By Janet A. Cook, Artist

In October 2010, I was informed that the Trenton City Museum would be closing, the decision was canceled and we breathed a sigh of relief. However, I have just been informed Brian O. Hill is no longer to be the director of  Trenton City Art Museum and I am once again shocked and dismayed.

trenton museum

This will be a great loss, not only to The community but also to all the artists he has supported and fostered since he took on this role.

I know he has worked tirelessly over many, many years to restore, curate and promote this museum on the cities behalf and has succeeded in bringing both Trenton’s colorful cultural identity to the attention of America, as well as fostering and supporting artists from both New Jersey, New York and beyond.

Mr. Hill has given Trenton City Art museum a sense of pride and active role in the community. You need someone with a sound curatorial background to make the right decisions in this role, right now Mr. Hill successfully fulfills this important role.

Mr. Mayor, and council members you have the choice to continue to enhance your community with Mr. Hill’s help or loose one of your most valuable assets.

Please reconsider your decision and keep Mr. Hill in his position not only for the sake of your community, the staff (what’s left of it), but for all the future generations of visitors and artists that he will enlighten and foster.

A Trenton man has finally admitted to stabbing the mother of his child better than 40 times over the course of an argument in her car, obviously killing her, in 2008.

The suspect, 24 year old Donte Cofield, will most likely be sentenced to a year less than his age in prison – 23 years, if you’re bad at math – for aggravated murder in the slaying of 22 year old Carla Diaz on April 19, 2008.

Cofield initially told authorities that someone else attacked the couple, primarily stabbing Diaz and merely slicing Cofield’s finger. After this was revealed to be a lie, he claimed that he blacked out during the vicious attack. This was also found to be a lie after much back and forth action between his defense and the prosecution.

Per a plea deal, Cofield must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family. Once released, Cofield must serve five years of probation.

Princeton University mourns as another student has been found dead.

Khristin Kyllo, an 18 year old freshman, died of natural causes in her Forbes dorm room and was found at around 8 a.m. by another student. Police have ruled out any foul play in the investigation, and the cause of death is yet to be determined. She was known to have a history of seizures and was suffering from an unknown brain virus, according to an article written about her in The Washington Post.

Kyllo was a member of Princeton’s softball team and was a 2010 graduate of James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia, where she was a two-time American Legion athletic scholar honoree. Her death comes ten days after another student, 27 year old Bill Zeller, died after trying to hang himself in his residence at Hibben Apartments.

Khristin leaves behind her parents Thomas and Julie, as well as Tommy, her younger brother.

A memorial service is in the works by the university, and there is a Facebook memorial page set up in her honor with over 500 fans.

Mark Emann, the troubled former Princeton Township police chief will compensate the township for guns he allegedly stole and traded from the department’s stock.

He and two other officers were disciplined for the act. On October 1, Lt. Michael Henderson and Corporal Arthur Villaruz were suspended from their posts and charged by administration. In Emann’s absence, the prosecutor took over the department, but the township can assume control on Friday. Emann pled not guilty to one theft by deception charge for two of the guns valued at $2,400.

It has now been revealed by the prosecutor’s office that the chief traded an antique weapon, the department’s property, for a rifle and revolver for his own use. Other weapons turned up missing, including a number of rifles. The wheelin’, dealin’ police chief conducted his business in June 2007.

Since being removed from his post, Emann has submitted retirement papers, and per his pretrial intervention, he can never hold a position in government service for as long as he lives. He will have to pay for one gun, return the other, serve 40 hours of community service and endure 12 months of supervision. As for Henderson and Villaruz, it is unknown as to what role they had in the deals, but they have since resigned from the department to spare themselves more punishment.

A consensus has been reached – New Jersey residents are tired of snow! Unfortunately, they haven’t seen the last of it as another storm looks to hit NJ head-on.

This storm, slated to come Tuesday evening, could drop 6 to 12 inches of the white stuff on Northern New Jersey by Wednesday morning. Winds will play a role as well, reaching 20 mph at times – not exactly blizzard conditions, but it will throw in a blowing snow hazard.

As for folks in the Trenton area, The National Weather Service forecasts 4 to 8 inches of new snow for Trenton, starting Tuesday night.

Thursday and Friday will be nice days to get out there and shovel the mess, as temperatures will be in the low 30s and clear skies. A winter storm watch is in effect for New Jersey as the storm looms.

A Trenton man who was carjacked and held at gunpoint defeated the assailant by ramming his car into a township police cruiser in front of the Broad Street Quick Chek. The two cops, who were unharmed, took note of the crash and saw the victim sprawling onto the ground, screaming that he was being robbed. They then chased the carjacker, 19 year old Keenan Trower, and caught him with his sawed-off Winchester shotgun.

The scene started when the victim got out of his car and headed to his front door. Trower then asked the man for a ride home, offering to pay him for his trouble. The victim eventually accepted and drove him home. Trower told the man his money was inside, and emerged from his house with the shotgun. Trower robbed the man of $59, and then told him to drive to his bank to withdraw more money.

The victim, obviously smarter than Trower, saw a police car in the Quick Chek parking lot. He pulled into the lot and rammed the car, enough to get the cops’ attention.

Trower was charged with robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and multiple weapons offenses, including unlawful possession of a weapon. He was held on over $600,000 bail.The victim, who is unidentified, was not charged with anything.

Trenton police are looking into a car crash in which the man who flipped his car was shot a few blocks from where it came to rest.

