Americans can not let the civil rights advances of the last 50 years be whittled away by prejudice and hatred, a crowd of more than 300 people was told Jan. 19 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Somerset. The speaker was Randal Pinkett, and the event was the 18th annual Franklin Township Community Breakfast, held to honor the memory and mission of the …

Editor’s Note: From time to time, the Franklin Reporter & Advocate will present stories of community advocacy campaigns. A plan that surfaced last spring to cut the hours of the East Millstone Post Office on Market Street was soon abandoned after village residents protested.

The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey was honored by a township-based church Jan. 18 for his “impeccable record of meeting the cause of justice.” Calling him “an advocate for all things right and an enemy to all things unfair,” the Rev. DeForest B. Soaries of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens presented U.S. Attorney Paul G. Fishman with the church’s Martin Luther …

The Delaware & Raritan Canal bridge on Amwell Road could be closed until the end of February, the state’s transportation chief said Jan. 16. State officials abruptly closed the bridge – which spans between East Millstone and Millstone – on Jan. 16 after it was determined that oversized trucks were further damaging the already-damaged bridge infrastructure.

Jan. 12 Police arrested Janea Averette, 41, of Somerset on outstanding warrants after responding to a suspicious person call on DeKalb Street. Police said Averette had a $17,175 warrant out from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department for contempt of court and a $839 warrant from Bridgewater municipal court.

A 40-year-old township woman was injured Jan. 14 in an accident police said was caused by her falling asleep at the wheel. Iyabo Oladapo of the Somerset section told police she was driving her 2008 Mercedes Benz G6 down Somerset Street at about 8 a.m. when she fell asleep. Her car struck a parked 2006 Dodge Durango and overturned near Home …

625 New Brunswick Rd., (732) 563-4213 Open Monday-Friday  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

He’s a triathlete, a pastry chef and now, a mayor. Township native Chris Kelly was sworn in as mayor at the Jan. 13 Township Council meeting, replacing Brian Levine, who has moved on to the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

[wpgmappity id=”15″] Update: The driver has been identified as Bharat Kirthivasan, 29, of Plainsboro. A driver injured in a rush-hour car crash on Blackwells Mills Road was transported to a New Brunswick hospital with a serious head wound, police said.

Jan. 6 Sandra Barboza of Elizabeth was cited for careless driving after the car she was driving rear-ended one driven by Karim Carnegie of Newark, who was stopping for a police officer at a school crosswalk.