2011 was a crazy year for news, including Hurricane Irene, muncipal consolidation, the tragic death of Michael Kenwood, concerns over a new charter school, even a car crashing through the front of McCaffrey's Supermarket.
Here are some of the most memorable news stories of 2011 on Princeton Patch.
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1. Princeton EMT Michael Kenwood died during an attempted water rescue during Hurricane Irene. Mercer County emergency dispatchers honored Kenwood (AUDIO) and later, Kenwood's family and friends remembered the man who died serving Princeton.
2. Hurricane Irene arrived with a fury, flooding streets, downing trees and downing power lines throughout town. Most roads in and out of Princeton were closed for several days.
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3. After multiple failed attempts to consolidate Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, voters finally approved the measure in November.
4. Things were busy in the Princeton schools, from middle school students' anti-bullying flash mob at Communiversity to administrators canceling the annual homecoming dance due to inappropriate dancing and district teachers expressing frustration with ongoing contract negotiations. Local students made national headlines when the PHS Studio Band performed at the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and a Stuart Country Day graduate made an impassioned speech at an international climate change conference.
5. Princeton's Doug McCune died during the annual Anchor House Ride for Runaways when he hit a stopped vehicle on his bike and died at the scene. McCune was the co-head of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s computational plasma physics group where he developed code and software for fusion experiments. Friends remembered him as kind and brilliant, quiet and humble.
6. An elderly man lost control of his vehicle at the Princeton Shopping Center and crashed his car through the front of McCaffrey's Supermarket.
7. A hurricane wasn't the only crazy weather this year. An earthquake hit New Jersey in August and a freak October snowstorm downed enough trees in town to keep DPW crews working overtime through the end of the year.
8. Days before Christmas, a fire destroyed the Trenton food pantry at Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, which serves the underprivileged in Mercer County. The community rallied around the non-profit, but more help is still needed.
9. The followers of Christian radio broadcaster and doomsday predictor Harold Camping predicted the world would end on May 21. But then May 21 came and went and it seems liked nearly everyone was still here. So when's the next Rapture?
9. The statewide debate over charter schools continued to play out in Princeton, as the Princeton International Academy Charter School attempts to open in South Brunswick and include students from Princeton. The school tried but failed to open in 2011 and PIACS sued the three districts, alleging misuse of public funds and using government position to fight the school's opening. A judge ruled against the charter school and now application to the South Brunswick Zoning Board of Adjustment.
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