery to those who will be unfortunate enough to be on the wrong side of luck.
 
So be safe and stay close to those you love.  We are all in the same boat on this one.  We will survive -- reminds me of the song that my granddaughter Margot belted out in one of her school performances.

Union Membership Votes to Ratify Labor Contract.

A bright autumn scene in my backyard this afternoon
may herald a deal this evening at the JFK Primary
School.  (Bergeron Image.)
 

In a conversation with Mr. Steve Beatty, President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association shortly before 2:30 pm this afternoon, he advised me that the membership of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association was in the process of voting to ratify its Memorandum of Understanding with the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education.
 
Beatty further confirmed that the particulars of the proposed agreement currently before the BREA membership for acceptance are the same as those revealed to the public on this web site on Friday, October 12, in specific detail.
 
In support of that assessment, Beatty confirmed that all salary guides are now adjusted and that all contract language is in place, assuming their acceptance by the union membership.

She Became Known to the World as Malala Yousufzai . . .

Malala Yousufzai at her PC. (TV Screenshot/R.Bergeron)

. . . and for the misfortune of being born as a female in Pakistan, this 14-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the head by radical Islamist members of the Taliban because, as they framed it, she was “promoting Western Culture.”
 
The killers intercepted and boarded a school bus, asked the other children to identify her, drove a bullet into her brain, and injured two other students.

Bridgewater-Raritan Schools & Union Work towards Ratifying Labor Agreement

Information obtained on condition of anonymity from sources with knowledge of the labor negotiations between the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education (BR-BOE) and the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (BREA) indicates that the agreement in progress consists of two contracts covering a period of four years. 

Union President Steve Beatty at the  10/09/12 BR-BOE Mtg.

The first-year agreement is “comprised of a one-year contract covering July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012 with a 0% increase and no change in language.” 

(Readers of The View from Bridgewater may recall that 2011-2012 represents the year in which the BR-BOE and the Administration in their budget presentations to the public at the time cited that they were “Coping with a massive decrease in state aid,” and that the budget “assumes no salary increases.”)

The second agreement calls for “A three-year contract covering July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015 with increases of 2.9%, 2.9% and 2.9% and language changes and additions.”

Stop-18-Homes Expert Challenges Development Plans

Mr. Vaucher of Stop-18-Homes testifies at 9/11/2012 meeting..

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, at 7:00 p.m., the Bridgewater Township Planning Board will continue with its series of public meetings consisting of presentations, testimony from experts, and comments from the public about the now-controversial plan to develop land on the side of the First Watchung Mountain Range north of Foothill Road in Bridgewater Township.

What appeared at first to be a slam-dunk proposal to significantly alter the topography of a 37-acre parcel of land bounded by Foothill Road to the south, Twin Oaks Road to the west, and Steele Gap Road to the east, has met with organized citizens’ opposition represented by legal counsel, Jeffrey J. Brookner, Esq., and Thonet Associates Inc., an environmental planning and engineering design consultant firm. 

Both have been retained by Stop-18-Homes, a group of residents living either nearby or contiguous to the planned development site.

It Wasn’t Merely the Video . . .

Ambassador Susan Rice addresses the U.N. on Benghazi killings.

. . . which precipitated the assassination of United States Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, together with three other Americans in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, the 11^th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Towers in New York City.  Not at all.

Yet, that is precisely what we were told by Obama Administration spokespersons – even, it seems, by President Barack Obama himself. 

During an appearance before the United Nations – an event transmitted to the world – U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice declared that the sordid video disparaging Islam and its Prophet Mohammed was the motivation that instigated a gathering of demonstrators which – in a spontaneous uprising – moved violently against Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans.

JCC Extends Usage of Outdoor Pool through the Cold Seasons.

The giant new bubble rises near the existing indoor pool.

The many facilities and services of the Bridgewater JCC on Talamini Road are among the best offered to this community and its surrounding area.

In particular, the JCC’s swimming pools are one of the numerous amenities used extensively by its members.  The JCC boasts a heated indoor pool, two outdoor pools (a large one and a small one), and several outdoor kiddy pools.

They are used for lap swimming, competitive swimming, training and swimming classes, fitness classes for older adults, summer programs for the kids, as well as for general, casual use. 

All About Knitting

 

 

Each Monday, those of us who blog for Courier News web site, MCJ.com, receive an e-mail which shows the number of ‘hits’ (the frequency of your visits) received by each blog for the prior week.  The results are sorted in numerical order, with blogs receiving the highest number of ‘hits’ listed first. 

Those rankings are established solely by you, the reader, and reflect the popularity of any specific blog which, in turn, is determined by your interest in the subject matter and the frequency and skill of postings by the author(s).

