School Board Seeks Candidates, Meeting This Week

Since moving the election for Bernards Township Board of Education candidates to November, April marks the beginning, not the end, of the election process for school board members — and this year, there will be three seats opening.

The board announced on its website that the nine-member board will have three, three-year vacancies available in the annual school board election, now scheduled to be part of the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.

The current deadline to submit the nominating petition is 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 4. The three board members whose terms are due to expire are Michael Byrne, William Koch and Elaine Kusel.

Petitions should be delivered by the deadline to the Somerset County Clerk, 20 Grove St. P.O. Box 3000, Somerville, 08876-1262.

Prospective school board candidates can obtain a School Board Candidate Kit online at http://www.njsba.org/candidacy/. Published by the New Jersey School Boards Association, the kit includes a nominating petition, information about legal qualifications for school board candidacy and the role of the school board member.

Information about the New Jersey School Ethics Act and important dates in the school election process are also included in the kit.

Candidates who have filed a petition with the Somerset County Clerk should also contact Christina Patton at the Board of Education Office at cpatton@bernardsboe.com to receive a board basics packet. More information is online on the school website. 

School board to hold regular meeting on Monday

The school board also is scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the William Annin Middle School. The meeting is being held the fourth Monday of the month, instead of the usual third, since schools were closed last Monday for April break.

A number of other special events also are coming up this week.

Bernards Chamber holding blood drives in recognition of Marathon bombing

On Monday, the Bernards Township Regional Chamber of Commerce, in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing, will hold the first of two scheduled blood drives. A second is set up for Wednesday.

The drives are scheduled to take place from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday, April 29 at The Covenant Chapel at 127 West Oak St. in Basking Ridge; and from 1 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1, at the Stirling Elks Lodge at 1138 Valley Road in the Stirling section of Long Hill Township.

Chamber Executive Director Al LiCata said the chamber partnered with Covenant Chapel of Basking Ridge and the Stirling Elks Lodge No. 2392, in conjunction with the Blood Center of New Jersey, to put together two blood drives and ask the community to donate.

Registration will take place on site as donors arrive, LiCata said. Normal donation times range from 10 to 25 minutes total, with the norm being 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

Later this week, the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, based in Basking Ridge, is scheduled to hold its giant spring rummage sale at the Far Hills Fairgrounds.

Join fellow treasure hunters and bargain shoppers at the sale, to be held rain or shine, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3, 4 and 5. The tents with about two dozen departments are scheduled to be open 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Field Hockey Spring Clinic

The Ridge Field Hockey Spring Clinic for girls in grades 3 to 8 is scheduled to begin this Monday, for the first of four weeks, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Astor Field in Basking Ridge. More information is on the Bernards Township website.

Other meetings this week:

The Bernards Township Library Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Bernards Township Library, 32 S. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge.

The next Charter Day planning session is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge.