UPDATE: The proposal to eliminate mid-term exams was approved by the Board of Education at its Dec. 11 meeting. The measure was to have been voted on at the board’s November meeting, but interim schools Superintendent Lee Seitz asked that it be pulled pending further study of grade calculations.

Mayor Brian Levine was honored Dec. 11 by the Township Council at what was his last meeting as a local official. Come January 2015, Mayor Brian Levine becomes Somerset County Freeholder Brian Levine.

News that several outside groups have approached the Recreation Department with requests to rent Middlebush Park was not greeted with enthusiasm by the Advisory Recreation Council. Township recreation director Alice Osipowitz told council members at their Dec. 10 meeting that the department has received requests from a variety of groups, including a “semi-professional football team and an independent AAU soccer team” …

A 22-year-old New Brunswick man was arrested Dec. 8 on weapons-related charges after a traffic stop in the township. Najee Croom of Wright Street was a passenger in a car that was stopped at the corner of Hamilton Street and Millstone Road, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

An $85 million referendum that will result in a new elementary school and a realigned district was approved Dec. 9. The final tally was 1,953 “yes” votes to 1,463 “no” votes. Of the 16 voting districts established for special school elections, “no” votes outnumbered “yes” votes in only three: 2A and 2b, which includes several adult communities, and 6, which …

“Sinterklass” – the Dutch version of Santa Claus – kicked off the 2014 holiday season Dec. 7 with his arrival at the Hageman Farm on South Middlebush Road. The annual event was highlighted by Klompen Dancing, coloring projects for the kids and a harpsichord recital.

Six elementary school students got the chance Dec. 7 to take on a former high school champion in simultaneous chess games at the township library. The fact that the former high school chess champion they played was Mayor Brian Levine was not lost on any of them.

An electrical fire at the Hempstead Gardens Apartments on Hempstead Drive forced three families out of their homes on Dec. 7, police said. The fire was reported at about 3:45 p.m., according to a press release from the township police department. When officers arrived, they discovered that two apartment units were engulfed in flames, according to the release.

The weather was frightful Dec. 6, but that didn’t deter a steady stream of pets – and they owners – from coming to Sampson G. Smith School for pictures with “Santa Paws.” The event is an annual fundraiser for Second Chance for Animals, the group which funds the Franklin Township Animal Shelter. SCFA president Bob Pezzano said there was a steady …

Parents and students from across the school district joined teachers and administrators Dec. 6 at Franklin High School for what was billed as a day of celebrating township schools. Punctuating the day, amid the student performances and curriculum demonstrations, were subtle and not-so-subtle messages in favor of the Dec. 9 construction referendum.