The number of Somerset County families – including in Franklin Township – seeking assistance from local food pantries and banks is up between 50 percent and 100 percent since last year, prompting Somerset County and the Somerset Patriots, the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate, to announce a joint food drive to encourage donations of dollars, food, and personal care products. …

David “Dave” Dwelle, 68, passed away peacefully at home on December 9 after a long battle with cancer. Dave was born in Rahway to Clifford and Gertrude Dwelle. He graduated from Union Catholic High School and received various certificates from Union County Vo-Tech. He served in the US Army in the 172nd Infantry Brigade and was stationed in Alaska and …

SANTA SMOOCH – Santa Claus Bob gets a nose kiss from one of the pooches brought to SGS December 19 for the annual Santa Paws fundraiser. One of the biggest fundraisers for the organization that supports the Franklin Township Animal Shelter wrapped up on December 9. “Santa Paws,” sponsored by Second Chance for Animals, offers pet parents a chance to …

Applications to build a single-family home on Battle Place and for a “financial” subdivision off DeMott Lane were approved December 7 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Venkateswar and Padmaja Vakkalagadda applied to the Board to build a single-family home on a corner vacant lot at 76 Battle Place.

Mr. Marty Slyman passed away on December 7 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He was 87 years old. Mr. Slyman was born and raise in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from St. Michaels High School. He served in the United States Army and was discharged honorably. While serving in Monterey, he would meet his future wife, Dorothy, …

NOT IMPRESSED – Planning Board chairman Michael Orsini told representatives of L’Oreal that they needed to rethink their building expansion plan. Representatives of L’Oreal USA were sent back to their drafting table by the Planning Board December 6, whose members did not like the company’s plans for a more than 149,000-square-foot addition to their main building on Commerce Drive. The …

A 21-year-old township man has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison for a 2022 crash that left one person dead and injured others. Samuel Villar was sentenced on December 3 in state Superior Court in New Brunswick, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Contracts for new police cars and cleanup services were approved November 28 by the Township Council. The Council approved a contract worth $319,709.60 with Nielson Ford of Morristown for seven Ford Police Interceptors.

PROJECT DETAILED – Alicia Meyers, center, discusses the planned improvements at the DeMott Lane-Easton Avenue intersection during the December 5 Public Information Session. Improvements designed to make the DeMott Lane-Easton Avenue intersection safer for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists were unveiled December 5 at the Township Council Chamber. The Public Information Session was hosted by representatives from the Somerset County Engineering …

By Robert Kohn. Wondering what my fellow Franklin Township residents would say about their favorite act done by the Franklin Township Mayor and Council this past year?