A contingent of Boy Scouts and American Legion members gathered Oct. 27 at the Veterans Memorial Park for their twice-yearly flag retirement ceremony. The scouts were from Troop 113 and the Legionaries from Post 478, both in Somerset. The ceremony involves cutting the flag into four pieces, then separating the blue field and each of the 13 stripes before …

New identifying signs for the township’s three historic districts were approved by the Open Space Advisory Committee. The committee took the action at its Oct. 15th meeting. The plan still must be approved by the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission. Each district would get up to three signs, at a cost of between $1,200 and $1,500 per village, said Tiffany Delaney, …

Two girls’ teams in the Franklin Township Soccer League won their divisions on Oct. 19 in the North Brunswick Soccer Club’s Spookarama soccer tournament. The league’s The Force (U12) and the Lightning (U13) won their two-game flights in the tournament, in which the athletes dressed in Halloween costumes. A rundown of the Force’s games was provided by coach Dan Kline: …

Drivers may want to avoid Franklin Boulevard in the evenings and early mornings through Nov. 4. Repaving work on the road, between Easton Avenue and Hamilton Street, has begun. The work will be performed nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The cost for this county project is $688,000, according to county engineer Matt Loper. [wpgmappity id=”6″]

A Somerset man remains in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, on a money laundering charge in connection with a Pennsylvania robbery. Adrian Herrera, 24, was arrested at about 11 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Bridgewater-Somerset Hotel, Davidson Avenue, by State Police detectives. Herrera is allegedly one of a gang of four men – and the second arrested …

Somerset resident and businesswoman Barbara Fuller has been nominated for an ATHENA Leadership award by the Greater Monmouth Chamber of Commerce. The award program “honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of professional accomplishment … women and men who excel in their chosen field, have devoted time and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and who also …

A 30-year-old Somerset man was among 14 arrested over the last month as part of a joint state and federal child pornography operation. Huahao “Howard” Chang was arrested Sept. 30 as part of the operation by the state Attorney General’s Office and the federal ICE Homeland Security Investigations. Chang was charged with 3rd-Degree possession of child pornography, 2nd Degree distribution …

One person was injured Oct. 27 in an early morning fire that displaced two families. Police said the fire at the Matilda Avenue two-family home was reported at about 3:25 a.m. When police arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from the house and determined that all the residents and pets were out of the building. Police said a 57-year-old man, …

Think of it as a high-tech scavenger hunt. That’s how some describe geo caching, the sport of finding hidden items on trails, using maps and GPS devices. It’s popular around the world, and on Oct. 27, a northern New Jersey caching group helped launch the trail at the Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve’s Cache Trail off Canal Road. Between 50 and …

More than 300 people – and ghouls – showed up Oct. 27 at the annual Franklin Pumpkin Patch next to the Community/Senior Center on DeMott Lane. Sponsored by the township Department of Recreation, the day featured games, crafts, pumpkin decorating and a Halloween costume parade and contest. Staff from the recreation department was helped by about 40 volunteers from the …