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After 30 years in Warren County, Covanta’s trash-to-energy incinerator has ceased operation. But the Oxford Township facility won’t be dismantled, leaving open the possibility that it could one day be fired up again.

At its peak, Covanta Warren Energy Resource Co. LLC employed 39 and could process 550 tons of municipal solid waste a day, generating up to 13.5 megawatts of energy.

The incinerator stopped at the end of March and now a skeleton crew remains as the facility is mothballed, Covanta spokeswoman Nicole Robles confirmed Thursday. Employees were offered jobs at other Covanta sites.

But Covanta is not fully decommissioning the 22-acre site and will retain ownership, meaning it could find use again if the market demands it.

The shutdown was announced at the close of 2018′s second quarter, when company executives cited the Warren County facility’s size and local market conditions as limiting its value. The announcement came just a few months after Covanta applied to the state for a permanent permit to burn liquid waste, a process it had experimented with for two years prior.

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Welcome to Jersey, where the sandwiches are fat, GSP can refer to a mall or a major highway and ripper isn't part of the moniker for a serial killer.

If you're not from around here, you might find yourself a bit confused. On your way "down the shore" you might hear the words "Benny" and "shoobie" thrown around.

If you're stopping at a diner, what will you have on that sandwich? Is it Taylor Ham or... (gulp) pork roll? Disco fries with that?

It would be a lot easier if these words were in the dictionary. Well, they could be soon.

As part of its 90th birthday celebration, the Oxford English Dictionary wants the public's help in identifying distinctive words and phrases that, while familiar to you, are totally foreign to people from other parts of the English-speaking world.

The first, called "Words Where You Are,"’ is designed to uncover those regional words like wedge, pumping and flip flops.

"The OED has always cooperated with the public for contributions," said associate editor Jeff Sherwood. "In the 19th century, it was difficult to collect printed material, so the OED used public advertisements asking people that if they came across an unusual word in a book to write it down and send it in."

Fast-forward to the 21st century and the OED is using Twitter to help uncover new words. You can tweet #WordsWhereYouAre or go to the OED website to suggest one.

And although the OED has traditionally been a British dictionary, Sherwood says the editors are "absolutely determined to focus as much as possible on American and world English. For this edition, we have shifted it in a way to be less focused on asking for specific info, but gleaning from users what they think belongs in the dictionary."

But, don't expect to submit your word today and see it pop into the dictionary tomorrow.

Once a word is considered for inclusion, it undergoes a rigorous vetting process. With 50 editors researching the words in New York. It takes at least 18 months of vetting for a word to wind up printed in the dictionary.

Problems can arise in that time, too.

For instance, when editors know there is evidence of the word, but can't find it. The famous example, says Sherwood, was mullet, an '80s hairstyle.

"Everyone associated it with the 1980s and we were determined to find evidence of it the 1980s. When we asked for help with that, it brewed some controversy; maybe it might have come from Australia, for example," Sherwood says.

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"It speaks to how extensive the research and evaluation process is," Sherwood says. "We go through every single suggestion. Does it meet the inclusion policy? Can we find substantial evidence of this in written form? Does it exist for a long enough period of time? We are being a little more nuanced with the regional terms because we want to promote this language that's associated with a specific place."

Sherwood says that although it's the 90th anniversary year, the new edition of the OED, its third revision, won't be finished any time soon. "We are revising the edition," he says. "The second was in 1989; the first in 1928. That gives you a sense of the timelines."

When could you expect to see your word in the big book of words? Sherwood says they are shooting for a 2040 publication.

Say what?

The Oxford English Dictionary wants to hear about words and expressions that are distinctive to New Jersey.

Send your suggestions to the website. There's a quick form to fill out on the Oxford English Dictionary's website. Or join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #wordswhereyouare.

