The Franklin Township Municipal Youth Services Commission was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Somerset County Freeholders. The money will be used for the commission’s Youth Council, Franklin Youth Prevention and Empowerment and Boys Council programs, according to a release about the award.

Final rehearsals are underway for the Sampson G. Smith production of “Beauty and the Beast.” The show features the Sampson G. Smith Players, with a special performance by the SGS Dance Troupe.

When all the blowing and snowing was done, Franklin Township was left under about 5 inches of snow in the Jan. 26-27 “blizzard that wasn’t.” The National Weather Service continually updated its forecast, with preliminary reports saying we would get as much as 24 inches of snow by today.

Members of the Masjid-e-Ali Mosque welcomed the community into their center on Jan. 24. The goal of the open house, according to organizers, was to talk about some of the programs offered by the mosque, and to answer any questions residents might have about Islam.

The Jan. 24 snowstorm that hit the region left about 4.9 inches of snow in the township, according to the National Weather Service. More snow is expected to start the evening of Jan. 25 and continue through Jan. 27, according to the NWS.

The school district will be able to enroll up to 90 more general- and special-education students in its Pre-Kindergarten programs. Interim schools Superintendent Lee Seitz said at the Jan. 22 Board of Education meeting that additional federal and local money has been found to fund the limited expansion of the program for the remainder of the school year.

A number of township residents have formed a group with the stated goal of helping the Board of Education. The group, called “Student Achievement Through Collaborative Partnership,” was announced at the Jan. 22 school board meeting by one of its founders, Alex Kharazi.

Breakfast will be available to Franklin Middle School students beginning in February. The program, approved Jan. 22 by the Board of Education, mimics one started last year at Sampson G. Smith School.

Jan. 16 Someone broke out the front door window on a Baier Avenue home.

Steps men can take toward better health will be the topic of a forum set for Feb. 7 at St. Peter’s University Hospital, 254 Easton Ave., New Brunswick. The men’s health and wellness forum is free and will be held in the hospital’s Sister Marie di Pazzi Conference Center on the hospital’s ground floor from 12:30-2:30 p.m.