Guide to Getting Through Hurricane Clean-up

Your teens are holding a car wash at the high school Saturday. The grandparents volunteered to take the younger children to a movie Sunday afternoon. Your tweens take tap on Wednesday evening. It’s your time. Take it.

Each week, we’ll tell you about one great idea to give you a much deserved break, and make your life a little easier, maybe a whole lot easier.

We don’t want to say that you shouldn’t take an escape every now and then, but we know that this week may not be the right time for it, what with so many county residents displaced or dealing with damage and flooding following Hurricane Irene.

So instead, we’d like to offer ways of escaping if you are without power, or if you need any kind of assistance over the next few days.

• The  has water bottles available for those residents who are without  while they have no power.
• Local businesses are offering facilities to take a shower if you are without power and water in your home. The Office of Emergency Management has opened the Somerset Hills YMCA on Martinsville Road in Basking Ridge, and the Somerset Hills YMCA on Mt. Airy Road in Basking Ridge.
• The shelter at the Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg remains open for those who cannot stay in their homes.
• Those with  can drop them off at the Bridgewater Resources Inc. facility on Polhemus Lane in Bridgewater from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Branches and other brush can also be dropped off at the Yard Waste Site on Foothill Road in Bridgewater from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, as well as 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Those looking to help residents in need can volunteer to work with the Somerset County Organizations Assisting in Disasters, which is looking for residents to aid with cleanup. More information can be found on the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management’s website. 
• Raritan Valley Recycling is accepting brush, limbs, logs and stumps from municipalities in Somerset County from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the rest of the week, and 7 a.m. to noon Saturday. The location is on River Road in Flemington.
•  advised that people go to the beach this weekend after losing last weekend. We know that’s not quite Somerset County, and it’s a little bit of drive, but for those who can, and who need an escape, we suggest taking a little trip down south to enjoy the final official weekend of summer!