WHIRLING DERVISH – A Sufi whirling dancer performs during the inaugural Muslim Heritage Month celebration at the Senior/Community Center. The inaugural Muslim Heritage Month celebration in the township – called Noor Night – attracted hundreds of people to the Senior/Community Center in the Municipal Complex on January 14. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation designating January as Muslim Heritage Month in …

GEARING UP – Riders get ready to embark on the 34th annual Tour de Franklin charity ride in April, 2023. (File Photo.) The 35th Annual Tour de Franklin Charity Bike Ride benefiting the Franklin Food Bank is set for April 28 at the Franklin High School. The Tour de Franklin is the Franklin Food Bank’s largest annual fundraising event and …

Norma A. Rosa of Somerset passed away at home on January 9. She was 93. Born and raised in Newark, she lived in Westfield before moving to Somerset in 2021. She was a homemaker. Norma enjoyed listening to music, particularly Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and various oldies, and most of all spending time with her family and loved ones. She …

Our dad, Vincent P. Simpson, died on January 10 at the age of 88 with family at his side. He was a humble, hardworking man who loved to laugh. He was our expert at math homework and life.Born and raised in Millvale, Pennsylvania, he lived in Kansas City, Missouri and Levittown, Pennsylvania before moving to Somerset in 1965.Vincent enlisted in …

DRAWING A BEAD – Lady Warrior Iyanna Cotten prepares to collect one of her three points from the foul line during Franklin’s January 11 game against Gil St. Bernard’s. The Franklin High School girls’ basketball team’s difficult season continued January 11, when the Lady Warriors fell to Gil St. Bernard’s 68-42. Gill controlled the game from the start, building a …

INSISTED ON REALIGNMENT – Planning Board member Robert Thomas told Jain Center representatives that they agreed to move their driveway alignment years ago, but had yet to do it. Representatives of a township temple were once again unsuccessful January 3 in getting Planning Board approvals for a decorative archway planned for the temple’s driveway on Cedar Grove Lane. The difficulty …

Gabrielle Davis and Samantha Miel of Franklin Park were named to the Dean’s List at the University of Connecticut for the spring 2023 semester.  Kristen Morley of Somerset has earned a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Morley was among approximately 1,725 undergraduate and graduate students who earned degrees during the Summer 2023 semester. …

Marie Catapano, 91, passed away on January 5. Born on July 22, 1932, in Buffalo, NY, to the late Peter and Mary Catapano, Marie’s journey took her from Buffalo to Brooklyn, Queens, and finally Somerset, where she built a cherished life. Marie embarked on a remarkable career, beginning at Hunter Steven Company in New York before becoming a part owner …

NEW BOARD PRESIDENT – Ardaman Singh reacts after she was voted in as school board president at the Board’s January 4 reorganization meeting. Board of Education members Ardaman Singh and Sami Shaban were chosen by their colleagues as Board president and vice-president, respectively, at the January 4 reorganization meeting. Also at the meeting, Board newcomers Erica Inocencio and Jimmie Parker …

Fayomi D. Wyse of Somerset passed away on December 15 at the Care One at East Brunswick Nursing Home. He was 76. Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, he had lived in Somerset since 1992. Fayomi worked in Electrical and Janitorial Services at the Care One Nursing Home in East Brunswick. He was very proud of his …