Verona schools will close for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as scheduled.

Go ahead and make your plans for the long weekend: The Verona Board of Education cannot open school on Monday, January 16, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

At the final BOE meeting in December, the Board had mulled opening schools on the holiday to get an extra snow day later. Verona public schools used all of their three snow days for the 2011-2012 school year after the Halloween weekend snowstorm.

But at Tuesday night’s meeting, the Board said the terms of the contracts for the school secretaries and custodians prevent it from opening on the federal holiday. If Verona needs another snow day this winter, it will likely have to be taken from Spring Break.

Schools are scheduled to be closed February 20 to 24 for Winter Break and April 23 to 27 for Spring Break. There are no other full-day closures in February and March, and while there is one day in April, it is Good Friday, April 6. There are half days on March 15 and 16 for staff development, but half days already count as full days for the state.

The Board of Education may make the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a school day instead.

Verona lost three public school snow days after the Halloween weekend snowstorm–the only three snow days that the Board of Education had budgeted for the entire 2011-2012 school year. At last night’s meeting, the Board opened a discussion on what to do to make sure Verona can meet its teaching requirements if there are other snow days this winter.

The Board is considering opening schools on a day when they are now scheduled to be closed. If Verona later needs a snow day, we will have banked a day from such a move and we won’t need to take one from Spring Break. If we don’t get more snow, the day would be added back as vacation time later in the year.

In January, the days that are currently marked as closed on the school calendar are Monday, January 2 and Monday, January 16. The Board seemed to quickly decide that January 2 would not be feasible because it would likely be a travel day for many families.

But January 16, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, remains under discussion. Steven A. Forte, Verona’s new superintendent of schools, said he would be checking regulations today to see if there are any possible conflicts with teacher contracts. If none, the Board would be asked to approve a resolution adding the day at its next meeting, January 10.

If that doesn’t work, we may be in a jam. Schools are scheduled to be closed February 20 to 24 for Winter Break and April 23 to 27 for Spring Break. There are no other full-day closures in February and March, and while there is one day in April, it is Good Friday, April 6. There are half days on March 15 and 16 for staff development, but half days already count as full days for the state. One other option that the Board batted around last night: Opening schools for half days on Saturday mornings.

Due to a continued loss of power at two of our school buildings and the unsafe conditions presented by exposed live wires throughout town, the Verona Public Schools will remain closed on Wednesday, November 2nd. The decision to close the schools was made in consultation with the Verona Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management.

Halloween will be celebrated in school on Friday.

Sorry guys, Halloween is Friday this year.

As for Halloween in the schools, the details are still being worked out. And yes, all of this is making a serious dent into our budgeted snow days for the year.

Eight different police departments converged on West Essex High School on Tuesday after the North Caldwell police were tipped that a female student had possibly brought a gun inside the school. Police removed the student from the school, and, after searching her belongings, locker and the classroom in which she had been found, said they had not found a gun. The student was taken to St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville for evaluation, the police said.

Google has put out the word that it wants trial locations for its planned ultra-high speed broadband service and Montclair is applying.

New Jersey Transit is planning on raising fares for the first time in three years, and it’s making up for lost time. NewJerseyNewsrom.com says the hike will be a whopping 25%.

Glen Ridge is laying off two police officers to help it close part of its $500,000 budget gap. Baristanet says the town had asked the police department to come up with $200,000 in cuts. The department says it offered a plan, which included cutting overtime and postponing the purchase of new vehicles, but the town rejected the offer.

A large bear turned up in a backyard in Wayne, and apparently killed a dog. Sadly, the bear, who reportedly had caused problems in Wayne twice before, was later put down by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

And finally, although Verona has used up all its snow days, at least we built some into the school calendar. Many districts didn’t–or didn’t build enough, and now they are scrambling to cut the spring breaks or add days at the end of the year. The Star Ledger says that Tom’s River schools, which have been closed six days for snow, have put Easter Monday back on the calendar as a school day and extended the school year through June 24.

Verona joins the public schools in Montclair, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge and North Caldwell, as well as Mount Saint Dominic Academy. That’s the list so far, but there will likely be more. Barista Kids is keeping count here.

The National Weather Service has extended its winter storm warning through 6 a.m. Saturday. It is warning that the heavy wet snow could bring down trees and power lines, so be alert. Earlier today a branch snapped on a tree in New York City’s Central Park, killing a pedestrian.

Our Lady of the Lake closed its schools from the get-go this morning, but the public schools, perhaps in an attempt to preserve our last snow day, held a half day and closed up at 12:30. All school events and events that were being held at schools are off for tonight. No word yet on whether schools will be in session tomorrow. The Region 4 wrestling tournament that was to have been split between Friday night and Saturday has now been shifted entirely to Saturday with a 9 a.m. start time.

Verona wasn’t the only district to call a confusing mid-day end to the school day. According to our partner news site Baristanet, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield also had an early dismissal. Montclair’s kids were to have been in school all day, but Renaissance Middle School recently announced that kids will be out at 2:35 p.m. instead of their normal dismissal of 4:05 p.m.

School's out, sledding's in

Commuters won’t have it so easy, based on the accident and traffic reports now on the state’s 511 traffic site. Newark Liberty International airport is open but its Web site is advising travelers to check with their air carrier before heading out. NJ Transit has helpfully announced that you can use your tickets on whatever mode of transportation offers the easiest ride home tonight.

If there’s a bright spot on the horizon, it might be this: The Philadelphia Inquirer is saying that the weather is causing many people to book their summer rentals at the Jersey Shore now.

The suspects' car ended up on the lawn of this home at Lakeside and Morningside

Verona police apprehended an adult couple today who had reportedly stolen high-end pocketbooks from a store in Livingston, after they found them hiding in a shed on the property of a Hillside Avenue home.

According to Police Chief Doug Huber, Verona police picked up a radio call from the Livingston police suggesting that the suspects might be heading south on Pleasant Valley Way in a small white car, possibly a Pontiac. Soon after, the police noticed a car fitting that description on the lawn of the Oser home at 5 Morningside Road. After searching the vicinity on foot for about fifteen or twenty minutes, the unarmed suspects were discovered  in the shed on Hillside.

According to Huber, the couple, who had the pocketbooks with them, will be charged by Verona authorities with burglary and possession of stolen property. They had broken into the shed after trying the doors of several homes in the neighborhood. Residents who had seen them trying to enter homes had called the police, aiding the search.

Police officers from neighboring towns such as West Orange and Essex Fells were also on hand to help, canvassing the neighborhood and Verona Park, just across the street. Children out enjoying the snow day were asked if they’d seen the suspects, one of whom had orange hair.

Though plowing through the foot-plus of white stuff in backyards did slow the officers down, tracks in the snow ultimately helped lead them to the  suspects’ hideout.  “The officers did a great job,” says Huber. “And the snow was a big help.”