High Point State Park on to-be-closed list Park closing has Residents countywide crying foul'
Wantage - “Not our park,” people across the county cried when they learned that Gov. Jon Corzine placed High Point State Park among nine state parks set for closing on June 29. High Point is located just of Route 23 between Wantage and the New York State line. The proposed park closings are an effort to cut state government spending by trimming $8.8 million from the $34 million parks management general fund. A firm decision to lock the park gates won’t come until after the state budget is approved at the end of June. The news came as a shock to Michael Bender, treasure of Friends of High Point State Park and a resident of Stanhope. “We had so little time to organize,“ Bender said. “But nonetheless, we had about 150 upset people turn out for a rally to save the park on Saturday. We’re planning another event for mid-May.” “It would be a terrible shame to close a park that draws thousands of people every year. So many people have no place but Lake Marcia to swim on hot summer days, and nowhere else to go cross-country skiing. Every year, thousands of people take in the view from the top of Kittatinny Mountain, and camp at Sawmill Lake just as they have done for generations,” Bender added, noting that thousand of school children, including children from city schools, are drawn to the park’s renovated Interpretive Center to learn about nature and the outdoor world. In a June 10, 2005 ceremony, Acting Governor Richard Codey rededicated the renovated 1929 stone pillar that marks the highest point in the state. The monument is dedicated “to the glory and honor and eternal memory of New Jersey’s heroes by land, sea and air; in all wars.” Now only the outside lighting remains to be completed. World War II veteran and VFW member Vincent Scordato of Vernon said he was deeply saddened to think about the park’s being closed. By tradition, local veterans hold a yearly memorial ceremony at the foot of the monument. This year may be the last. The park is slated to close the day after the ceremony. Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Sussex, Morris and Hunterdon) said he meant to rise to the occasion to help the people fight for their park. He stood with the crowd at the rally on Saturday, April 5, and charged the governor with unfairly targeting Republican counties. The freshman assemblyman added that in a state in which many of its residents are struggling to make ends meet, the parks are an affordable source of recreation for many middle class families. The park at 11,000 acres, the largest in the state draws roughly 202,500 visitors every year and generates about $210,000 in entrance fees, Elaine Makaturo of the N.J. Dept. Of Environmental Protection said in a telephone interview with this newspaper. Salaries for the six staff members come to $357,000. Figures for the other costs involved in running the part aren’t yet available. Philanthropists Colonel and Mrs. Anthony Kuser donated the land to the state in 1923, and it remains the largest land donation in the history of the state. The N.J. Dept. of Environmental Protection is inviting public commentary. To add your voice to the discussion, e-mail the department at njparkscomments@dep.state.nj.us