Somerset County Parents, Students Traveling To DC To Take Stand

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Students across the country, including in Basking Ridge, walked out of school for 17 minutes on Wednesday to take a stand against gun violence.

Now Basking Ridge parents and students are organizing a trip to Washington, D.C. on March 24 to continue the message of speaking out against gun violence and mass shootings in the schools. The group is inviting locals from across Somerset County to join at The March For Our Lives rally.

Rick Winegar of Basking Ridge is the organizer for this trip. Winegar has two children — one daughter in college who is studying to be a elementary school teacher and a daughter in Ridge High School.

“This has been a concern of mine and my family for a long time,” Winegar told Patch. “I travel up and down east coast. And drive to Sandy Hook probably every 3 months. I am constantly reminded that we really failed to do anything to protect our teachers and students.”

Ironically, as part of Winegar’s work he was coordinating a training for a company for an active shooter drill on the day of the Parkland, Florida school shooting.

“It was horribly ironic,” Winegar said. “When I was delivering the training in my job it was happening in another state in the country.”

Enough is enough for Winegar. So he coordinated a bus trip to Washington, D.C. for parents and students not only from Basking Ridge but all over Somerset County are welcome.

The motor coach bus will depart early on March 24 and return same day. Student tickets are $25 and adult tickets are $50. However, for students who cannot afford the ticket there are some sponsorships available to cover the cost.

“I feel highly compelled to get as many people as possible to go to D.C.,” Winegar said. “This is a totally solvable problem and the status quo is not acceptable.”

For more information on the bus trip email Winegar at r2forprogress@gmail.com or click here.

(Image submitted)

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