What's in a name? Plenty of controversy

VERNON-Director of Recreation and Leisure Pat Seger came to Monday's council meeting prepared to share the 40 suggestions citizens had submitted in response to the township's call for names for the new community park on Maple Grange Road. But the council put off reviewing them until the 4 p.m. on Oct. 7 deadline for submitting suggestions. The decision to consider giving a formal name to the land has generated some controversy, with some residents feeling that the council wants to rename the land for political reasons. "Maple Grange has a nice sound, and there's a lot of history associated with the name, and we may want to think about preserving it," said Councilman Austin Carew. "I suggested giving this park a special name well before there was any controversy, and well before any lawsuits were filed," said Mayor Ira Weiner. "This property is not traditionally named Maple Grange and I thought the community should weigh in on this issue. However, I think Maple Grange is a nice name." Weiner also said that the park never had been given anything other than a working name. "I'm sorry that the issue of the park's name has been politicized by a few Vernon residents. The allegation that the council is trying to change the name for political reasons is completely unfounded. There's no grand plan here, no ulterior motive," Weiner continued. Councilman Neil Desmond and Deputy Mayor Janet Morrison concurred, and both pledged their support for retaining the Maple Grange name, if that's what Vernon's residents want. Several council members remarked that names of places have great resilience and people are resistant to changing them. Veteran's Park, for example, is still known as "the Flats" by most long-time Vernon residents. The controversy surrounding the purchase of lands for the park arose because Vernon had wanted to use the entire Maple Grange area to create the new park. The NJ Department of Transportation discovered an American Indian site in the early 1990s, when they were replacing the bridge on Maple Grange Road. In April 2004, the Superior Court of New Jersey's Appellate Division ruled in favor the Department of Environmental Protection's position that Black Creek Native American area of Maple Grange Park must be preserved and protected. Subsequently, the DEP Green Acres Program bought the Black Creek area of Maple Grange from Vernon Township and added it to Wawayanda State Park. The Vernon Web site provides a forum for anyone wanting to submit a suggested name. Seger noted that the department would be happy to accept e-mail or regular mail entries. Those wishing to send a suggestion should write to the Vernon Township Recreation Department, P.O. Box 340, Vernon, New Jersey 07462 or E-mail pseger@vernontwp.com.