7th Annual Car Show . May 7 . 2011 . Bridgewater Library . Bridgewater . Somerset County

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The Bridgewater Library will hold its 7th Annual Car Show on Saturday, May 7, 2011. Registration and admission are FREE! All makes, models and years are welcome to register. Some of the vehicles already registered include a 1915 Ford Model T, a 1969 Chevy Camaro, and a 2009 Dodge Challenger, just to name a few! Spectators will be invited to vote for their favorite cars and trophies and prizes will be awarded to the winners. The prize categories are: Best in Show (1st, 2nd & 3rd place), Dream Car (1st, 2nd & 3rd place), Best Exterior, Best Interior and Best Engine. To register or to see pictures and a winners list from last year’s show, go to: http://www.somerset.lib.nj.us/new/carcatalog.htm.

Monday Movie Matinee at Lawrence Library . February 14 . Lawrenceville . Mercer County

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Monday Movie Matinee

Monday, February 14, 2:00 p.m.

The Oscar-winning film, Once, is a modern-day musical about a street musician and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.

Refreshments will be served. Registration suggested. Call 609-989-6920 or email lawprogs@mcl.org.

The Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the Mercer County Library System is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Open Hearth Cooking . Covenhoven Open House . March 5 . 2011 . Freehold . Monmouth County

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FREEHOLD – The Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA) invites the public to enjoy an open hearth cooking demonstration at the Covenhoven house on March 5, 2011 – 12 to 4 pm. Learn about 18th century life inside Covenhoven House, 150 West Main Street in Freehold, New Jersey. Suggested donation at the door.  Maintained by the MCHA, this elegant farmhouse was occupied by British Commander-in-Chief Henry Clinton prior to the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778.

Built in 1752 by Elizabeth and William Covenhoven, the house has been restored and furnished by MCHA with the aid of a 1790 inventory. Open hearth cooking demonstrations are part of the interpretation of how a prosperous farmer and his wife lived in the late 18th century. A tour of the 1750′s house shows what life was like for the Covenhoven family as they moved away from their Dutch traditions and embraced a more English lifestyle.

The Covenhoven staff and volunteers will demonstrate using an 18th century cooking hearth. Visitors will be able to watch a cooking demonstration, discuss hearth cooking with the volunteers and will be invited to sample the prepared period foods. Susan Luczu, volunteer cook, will prepare several items on the hearth. She volunteers regularly with school tours and to assist with the open house events. In addition to the cooking, she will discuss cooking implements, methods and the differences between cooking in an 18th century kitchen and a modern kitchen.

Find out more about Covenhoven House Here. For more information on the Monmouth County Historical Society, see the website: www.monmouthhistory.org

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Poetry Writing . Free Course. Lawrence Library . Begins February 12 . Lawrenceville

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Write with a Writer at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch Library of the MCLS. Learn the art of poetry first hand by writing with a writer. Local poet Jean Hollander will teach this free course offered on Saturday afternoons beginning February 12, 2–4:00 p.m. Registration for the course is required and space is limited to 15 participants. The last class will be an open reading for participants to read their works for friends and family.

Ms. Hollander has taught literature and writing at Princeton University, Brooklyn College, Columbia University and the College of New Jersey where she directed the Writers Conferences for 23 years. Hundreds of her poems have appeared in literary journals, anthologies and other poetry collections.   

The Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the MCLS is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ. For more information about this and other library programs visit www.mcl.org or call 609-989-6920.

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Art Classes for Preschoolers . February 7 . 14 . 21 . 28 . 2011 . Community Childrens Museum . Dover . Morris County

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DOVER - The Community Children’s Museum is now offering creative and fun art classes for children K-2nd grade and for Preschoolers 3-5 years old starting in February at 77 East Blackwell St., Dover, NJ. The enthusiasm and knowledge of Courtney Maxwell, a Masters in Art Education, will inspire and excite the children for both classes. The Art Exploration Class for Kg-2nd graders will be held on Monday’s from 4-5pm and will have the children experimenting with paper making, print making, clay work and painting. At the end of the class they can display their great works of art in a group show at the museum’s art gallery. This process oriented, after school art class will bring Art Play back into children’s lives.  A child can sign up for just one class at $12 or the four classes to receive the discount rate of $43.  It is mandatory to pre register for each class. Parents can stay or drop off their child.

Preschoolers 3-5 years old will love this other kind of story time where they become the characters in the book. The class will focus on one story and the children will make the simple props and costumes for the telling of the story on the last day of class for the parents/caregivers. This imaginative program will be held on Tuesday’s from 10am-11am starting February 8th at the museum. Parents must stay for each class. A child can sign up for just one class at $7 or the four classes to receive the discount rate of $25.  It is mandatory to pre-register for each class. Call 973-366-9060 or email ccmuseum@gmail.com to sign up today.