Students from College Achieve Public Schools attend the Summer of a Lifetime program at Princeton UniversityPhoto Credit: Brian Taylor

By College Achieve Public Charter School

PublishedAugust 9, 2022 at 2:56 PM

RED BANK, NJ — More than 120 rising 9th-12th graders from College Achieve Public Charter School (CAPS) — a network of public charter schools serving predominantly low-income and students of color in Paterson, Plainfield, North Plainfield, Neptune Township and Asbury Park — returned last week from summer school at some of the best universities in the nation as well as Oxford University in England through its inaugural summer program. Called the Summer Of A Lifetime (SOAL), the program offered students, some of whom haven’t traveled outside the state in which they live, an immersive experience on a college campus as well as exposure to travel and different cultures through its partnership with Oxford University.

“As lifelong educators in communities with high poverty, we’ve always seen bright students who excelled in high school, got into top universities, and struggled to fit or even dropped out their first year because they felt uncomfortable and out of place. We had to change that,” said Michael Piscal, CEO and Founder of College Achieve Public Schools. “Filling that social capital gap for our students is one of our main goals at College Achieve, which is why we’re sending them on ski trips, offering students internship opportunities and summer jobs and taking them to see plays at the local theater. These are all activities that are not part of their daily lives, but the exposure will help them feel less like outsiders and more like they belong everywhere that their hard work and abilities take them in life.”

For one to three weeks, students immersed themselves in the college experience. They attended classes taught by professors, adjuncts or Rhodes Scholars at the universities, lived in the dorms and experienced the typical day of a student on a college campus. They also visited sites around the schools including Stonehenge and Windsor Castle in England and the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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Studies show that these intangible travel, cultural and life experiences help students feel more culturally comfortable on campus. In the United States, “white students at public colleges are two and a half times more likely to graduate than Black students, and 60 percent more likely to graduate than Latino students.” In fact, one in four first-generation college students do not return for their second year of college and one in three first-generation college students with parents who have no college experience drop out prior to completing a degree.

“There are so many students for whom college is not a given, who don’t have family members and friends telling them stories about their time in college. When they eat at the dining hall, sit in college classrooms, attend classes taught by professors and just spend the day on a university campus, we’re showing them that they belong at these schools, that it is possible for them to get into the best colleges in the nation and that they can be successful,” said Brian Taylor, who founded CAPS’ Princeton University SOAL program. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that for many of our College Achieve scholars, these few weeks are going to change their lives and mold their hopes for the future they want to build.”

CAPS was founded to help close the achievement gap between students of color and their White and Asian peers and to prepare students to get to and through college. They held their first graduation in May, where 100 percent of the seniors at College Achieve Central were accepted to at least one college or university and each graduated having taken at least three AP classes. Programs like SOAL will become a critical part of developing well-rounded students who are ready for university.

“We’re giving the kids a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with an experience they would never have had at this juncture in their young lives,” said Jodi Henderson McInerney, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director of CAPS. “I’ve already seen such growth in their independence after just a few short days of travel. The lessons they’re learning about themselves and how to navigate the world in a safe way that allows them to explore are priceless.”

State testing data shows their program is working. CAPS schools far outperform their neighborhood public schools. Most recently, CAPS students excelled on the Start Strong state testing that measured learning loss after the pandemic. The results from all three College Achieve schools showed their students needed significantly less support than their peers in neighboring schools in math and ELA.

“Many of our scholars had several firsts by participating in our SOAL program: the first time on a plane, the first time leaving America, and the first time visiting England, Harvard, and/or Princeton,” said Dr. Gemar Mills, Chief Academic Officer & Executive Director of College Achieve Paterson Charter School. “College Achieve school leaders know that being able to envision yourself at a top university is a critical first step in our students believing they can be successful anywhere their talents and hard work takes them.”

Similarly, CAPS plans to expand the SOAL program in the summer of 2023 due to its popularity among students and the positive impact it has already had on its participating scholars.

