John Snyder passed away on May 23 at the Abingdon Care Center in Green Brook. He was 64 years old. Mr. Snyder was born in Somerville and was a longtime resident of Franklin Township. He moved to Hillsborough about 25 years ago. He was employed by Kids R Us warehouse in Somerset in the packing and shipping department. He was …

A 12-year educational veteran was named the first vice-principal of the new Claremont Road Elementary School May 24 by the Board of Education. Madlen Rizkalla will follow her former boss from Franklin Park School to the new elementary school, slated to open in September. She begins her new job on July 1 with a salary of $95,000.

A 77-year-old Piscataway man apparently escaped injury May 24 after he slipped and fell into the Delaware & Raritan Canal in East Millstone. Township police received a report of a man in the water near Amwell Road and Market Street at about 11:15 a.m., according to a press release from the FTPD. Arriving police and firefighters from the Franklin Township …

The school district’s educators of the year were honored May 24 in an annual breakfast held at the Imperia on Easton Avenue. Each of the district’s eight schools were represented by a teacher of the year and an educational services professional of the year.

The public is invited to tour the internationally recognized Somerset County Park Commission Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden located in Colonial Park Gardens, Parking Lot A, 156 Mettlers Rd. The Rose Garden is in full spring beauty in May and June when thousands of varieties of roses of both modern and historic significance are in peak bloom.

Township resident Madison Whiting was one of 11 area students to recently receive scholarships from Somerset County 4-H. The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Cooperative Extension. Open to members and alumni of the Somerset County 4-H Youth Development program, the 11 winners will receive a total of $21,000 for their continuing education.

Bridgewater, NJ- The Sugar Land Skeeters (16-9) defeated the Somerset Patriots (15-7) 3-1 at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday afternoon. Courtney Hawkins’ leadoff home run (7) in the top of the second inning gave the Skeeters a 1-0 advantage.

Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots (15-6) defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters (15-9) 2-1 at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday evening. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Justin Trapp launched a solo home run (2) to left field to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead that would be the final score.

The Township Council on May 22 approved a number of purchases of goods and services, including more than $500,000 in contracts for upgrades and equipment at several park playgrounds. Among the resolutions approved were:

Submitted by Unity Bank. CLINTON – Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNTY), the parent company of Unity Bank, was the top ranked New Jersey community bank on the American Banker magazine list of the Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks. Unity was ranked 19th nationally on the respected industry list, which reviewed 633 institutions throughout the U.S.