Memorial Day Parade, Pool Opens, School Signups in Week Ahead

The annual Memorial Day Parade in Bernards Township — held on a rotating annual basis in either Basking Ridge Center or Liberty Village — is always a brief but heartfelt occasion.

This year, the Bernards Township Memorial Day Parade again will be hosted in Liberty Corner, with the assembled paraders set to step off from the Liberty Corner Firehouse at 95 Church St. at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 27.

Flag-wavers and those who are happy to welcome the paraders (and to celebrate the official start of summer) typically line the parade route, which proceeds to the flag pole and memorial at the triangle in downtown Liberty Corner.

Each year, the mayor and others make speeches reminding those who are heading off to barbecues or — assuming a massive improvement in weather — the beach, to take time from all they enjoy, and appreciate the blood, sweat and tears given by those who have served the nation since its inception.

In honor of the occasion, special guest Armed Forces Veterans from the nearby Lyons campus of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System are planning to attend, according to information from the fire department.

Other local groups due to participate in the parade include the Ridge High School Band, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Daisies, the Ridge Baseball Club, and the Knights of Columbus.

Meanwhile, the official launch of summer will be celebrated with the opening on Saturday of the Pleasant Valley Pool at Pleasant Valley Park, with part-time hours to begin on weekends.

This year, with memberships still available, the township parks and recreation department is offering memberships to both residents and non-residents. Information is on the township website.

The Pleasant Valley Pool commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Monday night at the town hall at 1 Collyer Lane in Basking Ridge.

Meanwhile, there are deadlines approaching in Bernards Township schools.

Those with elementary or middle-school students who live closer than two miles from their assigned school — or more than 2.5 miles from Ridge High School — have until Friday, May 31, to sign up for so-called "courtesy busing" for the 2013-14 school year.

The cost this year is $704. The amount is non-refundable, except in emergencies, since the bus contracts are awarded on the basis of the number of riding students, according to school Business Administrator Rod McLaughlin.

Parents who wish their children to be transported to school during the next school year may sign up online or mail in an application and check made payable to the Bernards Township Board of Education.

No exceptions will be made to the May 31 deadline other than new families moving into the area or for an emergency situation, according to McLaughlin.

More information and necessary forms are online.

And those who wish to seek election for three upcoming three-year seats on the Board of Education must file with the Somerset County clerk's office by June 4.

Information about filling out necessary forms is online.

The board is again meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday night in the William Annin Middle School auditorium. The board is scheduled to announced this year's Teachers of the Year.