A 2 percent rate hike that would raise residential sewer rates by $9 a year was approved August 3 by the township Sewerage Authority. The rate hike was proposed in July by the authority’s interim executive director, state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen.

Fr. Douglas Haefner. (Photo: Marilyn Parente) The former senior pastor at St. Matthias Church was sentenced to seven years in state prison on August 4 for stealing more than $500,000 from church coffers. Fr. Douglas Haefner pleaded guilty to one count of 2nd Degree Theft in May for diverting $516,984.56 to his personal use.

FMS – SGS Campus vice principal Daryn Plummer was the graduation’s keynote speaker. More than two dozen township middle and high school students received graduation certificates July 30 from the Franklin Youth Initiative’s Boy’s Council program. The ceremony was named in honor of Bruce Medley, who ran the program until his death earlier this year.

Another 33 Franklin residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, the township Office of Emergency Management reported on August 3. OEM reported that 18 positive tests were reported on July 31, four positive tests were reported on August 1, seven positive tests were reported on August 2 and four positive tests were reported on August 3. That brings to 6,286 …

Two Alabama men are being held in the Somerset County Jail, Somerville, facing charges connected with the alleged armed robbery of a township man in a Worlds Fair Drive hotel room. The victim called police at about 5:41 a.m. July 13 and reported that two men, who he knew, robbed him at gunpoint of $450 in cash, a Bluetooth speaker …

A dozen more Franklin residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, the township Office of Emergency Management reported on July 30. That brings to 6,253 the number of township residents who have tested positive for the virus since mid-March 2020, OEM reported. The deaths of 205 Franklin residents have been attributed to the virus, OEM reported. Note: These are the latest …

Another six Franklin residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, the township Office of Emergency Management reported on July 29. That brings to 6,241 the number of township residents who have tested positive for the virus since mid-March 2020, OEM reported. The deaths of 205 Franklin residents have been attributed to the virus, OEM reported. Note: These are the latest reported …

Halen Abera is the newest member of the township Human Relations Commission. The newest junior commissioner was welcomed July 28 by the township Human Relations Commission. Halen Abera, a rising Junior at Franklin High School, joins Aryan Shah as the Commission’s junior commissioners.

Another three Franklin residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, the township Office of Emergency Management reported on July 28. That brings to 6,235 the number of Franklin residents who have tested positive for the virus since mid-March 2020, OEM reported. The deaths of 205 township residents have been attributed to the virus, OEM reported. Note: These are the latest reported …

Exactly two weeks after voting to return to in-person meetings, the Township Council on July 27 reversed itself, in a nod to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases among township residents. The Council unanimously passed a resolution, proposed by Mayor Phil Kramer, to maintain meeting virtually “until further notice.” Kramer was also the person behind the July 13 resolution to …