The Franklin reporter & Advocate ventured out in the snow Dec. 9 to bring you some of the more interesting home holiday decorations. We noticed that roof icicles, candy canes and illuminated web animals are still popular decorations, but there are other variations as well.

Bridgewater, N.J. – The Somerset Patriots hosted its annual Holiday Toy Drive on Saturday, December 9th at TD Bank Ballpark. All of the toys collected were donated to Toys For Tots Central New Jersey. All of the toys were collected from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Somerset Patriots Team Store. Despite the snowy weather, everyone helped the Patriots …

Middlebush Reformed Church held the first day of its 14th annual Living Nativity on Dec. 8. The event – in which visitors are led around a path through the park across from the church and stop at stations where the story of Christmas is told – is scheduled to continue on Dec. 9, from 6-9 p.m. The church is located …

There’s still time to play Santa Claus for local families in need. Somerset Family Physical Therapy, 14M Worlds Fair Drive, is a drop-off point for the Marine Corps Reserves Toys For Tots program, and they’ll be taking donations through Dec. 11.

Franklin Township students are once again tackling the challenges posed by the Hour of Code, a worldwide effort to introduce children to computer science. Held annually during Computer Science Education Week, the Hour of Code is meant to “demystify ‘code’, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science,” according to …

The fact that his business is one of the more established in the township doesn’t stop Damiano Orsillo from trying new things. That was evidenced in November, when Orsillo, owner of Piazza Orsillo Pizzeria and Restaurant on Cedar Grove Lane, introduced a new line of desserts to his menu.

A much-discussed proposal to build 32 homes at the corner of Amwell Road and Cedar Grove Lane was approved Dec. 6 by the Planning Board. The project will result in about 11 acres of open space along Amwell Road that will ultimately be owned either by the developer, Anatol Hiller, the homeowner’s association for the new development or the current …

Township police are looking into why a 15-year-old Franklin High School student took a fake gun to school on Dec. 5. The gun fell out of the student’s backpack in-between classes, at about 9:30 a.m., prompting school security to call for a school lockdown, according to a press release from the FTPD.

The Open Space Advisory Committee on Dec. 5 said goodbye to its consultant, praising her work in preserving township open space. Fran Varacalli was the township’s open space consultant for the last six years. During that time, she participated in or oversaw a number of preservation initiatives, including the redevelopment of the old Kingston School, the $14 million purchase of …

Ann Marie Gianotto, 69, died Dec. 1 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Ms. Gianotto was born March 7, 1948 in New Brunswick to the late Frank and Bertha (Paulson) Gianotto. She was raised in Somerset, and in 2000 she relocated to Point Pleasant. Ann Marie was a licensed hair dresser and worked for many years as …