Gas main accident forces evacuation of preschool BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer ENGLISHTOWN - A gas main break tied up traffic for hours and led to the evacuation of a strip mall and a preschool on the afternoon of May 8. Englishtown Police Chief John Niziolek said a contractor working on a construction project on Wilson Avenue near Gordons Corner Road tore a lateral off a gas main and released natural gas into the air at about 3 p.m. The accident caused Wilson Avenue to be closed until about 2 a.m. May 9. A strip mall on Wilson Avenue that includes a Dunkin Donuts store and a dance school was evacuated, he said. Niziolek said the Englishtown police recommended that Manalapan police evacuate a Goddard School, also on Wilson Avenue, just over the border in Manalapan. In addition, three families were evacuated from their Wilson Avenue homes in Englishtown, the chief said. The Englishtown Police Department, the Englishtown Fire Department, J.F. Kiely Construction and New Jersey Natural Gas responded to the scene of the accident. Bonnie Seidel, of Marlboro, the parent of a 4-year-old child who attends the Goddard School, thanked the school's owner, Joe Spinosi, for the organization and professionalism displayed by the staff of the school during the evacuation. Seidel said everyone remained safe and happy in what could have been a frightening situation for the young children. "The teachers cared for the infants and all of the children in an unbelievable way," Seidel said. "I wish the parents of all the children could have been there to see it. I thank Mr. Spinosi for taking it upon himself to implement the plan, for having the staff and children practice it and for having the staff execute it so beautifully." Spinosi told the News Transcript that the incident on May 8 was the first time the evacuation plan had to be used. He said the school, which opened in June 2006 and cares for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years, conducts monthly evacuation drills. Spinosi said he was out of town when the incident occurred, but he praised school director Caleope Bernhardt, assistant director Denise Libretta and his wife, co-owner Kathi Spinosi, for putting the evacuation plan into action. He thanked his staff of 23 teachers for keeping the children accounted for and happy. There were 59 children at the school when police arrived to recommend that the building be evacuated. Parents were called and some came directly to the school to pick up their youngsters, he said. By the time the evacuation occurred, 20 children were moved by bus to the Clark Mills School, Gordons Corner Road, where they were met by their parents, Spinosi said. As provided for in the Goddard School's emergency plan, the Laidlaw company provided a bus that was used to transport the children to the Clark Mills School.