The Community Children’s Museum is a non profit organization where children can explore and learn through hands on fun in art, science and world cultures.  The Museum’s hours are Thursday thru Saturday 10am to 5pm and admission is $5 per person 6 months and older and $4 for seniors.  Birthday parties and groups 10 or more can be scheduled anytime. Funding for the museum has been made possible in part by the Arts Council of the Morris Area through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.  For more information call (973) 366-9060 or visit www.communitychildrensmuseum.org

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$3.2 Million in Federal Grants Coming to New Jersey for Clean Water Projects

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 TRENTON * The Christie Administration today announced the award of $3.2 million in grants to fund 6 nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control projects throughout the State, including $1 million targeting polluting runoff into Barnegat Bay. These grant projects, funded through the Department of Environmental Protection’s federal Clean Water Act Section 319(h) Grant Program, are designed to reduce the amount of nonpoint source pollution entering the State’s waters, thereby restoring and protecting water quality in priority watersheds.

NPS pollution results from animal waste, excess fertilizers, motor vehicle fluids, litter and other pollutants that are washed into local waterways by stormwater runoff. Reducing this runoff is one of the key components of Gov. Christie’s comprehensive 10-point Barnegat Bay Restoration Plan.

The largest award, $1 million, goes to the nonprofit American Littoral Society and will be earmarked for the group’s continued Barnegat Bay improvement efforts. Also funded are projects in the city of Camden, and for the Troy Brook Watershed in Morris County, Great Swamp Watershed in Morris and Somerset counties, plus the Cooper River and Upper Cohansey watersheds in South Jersey.

“Ensuring the quality of the State’s potable water supply and the recreational value of our rivers, streams and coastal waters is a priority of Gov. Christie and the DEP,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. “These projects that have been funded all will play an important role in improving water quality, especially in Barnegat Bay, and enhancing our environment.”

Five of the six projects that have been funded will implement nonpoint source pollution abatement projects associated with DEP-approved Watershed Restoration and Protection Plans. The sixth award is an Environmental Justice Communities of Concern Program award for an urban stormwater demonstration and education outreach project being undertaken by Rutgers University in Camden.

The $1 million award to the American Littoral Society, which is a coastal conservation association, builds upon prior and existing implementation and planning initiatives previously funded by the Department. It advances efforts that are aligned with the Governor’s comprehensive action plan to address the health of Barnegat Bay.

The first goal of this project will be to develop a stormwater basin priority selection methodology that builds on previous efforts initiated by Ocean County, Rutgers University and the Ocean County Soil Conservation District. Stormwater basins selected for retrofit will be prioritized based on cost and pollutant load reduction estimates with the focus on reducing nutrient and sediment loadings into Barnegat Bay.

This project also will undertake pollutant source reductions through construction of smaller bio-retention facilities and technologies in these and other priority sub-watersheds, while providing much needed groundwater recharge in areas where impervious surfaces dominate the landscape.

Other grant awards include:

*$500,000 to Rutgers University to implement NPS measures identified in the Troy Brook Watershed Restoration and Protection Plan. Disconnection of impervious surfaces in targeted watersheds will be undertaken through the construction of bio-retention structures and rain gardens.

*$712,500 to Rutgers University to carry out agricultural NPS control projects throughout the Upper Cohansey Watershed through a partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It will result in the establishment of vegetative buffers and bio-retention structures along waterways to reduce pathogens and nutrient loadings.

*$400,000 to the Camden County Soil Conservation District to undertake a project within the Cooper River Watershed to implement NPS measures that will address fecal and nutrient loadings. The Conservation District will retrofit stormwater basins, construct roadside swales and rain gardens and undertake a demonstration project using innovative floating wetland treatment technologies designed to reduce nutrient loadings.

*$300,000 to the Great Swamp Watershed Association to implement agricultural NPS control projects to reduce pathogens and nutrient loadings in the Loantaka Watershed that are identified in the Great Swamp Watershed Plan. This project, to be done in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, will result in establishment of vegetative buffers and bio-retention structures and manure management programs to reduce fecal coliform impairments.

*$300,000 to Rutgers University to implement green infrastructure projects, such as bio-retention facilities and rain gardens, to capture, treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff in the City of Camden. It also will provide education and training programs that focus on teaching adults and youth the importance of stormwater management.

3 Raritan River Dams to be Removed

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TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection has secured a landmark agreement that will open up a large stretch of the Raritan River for fish spawning as compensation to the public for harm to natural resources caused by past pollution at a refinery and three polymer plants that were operated by or affiliated with the El Paso Corp., Commissioner Bob Martin announced today.

The removal of the dams, financed and carried out by El Paso, will open up a nearly 10-mile stretch of the middle and upper Raritan to fish migrations for the first time in more than a century, at the same time expanding recreational opportunities along the river.

