The Township Council Feb. 9 took the first step in creating a youth center when it introduced an ordinance permitting the acquisition of a Lewis Street property. The property is located at 429 Lewis Street, which was the home of the Somerset Community Action Program before it moved to Hamilton Street.

Bridgewater, NJ – The Somerset Patriots have announced the signing of left-handed pitcher Matt Bywater. He enters his first season both with the Somerset Patriots and in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.  

The police department needs a captain to help with the rejuvenation of the Hamilton Street business district, among other things, the Township Council was told Feb. 8. Police Chief Lawrence Roberts told the council during its first 2016 budget hearing that unlike neighboring police departments, Franklin’s has no captains.

Update: The Sampson G. Smith Players have extended its run of “The Lion King, Jr.” by one weekend. Performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 and 13 at the school. Tickets are $8.

Several hundred members of the Sri Lankan community gathered Feb. 7 at the Ukranian Orthodox Cultural Center for a double celebration. They were celebrating the 68th anniversary of Sri Lanka winning its independence from Great Britain, and the 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka being admitted to the United Nations as a member state.

Bridgewater, NJ – The Somerset Patriots have announced the re-signing of infielder Greg Hopkins.  

The developer of the Canal Walk active adult community on Feb. 3 won approval for the final phase of the housing project. The Planning Board, with one dissenting vote, approved a change in the project’s General Development Plan and also gave preliminary site plan approval for the construction of Enclave II, a 3-building, 62-unit condominium/apartment development near the project’s Schoolhouse Road …

Under the watchful eyes of his mother, father and grandfather, Franklin High School football defensive tackle Brandon Harrison signed his Letter of Intent to attend Pace University in New York City. The first person in his family to attend college on a sports scholarship, Harrison said the day “feels great.”

Three township residents – one a juvenile – were arrested Feb. 2 after a loaded handgun was found in a car they were driving in Manville. Rashiene Rochester and Malcolm Allen, both 22, and a juvenile were arrested in the Marketplace at Manville shopping center, according to a release on the incident from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Two men – one a township resident – were charged Feb. 1 in connection with the robbery of a woman outside of Office Depot, in Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue. Police said that Andre Quinn, 22, of Somerset and Bradley St. Clair, 22, of Dunellen, were arrested on Irvington Avenue a short time after the robbery, which was reported to …