Sports themes are very popular, followed by a variety of other topics of general interest.  There is one blog, however, which has attracted my attention over the years during which I have been writing.  It is a weekly standout and different from all of the rest.

School Board & Union Appear Close to sewing it up.

On June 12, 2012, Teachers  rally at the Board of
Education meeting in the cafeteria of the
Bridgewater-Raritan High School. (Bergeron Image)

I called him yesterday afternoon, but before I could pose the question, Evan Lerner, President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education, anticipated my query by saying, “The answer is we are waiting for the BREA’s (Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association) salary guides." 

 
“There are two things left to complete,” he explained:  1. the salary guides and, 2. some contract language that still needs to be worked out.”
 
Mr. Lerner does not anticipate any glitches with contract language, emphasizing that “It’s not a problem.  Some of it we already have, and some still needs to be worked out.” 
 
The tentative agreement which has been reached locks in top-level numbers consisting of annual percentage pay increases.  Those percentages must be spread out over employee salary guides.

The 9/11 Wars: A Survivor

Last month, on a Tuesday in the second week of our vacation in New Hampshire, we had gone out for a walk and sightseeing in the picturesque lake town of Meredith.  On the edge of its main thoroughfare, we waited at a crosswalk that would take us to Town Docks where tourists regularly line up for great lobster rolls.



The undaunted courage of our American soldiers

 returning home manifests itself as much on an ordinary

 sidewalk, as it did in foreign fields of fire.

Cars had stopped to let us by, and one of them was honking for us to get on with it, but I was too preoccupied with observing the young man and woman walking away from us.  I would have only a moment to snap a telephoto shot of the American hero which you see in the accompanying image. 

I don’t know which of our three wars he fought in.  Nor do I know how many tours of duty he may have served on behalf of America.  But it seemed from his age and injury that it must have been Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan.  Which one of those military theaters of operation was the cause of his missing limb, I wondered?

The Unfinished Ceramic

The expression, "Stop to smell the roses"

 is merely a metaphor intended to prompt us

 to cherish the beauty that presents itself to  us daily.

I found it growing in the mulch, next to the leaves of one of the large Leatherleaf Viburnum bushes which stand in a row on the side of our back yard.  This huge mushroom caught my attention when the sun shone upon it on an especially bright day, before we left for our vacation Up North in New Hampshire.  

 
When we returned, there it was, just as healthy as before, with the sun causing it  to gleam like a piece of unfinished ceramic:  an irregular bowl fully glazed at the top, but earthy brown and seemingly unglazed at the bottom – an admirable work of nature, as are all things.
 
This particular fungus measures about a foot across and appears determined to hold out for another couple of weeks before it succumbs to its eventual destiny, which is that of all living things.  I’ll watch it advance to a ripe old age and admire its tenacity as it continues to bask in the sunshine of each day.
 
Thanks for reading.  Have a good weekend.
 
(Click on the image for an enhanced view.)

The Predator in our Garden

A Praying Mantis assumes its innocent-looking

 posture as it waits for its next victim.

One of the most humbling experiences for mankind is that whatever it discovers or develops is merely an acknowledgement or an application of what already exists in its natural state. 

 
For example, the United States was the first nation to have applied military stealth technology with the deployment of bomber and fighter aircraft, one of which – the F-114 Nighthawk – was used extensively in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War.
 
Because its approach could not easily be detected by radar, the F-117 was a fear-inspiring ground-attack aircraft.  Nature, however, has its own way of employing stealth in the design of its predatory creatures, one instance of which is the Praying Mantis . . .

Is it his Wealth, his Religion, or Both?

The Mormon church in Wolfeboro, NH,

 which Mitt Romney attended on Sunday,

August 19, 2012.

CENTER HARBOR, NH – Try as I might, I’ve simply not been able to understand the latent but palpable dislike of Mitt Romney for who he is and for what he stands for.

 
First: His Wealth.  The man is rich.  By now, that has been well established:  Romney is worth upwards of $250 million.  He owns a townhouse in prestigious Belmont, Massachusetts, in a state where he was once its governor.  He also enjoys a waterfront home on Lake Winnipesaukee in the resort town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on 12 acres of secluded land worth $10 million.  No small change.
 
Therefore, if anyone is inclined to strongly dislike another person for his wealth, there is plenty of material to work on here.

The Waning Days of Summer, 2012

On a casual walk this week, I spied a sailboat

 approaching this trellis, and snapped

 a lucky shot with my Sony pocket camera,

just as the sail filled the center of the frame.