Andrew Leonard, 21, was apparently fleeing from a shooting, as best described by investigators. He was racing down Greenwood Avenue when he hit a tree stump and sent the car flying. It then slammed into a utility pole and rested on its roof. Attendants at the hospital noticed a wound to his chest and notified authorities, who sent in the homicide squad.

Witnesses of the crash describe hearing gunshots and a loud crashing noise soon after, akin to that of a plane crash, according to one witness.Accounts from witnesses trace Leonard’s origin back to Hanford Place, from which he took off.

Leonard’s criminal history is being looked into, naturally.  In April of 2009, he was charged was charged with criminal attempted homicide after wounding two men near his home – an act of self-defense, according to his attorney.

Trenton Police are asking anyone who may have information on the shooting to call the department’s confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663 or (609) 989-4170.

Crime Stoppers of Greater Trenton is offering up to $1,000 cash for tips that lead to an arrest in this case. They can be contacted at (609) 278-8477. Information can be left anonymously.

“He’s a bastard,” said Montclair Education Association President Marge Asterino about Governor Chris Christie in the latest Project Veritas video highlighting teacher tenure and the New Jersey Education Association. This is James O’Keefe’s second video of this series highlighting abuses of teacher tenure law in New Jersey. “Teachers Unions Gone Wild,” the first video of the series, prompted responses from the NJEA and Governor Christie and ultimately lead to a teacher suspension and newspaper retraction requests.

Tenured teachers are completely secure “unless, like, you beat up a kid,” said an East Newark Education Association official in the new video.

“I don’t believe, in this country, that anybody should be guaranteed a job for life after three years,” Governor Christie told reporters at a news conference last week. “I don’t think if you talk with the public about that that they would endorse this idea for a second. I personally believe that tenure, as it is constituted now in NJ, is an absolutely failed and antiquated system which needs to be substantially reformed or eliminated.”

In O’Keefe’s video, one educator said “we hate him” about Christie while others hurled invectives, calling him a “nut,” “liar,” and “anti-education.”

“Kiddie fiddling” is what I’m being accused of, said O’Keefe’s investigator Christopher Heneghan (posing as a teacher) to Newark Education Association President Annette Alston. In a subsequent conversation, a different educator asked Heneghan if he was tenured. When asked if this would make a difference, the educator responded “It could.”

“Once again, the NJEA has shown that it knows no limits when it comes to protecting tenured teachers,” said O’Keefe about his latest video. “But to protect someone they think is a teacher from prosecution for touching children in an inappropriate manner takes things to a whole new level.”

O’Keefe’s second video in the Teachers Union Gone Wild theme is located online here. Additionally, members of the media may request uncut footage for verification purposes.

Project Veritas was founded by James O’Keefe. The mission of Project Veritas is to investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.

Local police are urging residents of Griggstown and the surrounding area to take caution when working outdoors, as a woman recently found herself beating back coyotes with a rake.

The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife was alerted after a woman who was raking leaves in her yard at about 12:30 pm Sunday was approached by two coyotes. The woman had to hit one of the coyotes with a rake many times before she was able to scurry back into her home. Authorities say that it was indeed a coyote and not something easily confused  with a coyote, such as a fox or a dog.

Regarding the rarity of this kind of event, Lt. James Curry told the New Jersey Times “It’s not completely uncommon to see coyotes in town, but for one to approach a human like that is abnormal.”

So what do you do if you are approached by a coyote? Well, if you don’t have a gun handy, whatever you do – don’t run. Be aggressive, wave your arms around and scream loudly. If it is at a distance, slowly return to your home until it goes away. Coyotes aren’t usually known to approach humans, and are known to be shy – good news for those spooked by the recent encounter.

Wild coyotes are known to inhabit New Jersey. The exact number statewide is unknown.

Following a six-month national search, State Theatre Board Chairman Warren R. Zimmerman has announced the appointment of Mark W. Jones, a 30-year veteran of arts administration and leadership, as the fifth President and Chief Executive Officer of the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. Jones assumes his duties on January 3, 2011.

“The State Theatre is fortunate to have found such an experienced, innovative, and strategic-thinking individual to become our President and CEO,” said Warren R. Zimmerman, chairman of the State Theatre Board of Trustees. “Mark’s years of experience in the theater world will ensure the continued success that our patrons, donors, and New Brunswick deserve from one of the region’s preeminent independent performing arts organizations.”

As State Theatre President and CEO, Jones will set the artistic vision of the theater; direct strategic plans; oversee day-to-day operations; continue to strengthen the organization’s financial position through fundraising, sales, investments, and ancillary revenue streams; and handle board development. He will work closely with the Board of Trustees to ensure that the State Theatre remains vibrant for the benefit of the people of New Jersey.

“I am honored to be chosen for this position, and to follow my predecessor Wesley O. Brustad, who did such a remarkable job during his tenure at the State Theatre,” said Jones. “It is with humility that I accept the challenge of becoming President of this important New Jersey arts organization. I am already extremely impressed with the quality of the State Theatre’s programs, the generosity and dedication of the board members, and the talents and commitment of the staff. We will all work together to broaden and further strengthen the financial base, while enhancing the theatre’s reputation as a premier New Jersey cultural destination.”

Working more than three decades for many cultural institutions, Jones comes to the State Theatre with a wealth of experience. Most recently, he spent three years at the helm of Millburn, NJ’s Paper Mill Playhouse, as executive director. Prior to this, Jones was the executive director for Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. In addition, he spent 12 years as executive director for the Jose Limon Foundation in New York.