Franklin High School students and faculty were welcomed to the first day of the 2018-19 school year Sept. 20 with cheers, clapping and shouts of encouragement. Faculty, administrators and parents lined up at the back entrance and entrances to the “B” and “C” wings to give the greetings. More than 100 people took part in total. Blue and gold balloons …

Central Islip, NY- The Long Island Ducks (1-0) defeated the Somerset Patriots (0-1) 9-2 in Game 1 of the Liberty Division Championship Series at Bethpage Ballpark on Wednesday evening to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff series. The Ducks took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run triple by Daniel Fields and …

By Mark Grieco, Somerset. For those busy sharpening their pitchforks in preparation for the Great Hunt for the Emboldened Trumpists Who Don’t Want “Colored” Statues, let me go out on a limb and tell you that particular corner of the fevered Trump Universe is probably a figment of an equally fevered Democratic mind possessed by Councilman Rajiv Prasad. To be …

A portion of Cedar Grove Lane is scheduled to undergo some rehabbing starting Sept. 25. The stretch of the county road from Easton Avenue to New Brunswick Road will be milled down and repaved, said county engineer Matthew Loper. The work, he said, will be conducted from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., and is expected to last until Sept. 28. …

The effort by a group of township residents to recall Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has begun. A “Notice of Intent to Recall,” the first step in the process, was filed with Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy on Sept. 18. McCarthy has three business days from then to validate the three signatures on the notice – Christina Ganzer, Ravikanth Kolla and …

By Charmil Y. Davis. My parents bought their very first house in Franklin Township in August, 1980. After purchasing the house after my parents passed in 2005, I kept the house 10 years after (tax payer). I was schooled in Franklin, as were my children. Somerset County has its prestige, and is one of the most diverse communities in NJ. …

The Open Space Advisory Committee on Sept. 18 hardened its stance on the proposed “Peace and Nonviolence” Monument park by voting to recommend that no statues be placed on any township-owned open space. The monument park, championed by Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large) is targeted for about 9,000 square feet on open space at the corner of Route 27 …

Updated with comment from Deputy Mayor Robinson and statement from the Somerset County Democratic Committee. The chairman of the Somerset County Republican party Sept. 18 called on Deputy Mayor Shanel Robinson to release all of her emails concerning the “Peace and Nonviolence” monument park issue. GOP chairman Al Gaburo said Robinson, who is running for one of two available seats …

By PJ Parker The long-awaited Franklin Gazebo was celebrated Sept. 16 on the Franklin green amid the sounds of Latin jazz to mark its debut. The gazebo is located at the municipal complex on DeMott Lane. The product of the Franklin Township Cultural Arts Council, the gazebo will be home to a wide variety of events, including music/concert series, weddings, …

Vivian Lanfrit passed away on Saturday September 15, 2018 at the Parker Home in Piscataway. She was 92 years old. Mrs. Lanfrit was born in Casiacco, Italy and came to the United States in 1948 settling in the Bronx. She moved to New Brunswick where her husband Daniel built their home in 1956. She was a seamstress with Dean Blouse …