“We hope to send every high school student away at least one summer for the experience of a lifetime to an amazing college or university. We think it will make a world of difference,” Corri Ravare, Executive Director of College Achieve Central Charter School in Plainfield and North Plainfield.

Last April, Covanta was seeking permission to permanently expand its trash-to-energy operation in Warren County.

Next April, it will shut the whole thing down.

A Covanta spokesman this week confirmed that the company is on track to close its Oxford Township facility -- Covanta Warren Energy Resource Co. LLC -- next spring, bringing an end to the 30-year operation.

The 22-acre energy-from-waste facility employed 39 at its peak and could process 550 tons of municipal solid waste a day, generating up to 13.5 megawatts of energy, according to the company.

The decision to shutdown the operation was announced at the close of 2018′s second quarter.

“This was a difficult decision as the facility has run consistently well and the team has done a fantastic job there,” Covanta CEO Steve Jones said during a quarterly earnings conference call, according to a transcript published online. “However given its size and the challenging local market conditions, we didn’t see its potential to be a significant financial contributor going forward.”

Later in the call, Jones said that closing Covanta Warren would depend on finding a buyer for the property -- "If we don’t sell it, we are never going to shut it down."

But on Tuesday, communications director James Regan said that despite no success finding a buyer yet, everything is on track for an April shutdown.

The process of closing down was intended to take several months, both for the employees who Regan said will be offered positions elsewhere with Covanta, and for the 15 or so trash haulers in Warren and other nearby counties who use the facility.

Regan said the possibility of shutting down Covanta Warren had been tossed around a few years before the July announcement.

Last April, Covanta applied to the state environmental department for a permanent permit to burn liquid waste, a process it had experimented with for two years prior. A permit would have helped the economics of the site, Regan said, but likely not enough to keep it open.

However, he said the company has filed only a short-term closing plan with the DEP -- he described it as a basic mothball of the facility, which preserves the possibility of reopening “if the situation changes.”

Sponsored by Nicholas Air

By Davis Coen

The main reason Oxford-based Nicholas Air has maintained the highest standard for safety and cleanliness all throughout the current health pandemic, is simply because they had always been doing so.

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The quality and cleanliness of their aircraft has been the primary concern of the private jet company ever since it began back in 1997. Nicholas Air President and CEO Nicholas (NJ) Correnti considers this high standard to be the most important element of his operation, and has always strived to be the best–and furthermore–exceed all the rest in the business.

“That remains true,” NJ Correnti reinforced recently, “and I’ve watched how in the current environment, our entire team, from the hangar staff to the flight line, have embraced that Nicholas Air Standard for safety and cleanliness.” He continued, “I want our Members and their guests to get on board an airplane with us, and know from the first step that no detail was left undone. We promise them that peaceful, easy feeling, and our team rises to that occasion each day.”

From the fleet of vehicles that drive around much of the country cleaning the planes–so they’re ready the following day–to the Captain’s final touch and approval shortly before passengers board the aircraft, every effort is made for Nicholas Air’s performance to be superior to competitors, in this regard.

Credit for cleanliness is also given partly to Nicholas Air Members, who often return to fly on the same aircraft–so naturally would want to keep them up to their own expectations.

During an interview on September 11th at University-Oxford Airport, Nicholas Air Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Peder von Harten, also spoke to the importance of a Nicholas Air Member’s first impression upon boarding one of the 23 planes they currently have in the air.

“That’s really the promise that he (NJ) had when he first started this business…to deliver a product that was better than what you’re going to find elsewhere, and that really starts with getting on board,” he said. “You look at the interior of an airplane for the entire flight …so you do start to notice little subtle things about the plane,” von Harten added. “He’s been really passionate about providing a safe airplane. Since day one, 23 years ago when he started this company–that’s been his mantra. We wanted a better product than what you’re going to find elsewhere.”

