Woods Road 4th Annual BBQ Cook-off

Despite yesterday's rain, the 4th Annual No Fire - Just Smoke Central Jersey Firemen's BBQ Cook-off was held at the Woods Road Firehouse with a local team taking top honors.

Hillsborough's Max Que team with Chief Cooks Steve and Dee Polson walked away with the best overall score and first place in the chicken category and third in ribs:
Ribs Within, another Hillsborough team headed by Chief Cook Doug Keiles placed first in Chef's Choice:
From across the river in Franklin Park, Minick's Barbeque took first in the ribs category:

Sometimes what it all comes down to is this: Its a firehouse and has fire engines and the kids want to see them even in the rain...

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To enjoy pictures of the event taken by Susan Gulliford and George Mariasz, go here.

RVSB Pops Concert

The Raritan Valley Symphonic Band's Pops Concert is tomorrow evening (Friday, June 5th) at 8 p.m. at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

The RVSB concerts are fun, family-oriented, admission-free, and educational.

I just wish they were still at Hillsborough High School...
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For more information about the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band, go here.

Route 206 and Raider Boulevard...Again

Interstate Development Corporation has filed an amended site plan with the Board of Adjustment requesting changes to its approved site plan for the Walgreens Drug Store and strip mall currently under construction at the corner of Route 206 and Raider Boulevard.

The amendments requested include the elimination of the “Gateway Plaza," a small landscaped corner plaza that was to include such amenities as a bike rack, pedestrian walkways,and benches. Interstate's amendments propose the park-like area be changed to a lawn and some deciduous trees.

The applicant also wishes to add a new median break onto Raider Boulevard near the current opening at Greenfield Lane. The median currently contains mature trees.

Additionally, the historic Carriage House on Route 206 would not be renovated under the amended plans, but only painted and reinforced.

Further, Interstate wants to eliminate the board-on-board fence on the northern property line that was to buffer the neighboring lot, reduce the number of trees to be planted on the Royce Brook berm, and eliminate the westernmost driveway onto Raider Boulevard.

They also wish to make some sidewalk changes, keeping the existing 4-foot-wide sidewalk on Raider Boulevard (originally to be widened to 6-feet to accommodate bicycles) and relocating the sidewalk on Route 206 to avoid existing utility poles.

Interstate is scheduled on the Board of Adjustment agenda for Wednesday, June 3rd.

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Yesterday a local headline read "Major drugstore chain Walgreens extending its presence in area." The article includes this quote: "...According to the corporate Web site, the Walgreens Company, based in Deerfield, Ill., opens 425 new stores each year and anticipates operating 7,000 stores nationwide by 2010..."

Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG) had May sales of $5,370,200,000, an increase of 6.1 percent from $5,060,627,000 for the same month in 2008. Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) increased 1.0 percent. Comparable store front-end sales increased 0.2 percent versus last year’s increase of 6.0 percent.

In July,2007 Interstate Development (the developer for the local Walgreens-to-be), filed an "Economic Hardship Waiver from the Provisions of the Tree Mitigation Ordinance" in which they asked for a "...reduction of fees from $145,275.00 to $0.00..." The relief granted was a reduction from $145,275.00 to $3,250.00.

Memorial Day Photographs

Please take a few minutes to enjoy these pictures of yesterday's Memorial Day activities in Hillsborough. The photographs, taken by Susan Gulliford and George Mariasz, were downsized for online viewing.

For pictures of the Salute to Veterans Breakfast go here.

For pictures of the Parade, go here.

For pictures of the Ceremony, go here.

Hillsborough Honors Viet Nam Vets

This year Hillsborough Township's Memorial Day Salute to Veteran's Annual Breakfast is honoring the Viet Nam veterans, so I am reprinting "Thoughts on a Veteran" which I originally posted on November 11, 2007:

As it is Veteran’s Day I started thinking about a friend from high school who enlisted in the army just after he graduated.

He showed up late one evening at my parent’s house where I was home on break from college. He had been drinking and asked if I would go for a walk with him. We walked up the road to a little macadam path that turned off the road and sat on a log on the side of the path and as we sat there he started to cry; he had just gotten his orders for Viet Nam.

I put my arm around his shoulders and let him cry it out.

Later he apologized for drinking before coming over and said he had eaten an onion bagel on the way over to my parents to try to hide the smell of the alcohol. He didn’t want my parents to think badly of him for drinking.

I just wanted to tell you about him. It seemed important.

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After I posted this I had readers ask if my friend returned from Viet Nam. As far as I heard, he came back. His parents moved and then my parents moved, so we lost contact and I haven't been able to track him down.

On Your Mark...

Sunday morning the Steeplechase Spring Classic foot races were held in Hillsborough starting at Amsterdam School...
It was a great day for running, cool with a few spritzes of rain...
This was a fundraiser for the Steeplechase Cancer Center at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ.

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For more photgrqaphs of the race, taken by Susan Gulliford, go here.

For the results of the Steeplechase 25K Run go here.

For the results of the Steeplechase 5K Run go here.

Raritan Valley Chorale Concert

Sunday afternoon was cool and damp, a perfect day to attend the Raritan Valley Chorale concert - With a Voice of Singing - at historic Hillsborough Reformed Church in Millstone.

The concert included a performance by the Hillsborough Reformed Church Handbell Choir.
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More photographs of Sunday's concert, taken by Susan Gulliford and George Mariasz, may be viewed here.

For future performances or more information about the Raritan Valley Chorale go here.