Week in Review: Dog Park Plans Progress, Towns Honor Vets in Memorial Day Parades

From Wales Avenue to Veteran's Memorial Park, River Edge residents lined the streets for the borough's annual parade to remember those who have served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces. 

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. It is now called Memorial Day, but the custom of decorating the graves and remembering all our honored dead continues. Oradell remembers with wreath laying ceremonies and a parade.

The New Jersey Department of Education released report cards for the performance of every school in the state during the 2010-11 year Thursday. Overall, the tri-district schools are scoring higher than their District Factor Group (DFG) counterparts in Language Arts, but mathematics continues to be a struggle in some grades levels. Per-pupil expenditures are down but class sizes have increased at the same time.

A petition that garnered over 200 signatures in favor of an  in  recently reached Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan's desk and after a recent review of the Park, awaits word if County funding is available. River Edge Mayor Sandy Moscaritolo recently met with Bergen County Director of Park, Ronald Kistner to locate a suitable location, away from the Zoo and pond with adequate buffers.

The clock continues to run down for the River Edge American Legion's life span as an  is due in June dictacting if there is any asbestos, underground storage tanks or lead paint on site. The report, compiled by Environmental Solutions, is needed prior to the eventual demolition of the 80 to 90-year-old Dutch Colonial-style building, so that when it is taken down, any contaminants such as asbestos or lead paint can be removed safely.

The Borough of Oradell has placed additional traffic calming measures on Elm Street in advance of the . New Stop Signs have been placed at the intersections of Elm Street and Bergen Blvd along with Elm Street and Center Street. Work on the bridge is expected to begin July 1.

With a few minor tweaks between now and next week, River Edge's Mayor and Council will be set to vote on the creation of a Special Events Committee to replace the Fourth of July Committee on a one-year trial basis.

Adam Derner has had an outstanding final season with the  as the senior designated hitter from River Edge blasted 13 home runs, 62 RBI and a slugging percentage of .804. For his efforts at the plate, he was recently named to both D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America First Teams.

In a little over a week, residents from across Bergen County can vote for the Hackensack Riverkeeper, the citizen-steward of the Hackensack River Watershed, on Facebook as one of the 500 nonprofit finalists in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. Residents will be able to vote for the Riverkeeper on June 10 as it competes for a Toyota Tundra pick-up truck.

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Eamon Harbord at Eamon.Harbord@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.