“This unique and unprecedented settlement will make valuable habitat in the Raritan River available for fish spawning while improving overall environmental conditions in the river system,” Commissioner Martin said. “In addition, dam removal will make it easier for kayakers, canoeists, and other lovers of the outdoors to enjoy a river system that has been undergoing a steady and impressive ecological comeback over the years.”

The settlement resolves Natural Resource Damage claims by the DEP against the Houston-based company that stem from contamination at EPEC Polymers Inc in Flemington, Hunterdon County; Nuodex Inc. in Woodbridge, Middlesex County; EPEC Polymers Inc. in Burlington City, Burlington County; and the Eagle Point Refinery in West Deptford, Gloucester County. Investigations and/or cleanups are under way at those sites.

The settlement marks an important first step in what the DEP hopes will become an even broader effort to enhance fish passage or remove additional dams in the Raritan and its tributaries, including the Millstone River.

“This portion of the river was once an important spawning area for fish migrating from Raritan Bay,” said Amy Cradic, Assistant Commissioner for Natural and Historic Resources. “This agreement is a major win for the environment by reopening these spawning areas and helping to restore balance to the estuary.”

Dam removal will open up 10 miles of migratory fish habitat along a stretch of the Raritan that twists through a highly diverse residential, commercial and agricultural portion of Somerset County that includes Bridgewater, Bound Brook, Somerville and Manville. It will also open up some 17 miles of tributaries to spawning. None of the dams were built for flood control.

The dams to be removed are:

* Calco Dam, located at river mile 20.9 and built by the Calco Chemical Co. in 1938 to disperse chemicals from its facility. The dam is essentially a large concrete pipe spanning the river that today carries and disperses wastewater into the river for Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority. The authority has constructed a new outfall that will be operational shortly.

* The Nevius Street Dam, located at river mile 27 and constructed of rocks and mortar in 1901 for aesthetic purposes and later retrofitted to provide water to ponds on the Duke estate. The DEP and El Paso are working on a plan to ensure the river continues to feed water to these ponds after the dam is removed.

* The Robert Street Dam, a 6 ½-foot-high sheet piling and concrete dam located at river mile 27.9 and constructed prior to 1930 for purposes that are not known today.

The Island Farm wier, a dam located between the Calco and Nevius dams and constructed in the 1990s for the Elizabethtown Water Co. and the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, is not affected by the agreement with El Paso. A large fish ladder in operation at this dam is routinely monitored by the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The fish to benefit most from the removal of the dams are American shad, American eel, herring, and striped bass. Each of these species once spawned in prodigious numbers in the gravelly shallows of the upper Raritan.

Striped bass and shad are important recreational species. Herring and eel are important food sources for other species in the ocean and estuaries, including game species such as striped bass, weakfish and bluefish.

Better water flow in the river will also improve flushing of sediments, reduce nutrient loadings and improve conditions for tiny aquatic organisms that are critical to the food web in any river system, Assistant Commissioner Cradic said.

El Paso approached the DEP several years ago to cooperatively resolve its Natural Resource Damage liability. Natural Resource Damage claims seek to restore natural resources such as wetlands or groundwater and compensate the public for the amount of time the resources were harmed by pollution.

The DEP uses funds secured from Natural Resource Damage settlements toward ecological restoration projects, typically in the same watershed or general area where resource damages occur.

The Flemington and Woodbridge polymer facilities are located in the Raritan’s watershed. The Eagle Point refinery, which El Paso once owned, and the Burlington County polymer facility are located in the Delaware River watershed. El Paso has agreed to provide the DEP $156,655 for a migratory fish study for the Delaware watershed.

The DEP has been working closely with stakeholders, including dam owners, environmental groups, property owners, local utilities, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make the Raritan River project a reality.

The DEP will continue working with El Paso as the company designs and implements the project. The company has already completed significant engineering studies and is expected to soon file for dam safety, land use and other DEP permits. The company is expected to launch the project this summer with the removal of the Calco Dam.

For a copy of the settlement agreement, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/docs/elpaso-nrd-settlement.pdf

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Lambertville – New Hope Winter Festival . January 28 . 29 . 30 . 2011 . Lambertville . Hunterdon County

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LAMBERTVILLE & NEW HOPE – As the holiday season is just around the corner, the 2011 Lambertville- New Hope Winter Festival will begin on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 and end on Sunday January 30th. The 2011 Winter Festival committee has been very busy over the past year planning and updating our events and activities. Winter Festival offers seasonal activities highlighting the beauty of our twin river town communities in the winter months.

