My daughter is a product of the Manalapan-Englishtown school system; after we’d arrived here from Brooklyn in 1987.

One of the most hotly anticipated events of the year was the annual Halloween parade.

In fact, I could remember one year when she attended Milford Brook School, the principal himself…Mr. D’Accurso would dress up and lead the parade himself.

Of course, that was then, this, unfortunately, is now!

And the "now" dictates that whatever innocence kids had back then, a mere 25 years ago, is gone.

Hence, one of the vestiges of school life is taken off the calendar…the Halloween Parade.

Or at least in Manalapan it is…again all in response to the horrific shooting one month ago in Connecticut.

MANALAPAN – The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District has unveiled new security measures that will be put into place in response to the horrific Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting.

The plans include enhancing the district’s video surveillance system, establishing new visitor protocols, developing guidelines for after-school facility usage and a change in security procedures for large-scale events, including the cancellation of the popular annual Halloween parade.

There is really very little else mentioned as to why the parade is being cancelled other than it’s one of the newer enhanced security measures the district will implement.

Fine, I’m all for enhanced security. I’m not sure all their answers are the right ones, but one thing’s for sure.

I’m sure not for the district cancelling the Halloween Parade.

And I can’t imagine there would be too many parents happy with that decision either.

Have the parade, and if parents wish to have their kids opt out, that’s their choice.

But don’t deprive what I would feel to be the vast majority one of the simpler pastimes of the school year.

Screwballs like the one in Connecticut win when we cower.

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