BLACK CAT ISLAND, NH – August has always been my favorite month of the year.  Perhaps the reason I like it so much is that it seems to be the most mature – not too young, not too old – a time which, if I could, I would freeze for eternity, ever to enjoy just as it is.

It is a month of balance, heralding the imminent conclusion of summer, but not its end, not yet – that transition is reserved for September.  August holds the fullness of the warm season, presenting the last opportunity to be grateful for this gentle season of Creation.

Up in the North Country of New Hampshire, in the Lakes Region – an area left behind by retreating glaciers which carved out deep bodies of fresh water, there are forested havens eagerly awaiting any weary tourist looking for a peaceful retreat from the sometimes mind-numbing grind of quotidian chores and responsibilities.

Garden State Sikh Association Appeals to Bridgewater Community

Note:  This is one of my longer posts, but one with which I hope you will resonate.

A view of the interior of the Sikh Temple in Bridgewater

 at the candlelight vigil Tuesday evening, August 7, 2012

. (Bergeron Image)

Early on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 – a day that will forever live in infamy just as much as that of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor – I had just completed floor exercises, when I turned to the TV and began to view incredible scenes that would forever be seared into memory.  They depicted the unfolding of the evil-minded suicide attacks ordered by Osama bin Laden against civilians of the United States.

Days later, when Priscille and I entered the narthex of our church for Sunday morning Mass, there, posted on the walls, were eight-and-a-half by eleven-inch posters from the Garden State Sikh Association of Bridgewater, NJ, sharing its concerns about the aftermath of 9/11.

We Support . . . .

The Harmon V. Wade Administration Building, Martinsville, NJ

. . . . our teachers and staff:  That’s what the lawn signs bearing words in white letters against a blue background, sprinkled here and there in Bridgewater proclaim. 

Proportionately, there doesn’t seem to be nearly as many in Raritan, and the number of posters along Bridgewater’s roadways has diminished significantly from the time when they first appeared many months ago.

But the remaining ones still capture my attention.  Over time, they seem to have morphed into an annoying message, but not for the reasons you may be thinking. 

An Infinity of Headstones

Last week, during a trip to the Nation’s Capital, I and some of my family – together with hundreds of other people – paid our respects to America’s heroes with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, on the other side of the Potomac River, across from The National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

 

Rows upon rows, in a seemingly endless

expression of the ultimate sacrifice.

It’s not the first time that I’ve walked upon those grounds.  Yet the site holds a special place in my heart, as do some of the other national monuments such as the Vietnam War Memorial and other similar sites dedicated to those who have fallen in the service of America.
 
The National Mall holds reminders of other conflicts – more than any of us would like to see – yet they stand as a necessary tribute, lest we forget. 
 
I’ve asked myself more than once why I feel such an attachment to these fallen men and women.  Perhaps it is because it has been my good fortune not to have lost in battle my three ‘big brothers’ who were drafted into military service during World War II.

Is it Merely “NIMBY,” or is there Legitimate Worry about Water Encroachment and Other Environmental Concerns?

Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a drive along Twin Oaks Road, the narrow, northerly passage which hangs on the shoulder of the First Watchung Mountain in Bridgewater:

A short stretch of drainage ditch along

 the north side of Twin Oaks Road. (Bergeron Image.)

This short stretch of macadam runs from Morningside Drive to the West and Steele Gap Road to the East.  It roughly defines the northern boundary of a 36 acre tract of land proposed for development.  Opposition to this plan, popularly known as “Stop 18 Homes,” has grown more organized and vocal.

The proposal is currently before the Bridgewater Township Planning Board.  Another meeting is planned for this evening at 7:00 pm in the Municipal Courtroom.  The applicant, Mr. Lang, current owner of this property, is represented by counsel and has also retained an environmental expert who will present his findings and, presumably, his conclusions to the Planning Board this evening.

Smoother Roads and Better Traffic Control Reduce the Stress of Driving.

There is still a long way to go, and a lot of bumpy pavements to fix in Bridgewater Township.  Yet, despite the fiscal constraints under which the Township is operating, the Administration has moved ahead by repaving some of the more badly damaged sections of Bridgewater’s roads. 

New traffic lights are being installed at the intersection

 of Foothill Road and Mine Road in Bridgewater.

 (Bergeron Image.)

It has also focused its attention upon remedying what was progressively becoming a very hazardous intersection.

Mine Road, as its winds its way in a serpentine fashion down the shoulder of the First Watchung Mountain to its terminus where it meets Foothill Road, forming a perpendicular intersection with the latter, has long presented a blind spot to all drivers at that location. 

Example:  A vehicle making a turn from the bottom of Mine Road may proceed to the left or the right.   Negotiating a left turn has become especially perilous.