For 2011 Winter Festival has selected POCO to headline this year’s annual concert. POCO, best known for their 1979 hit “Crazy Love”, will heat up the Stephen J Buck Musical Theater, New Hope PA, on Friday, January 28th at 8pm. This special evening will warm your soul with their soft seventies American country rock style. POCO continues the strong Winter Festival tradition of singer song writer performances. For the past several years, the band has toured performing their original acoustic songs at festivals across the country. This annual live musical performance will be the perfect start to your 2011 Winter Festival weekend.

What’s New for 2011? We are excited to announce:

New Hope Parks & Recreation Presents: A Festival Tribute to the Biermans!

Saturday, January 29th at Occasions, New Hope, Pa from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. This elegant evening will pay tribute to New Hope’s first couple, June and Earl Bierman. For decades, The Biermans, who are founding members of Winter Festival, have supported every community organization with grace and charm. Their hard work and dedication has shaped our twin river communities. New Hope Park and Recreation wishes to express their gratitude for their dedication to the community as well as their good humor and unwavering spirit. June and Earl are the finest example of community ambassadors any community would be proud to have. This tribute event will include a cocktail party including open bar through-out the evening, a fabulous sit down dinner, a lively festival tribute to June and Earl as well as a full cabaret musical performance by New Hope’s Tom Bateman on piano and Mary Szczesniak on vocals as the perfect ending to your evening. This exclusive tribute is limited to 200 guests.

For complete schedule of events and information and to buy tickets, visit www.winterfestival.net

About Twin River Town Projects:

Twin Rivertown Projects, Inc. is a 501c Non- Profit Corporation of hard-working and fun loving New Hope, PA and Lambertville, NJ business owners, residents and other good spirited people who live in the area.

We have three goals:

  • To provide a healthy, invigorating cold-weather experience in our river town communities
  • To demonstrate that our multi-faceted communities are alive and well in the winter
    months with exciting and diverse activities
  • To raise funds and awareness for other local non-profit organizations

We have selected the New Hope, Lambertville, and Solebury Parks and Recreation Departments and local food bank: Fisherman’s Mark, as the primary recipients of our proceeds this year. Winter Festival also benefits other community organizations such as Social Services, Schools, Fire, Police and Rescue organizations. Again this year, we are hosting a Food Drive for Fisherman’s Mark. Bring a non perishable food item to the festival and place in blue donation canisters located at most festival events and along the parade route.

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New Hope & Lambertville Winter Festival to Feature Poco Concert . January 28 . 2011 . New Hope

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LAMBERTVILLE - Country band POCO will “rock” the 2011 Winter Festival concert with their unique country music performance on Friday, January 28, in New Hope Solebury High School’s Steven J. Buck Theater at 180 West Bridge Street at 8 p.m. Formed in 1968 following the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, POCO pioneered the country-rock sound and scored hit after hit with such chart topping songs as “Crazy Love,” “Heart of the Night,” “Rose of Cimarron” and “Pickin Up the Pieces.”

VIP ticket holders have a great opportunity to meet band members Rusty Young, Jack Sundrud, Mike Webb and George Lawrence at a special pre-concert reception that will be held at the Logan Inn from 6 to 7:30 PM. The VIP ticket package includes the reception, priority seating at the concert, and trolley service between the theater and the Logan Inn before and after the concert.

Opening the show will be New Hope local singer and songwriter Gregg Cagno, a two time ASCAPlus award winner for the folk genre. Go to the Winter Festival website at http://www.winterfestival.net for complete concert and VIP ticket information plus the full schedule of local events and activities.

Lambertville – New Hope Winter Festival . Bucks County Playhouse Walking Tour . January 30 . New Hope

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NEW HOPE – The New Hope Historical Society’s ninth annual Walking Tour of Historic New Hope will feature a presentation on the history of the Bucks County Playhouse. The popular annual walk will begin at the Parry Mansion on South Main and Ferry Streets in New Hope at 2:00 PM on Sunday, January 30. Ben Meadows, president of the New Hope Historical Society, explained the growing interest in the annual event. “We are so fortunate in New Hope to have preserved beautiful buildings from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries in such a small town comprising just one thousand acres, he said. “This year, with the heightened interest in the future of the Bucks County Playhouse, we thought it would be exciting to relate its fascinating history and importance to New Hope and Bucks County,” he added. The walking tour was produced by Roy Ziegler and Barry Ziff who have conducted the event every year since its inception.

At least twenty-five buildings will be included in the tour with descriptions of families and businesses that have occupied them over the past three centuries. The tour guides will explain New Hope’s amazing transition from an early farm community to its prominence as the industrial and manufacturing capital of Bucks County in the nineteenth century to its present claim as the entertainment capital of the county. The Walking Tour will wind its way around New Hope’s historic district from the Parry Mansion to the Delaware River and Delaware Canal. Following the tour, guests are invited to the Parry Mansion for a tour and refreshments. Admission to the tour is free. For further information contact the New Hope Historical Society at 215-862-5652 or visit their website at newhopehistoricalsociety.org.

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