The Planning Board on Jan. 8 approved applications for Trap Rock Industries to build a concrete plant, balconies for a Somerset Street housing development and an outdoor storage plan for a Randolph Road water tank manufacturer. Trap Rock got the OK from the board to construct a 2,400-square-foot concrete manufacturing plant on its property off Kingston-Rocky Hill Road in Kingston. …

A plan for a township agricultural heritage center on Jan. 8 crept a little closer to being included in the township’s Master Plan. Two members of the township’s Historical Preservation Advisory Commission – Barbara Lawrence and Andrew Gurian – appeared before the Planning Board to ask that it include their project in the plan. Don’t Miss Out! No other media …

Township Council members didn’t have much to critique when they were shown the township’s newly redesigned Web site at the Jan. 7 meeting. The council was taken through the site’s new features by Justin Heyman, the township’s Information Technology director. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin …

Schools Superintendent Edward Seto said the district administration handled the recent bus crisis “flawlessly.” Stung by criticism that they needlessly waited until the last minute to decide to close schools on Jan. 6 due to concerns over the district’s main bus contractor, district administrators have released more details about what happened during the time leading up to the decision and …

Two Somerset men remain incarcerated at the Middlesex County Jail, New Brunswick, on robbery charges stemming from an alleged Jan. 4 home invasion. The two were among three men arrested as they allegedly fled from the scene, police said. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin Reporter …

Contracts for goods and services worth $289,723 were approved at the Jan. 7 Township Council meeting. The council approved the $39,918 purchase of a pick-up truck with snow plow from Beyer Brothers Corp. of Fairview. The money comes from the 2013 capital spending plan. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information …

Deputy Mayor Brian Regan questioned the proposed salary hikes for Fire District 3 commissioners. Agreeing that commissioners should appear at a meeting and explain why they feel they need a more than $100 a year raise, the Township Council Jan. 7 tabled approval for the proposed 2014 salaries for Fire District 3’s five commissioners. Don’t Miss Out! No other media …

There’s a new portrait hanging among the presidents in the Township Council chambers, that of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. Period. We are the only truly independent media serving the Eight Villages. But …

Julia Presley after being re-elected president of the Board of Education Jan. 6, 2014. Julia Presley was re-elected president of the Board of Education and Eva Nagy was elected vice president during the board’s rescheduled reorganization meeting. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of information presented by the Franklin Reporter & Advocate. …

Two hectic days of meetings and negotiations – highlighted by an apparent revolt by bus drivers against their former company – ended Jan. 6 with the Board of Education transferring the contract for the bulk of the district’s school bus routes to a new company. Don’t Miss Out! No other media outlet covering Franklin Township brings you the depth of …