HUG FROM MOM – Iyanna Cotten receives a hug from her mother, Ty-Wanna, after signing commitment letter for St. Peter’s while dad Derek looks on. It’s official: Iyanna “YaYa” Cotten will play basketball for the St. Peter’s University Peacocks in Jersey City next year. Cotten signed her commitment letter to the NCAA Division 1 university November 8 at Franklin High …

Mary Ann Selenko of Somerset passed away after a prolonged illness, on November 5. She was 93 years old. Mary Ann was born in the Bronx and was raised in Jersey City. She graduated from St. Dominic Academy and then attended secretarial school. During the Korean War, she worked as a secretary for the Army in purchasing. In the early …

CHECKING THE NUMBERS – Board of Education candidates Bill Grippo and Erica Inocencio check the tally board at Par2Play on November 7. The Democratic Mayoral and Township Council slate, and a slate of Board of Education candidates which includes an incumbent, appear to be on the road to victory in the November 7 General Election. The candidates enjoyed leads in …

CLASS PICTURE – Members of the Leadership Somerset class of 2022 at Patriots’ Ball Park. (Photo: Leadership Somerset.) Adults aged 18 years and older who live or work in Somerset County and would like to make a positive impact in their community through the Leadership Somerset program have until November 11 to apply. Programs such as Leadership Somerset “build skills …

FALL CLEAN-UP – Volunteers help a Somerset County senior prep their yard for another winter during Somerset County’s Annual Volunteer Fall Clean-Up. (Photo: Somerset County Office of Volunteer Services.) Senior and disabled homeowners who need help with annual fall leaf-raking and other yard work should contact the Somerset County Office of Volunteer Services at (908) 704-6301 or email JDambeck@co.somerset.nj.us by November 9. …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. I read the article about the Board of Ed middle school suspensions report for last year. The board seemed surprised it was high. I was surprised it was not more. Regardless, those are just the headline-makers. There are probably a whole lot more that exasperate the teacher and slow down the momentum of the class but …

Michael A. LaCorte passed away on November 1 at his home in Franklin Park. He was 90 years old. Mr. LaCorte was born in Brooklyn and raised in the City of New Brunswick. He began baking bread at his family’s bakery, LaCorte’s Bakery in New Brunswick while still in high school. He owned and operated the bakery after his parents …

Marlene Peterson, born in 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey, died peacefully on November 2 with her loving daughter, Kristen, and brother, Lewis, beside her after losing an impossible battle with ALS. She spent her childhood and formative school years in the close-knit community of Elmwood Park, where she attended Elmwood Park Memorial High School, forging lifelong friendships, including the most …

DEFENDING HIS RECORD – Republican Mayoral Candidate Brian Levine says information about past legal difficulties released recently by Somerset County Democrats is just a “diversion.” (File photo). The Republican candidate for Township Mayor has denounced as a “smear campaign” and a “mountain out of a molehill” the revelation by Somerset County Democrats that he had been removed as executor of …

BAN THE TRUCKS – Planning Board member Robert Thomas convinced the Planning Board to ask Somerset County to look into banning trucks from some County roads. In the latest salvo against the widespread development of warehouses and their attendant truck traffic, the Township Planning Board wants Somerset County to disallow the big rigs on all or parts of some County …