Also regarding the cleanliness of the aircraft, Nicholas Air Director of Hangar Operations Jackson Duncan gave some insight into the behind-the-scenes cleaning undertaking. “We receive an aircraft into an airport that we will travel to. We’ll get on board and by way of a thorough checklist, we make sure the aircraft is detailed top-to-bottom,” said Duncan. “We go through every nook and cranny.”

While commercial airlines have been struggling and seeking huge bailouts, some in private aviation have seen an uptick

It’s been an exciting past several months for Nicholas Air, as they’ve added two new Embraer Phenom 300Es–a best-selling jet–to their already existing fleet of the popular aircraft. “We got these new, directly from the manufacturer. This is exceptionally rare because there are not a whole lot of companies that are still taking deliveries of new airplanes this year,” said the VP von Harten. “So for us to be able to do it speaks to both our financial strength and the growth of demand our company’s programs,” he added. “More and more people are getting into flying private, while at the same time protecting their families.”

Among the other aircraft that Nicholas Air offers are the Phenom 100, Pilatus PC-12, Cessna Citation CJ3, Citation Latitude, and the Bombardier Challenger 300–the latest addition prior to the pair of Phenom 300Es.

NJ Correnti provided additional insight on his company’s prosperity, which includes the emphasis on the relationship with its Members. “Our approach to fleet growth is predicated on data and analytics, but a key part is the feedback from our Members. Our Members are an integral part of all of our decisions at Nicholas Air, as we are here to provide a program that best suits how they want to fly, and what they desire most from their private aviation relationship.” Correnti continued, “we look for trends in their purpose of trip, we ask for their feedback on various aircraft types, and we take all of that information to help us make the next round of decisions. This year, it was clear that the demand for our product is at a very high level, and our recent fleet growth is a testament to that.”

Each and every flight calls for some level of personalization

As the guest of a luxury hotel might require particular accommodations, similarly do many who prefer private air travel. This communication begins with the relationship between the Member and the Member Services team, according to Correnti. “Our leaders in that group work tirelessly with their teams to make sure we never lose that personal touch,” he said. “Not every Member is the same and not all travel for the same reasons. You may have the business traveler that prefers complete quiet on board the plane and three specific newspapers, or you may have the leisure traveler whose kids love to interact with the pilots—knowing these details and knowing why our Members are traveling allows the Member Services team to relay that to the pilots so that every mission is custom-tailored to that specific Member,” said the CEO of nearly a quarter century.

What’s the geographic significance of their home in Oxford?

It was as a youth in Arkansas that NJ Correnti began feeling drawn to aviation. When he finally achieved his longtime goal, set for himself as a teen pilot–to one day own a private aviation company–he brought with it attention to Southern hospitality. This, among other assets Oxford has ingrained in its appeal–including quality of life, greats schools, dining and nightlife options–are a great benefit to his operation, but also is its position in the Mid-South.

“Operationally, Oxford offers us the ability to service our Membership at perhaps the highest level,” said Correnti. “Yes, you have the schools and quality of living for our team, but being so centrally-located allows us to reach all corners of our operation without issue. From Oxford, we can touch both coasts, we can head north to Canada and Alaska, or south to the Caribbean and into South America. They are all equidistant and are done in relative ease in our program. Not being in New York or Boston or Miami allows us to keep our costs down as well, ensuring that each dollar can go into the operation so that we can better serve our Members, as opposed to overpriced real estate, congested airspace, and heavy commutes to the airport.”

The most outdoor-pursuit-friendly brand in the industry

“You’ll see dogs on board–I’d say two-thirds of Nicholas Air flights. It’s an interesting phenomenon because there are companies that will say no dogs at all, and for us, they are part of the family,” said Peder von Harten. Numerous Members have ranches and hunting camps at their destinations and prefer traveling with their canine companions and with their own guns.

The VP of Sales & Marketing said of his own Labrador Retriever, “she’ll get on the airplane, she’ll lay at my feet, and fall asleep at my feet until we land,” said von Harten. “Almost like clockwork she’ll pass out–and that’s a really common feature for a lot of dogs.”

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