The Quandary of the Quorum

In its decision to visit the site for the proposed development of 18 homes on 36 steep acres of mountain property once owned by John Wemple on Foothill Road, the Bridgewater Township Planning Board made a wise choice. 

Planning Board Attorney Thomas Collins and

Board President Joanne Kane witness questioning

 of engineer James Mantz by attorney for Stop-18-Homes,

 Jeffrey Brookner. (Bergeron Image.)

But in declining to do so with at least five members of the Planning Board present, it made a very unwise decision – one which is contrary to the best interests of Bridgewater residents and which blurs the window of transparency in governance.

Under New Jersey’s “Sunshine Law,” if a public body has at least a majority of its members at any one place at any one time, there is a quorum, and the event is considered a public meeting.  As a result, the public must be notified in advance and it cannot be denied admittance.

Largely at the prodding of Mr. Jeffrey Brookner, the attorney for Stop 18 Homes, the Planning Board discussed inspecting the site bounded by Foothill, Twin Oaks, and Steele Gap Roads.

To Build, or Not to Build.

The 36 acres of land proposed for development just north of Route 22 and Foothill Road in Bridgewater is an athlete’s stone’s throw away from the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School.  (Some of this Township’s longer-term residents may remember it as the former Bridgewater-Raritan High School East.)

Bridgewater residents Robert Vaucher (foreground)

 and Jeffrey Brookner — Attorney for 'Stop-18-Homes' —

listen to testimony at the June 25, 2012,

Planning Board Meeting at the Bridgewater

Municipal Complex. (Bergeron Image.)

Tonight, there will be another meeting of the Planning Board at 7:00 pm in the Township Municipal Complex to continue a discussion about the eventual fate of those 36 acres.  They were originally owned by John Wemple, whose wish it was that they remain passive as green space.

That piece of property presents an interesting dilemma, because it raises the fundamental question of what constitutes the highest and best use of land within a community – a question which can reasonably be debated from a technical, aesthetic, environmental and societal point of view. 

However, what has been discussed so far at the meetings at which I have been in attendance seems to have concentrated mainly with satisfying the proposal’s technical aspects; that is, the strictly interpreted code requirements of both Bridgewater Township, as well as those of the State of New Jersey. 

But nothing in life is all that simple – and this project might be one such example.

Sum. . . Sum. . . Summertime!

Coming in for a landing.

RANDOM MUSINGS:  It’s one of those times when it’s necessary to put aside – if  only briefly – the daily cares of life and to take at least a modicum of respite to smell the roses; or, as in my case, to observe the workings of nature’s winged creatures.

The very hot weather that is keeping so many of us indoors in air-conditioned comfort has also prompted hordes of others to head to the Jersey shore:  Everybody has his or her own preferred way of dealing with escaping this brutal heat.

The Business of the Bee

I’ve been working in the front-yard garden on these recent, steamy days of early summer, when the perennial butterfly bushes come into full bloom and begin to attract nature’s pollinators.

Each season, bees are the first arrivals:  They waste no time in their efforts to collect as much nectar and pollen as they can and to fly it back to their hive for conversion into the honey that will carry them through the winter months. 

Butterfly bushes (Buddleia) come into full bloom during the very last days of June, and they continue to push out their long and colorful flowering spikes into August and September.

However, the adopted Bergeron bees have been very pre-occupied over the last three weeks with an earlier source of food – the end of June is too late for them to wait for plants that start blooming then.

Contract Negotiations Enter into a Summer of Discontent

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education (BR-BOE) was brief. It was not punctuated – as were so many of the others – by large, but orderly protests outside the Wade Administration Building in Martinsville, or by overflow outpourings of union membership inside the conference room. 

Bridgewater resident Mr. Benjamin Jones
addresses the BR-BOE. (Bergeron Image.)

But low union turnout is no indication of undiminished interest in the still hot issue of the simmering, unsettled contract negotiations for Bridgewater-Raritan teachers.

During the public comment segment of the BR-BOE meeting, longtime Bridgewater resident Benjamin Jones stepped up to the microphone to remind the board that the contract issue will not be forgotten during the summer. 

He stressed that “If you don’t have good morale [among the teaching staff] you are missing the boat . . . I’m asking you to please do what you can to settle the contract . . . It just doesn’t make sense when [we hear] from a governor who is demonizing teachers and [who] considers them evil.” 

Jones further indicated that “There is no reason it should have gone this long . . . there’s got to be some middle ground.”

*****

At the conclusion of the BR-BOE meeting, Mr. Steve Beatty, President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association (BREA), described an overview of how the current process may roll out: