Although they kept it neck-and-neck in the first half, the Franklin Middle School boys’ basketball team ran out of steam in the second half, falling to JP Case Middle School of Flemington 58-44. Case jumped out to a fast 4-0 lead after the tip-off, but Franklin quickly ties the game. From there, and for most of the first two quarters, …

An 18-year-old North Brunswick woman remains in custody in the Somerset County Jail, Somerville, on a theft charge. Police said that Nicole  Hopkins was seen on surveillance film Jan. 23 pocketing $350 at a cashier’s station at the Stop & Shop on Route 27. Police said the video showed Hopkins counting some money, then placing it under some papers before …

Jan. 24, 2014 Stephanie Ho of Franklin Park was cited for failure to stop or yield after the car she was driving rear-ended another car on South Middlebush Road. Ho said she was rounding the bend and did not see a stopped car, driven by Elizabeth Williams of Monmouth Junction, until it was too late to stop. § Angely Corporan-Brito …

The Franklin High School girls’ indoor track captured the Skylands Conference Championship Jan. 25 at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. The boys’ team finished second, losing to Hunterdon Central High School. First-place finishers for the girls were shot-putter Christina Abiola with a throw of 38’ 2.75”; Danielle Delgado in the 55-meter hurdles, with a time of 8.30 and Irina Ewing in …

The Franklin Township High School wrestling team came up empty at a three-way match Jan. 25 in Watchung Hills. Below are the match results, by weight class: Match Score: Hillsborough 52, Franklin 14 152 Louis White (Hillsborough) won by pin over Josh Mack (Franklin) 1:06. 160 Alex Hunt (Hillsborough) won by major decision over Abdul Kanu (Franklin) 10-0. 170 Anthony …

About 100 people braved the snow the afternoon of Jan. 25 to attend the yearly open house for prospective students at St. Matthias School in Somerset. The school’s principal, Sr. Jean Laurich, said she was “nervous” when she heard the weather report for the day. “But everyone I’ve talked to so far thanked me for not cancelling it,” she said. …

Public Service Electric & Gas is still investigating the cause of a substation failure in Somerset Jan. 24 that knocked out power to thousands of township residents. In a release, the company said that about 5,900 customers in the township lost power shortly after 11 a.m. when a substation malfunctioned. The problem also caused outages in New Brunswick and North …

After scoring 16 unanswered points in the first quarter, the Franklin Middle School boys’ basketball team coasted to a 38-27 win over Branchburg Central Middle School on Jan. 24. Franklin increased that lead to 31-5 at the half. But the team was only able to score 7 points in the second half, while Branchburg netted 22 – many of which …

The Franklin Township Shade Tree Commission is holding its seventh annual shade tree sale through Feb. 7 The trees being offered this year are Red Maple and Zelcova for shade, and the ornamentals, Sweet Bay Magnolia and Redbud. Prices are $60 for one, $100 for two and $135 for three. The trees measure 6- to 8-feet tall; there are only …

UPDATE: The cheerleaders’ fundraiser at Appleby’s has been changed to 8-10 a.m. Feb. 2. The Franklin High School cheerleaders won’t be getting any official help from the Board of Education in their effort to raise money to attend a national championship in Florida next month. The squad needs to raise about $12,000 in two weeks. So, the squad has to …