More than 50 pounds of excess Halloween candy was collected earlier this month from area children by a Somerset dentist. The candy is bound for American troops serving overseas.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the county are stepping their enforcement of laws banning using cell phones while driving. Traffic patrols will be deployed on a random basis to find drivers talking and texting while driving, according to a press release from Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, North Plainfield Chief of Police and President of the Somerset County Association of Chiefs of …

Auditions for the musicals “The Last Five Years” and “Little Shop of Horrors” are set for Nov. 16 through Nov. 21 at the Villagers Theatre, DeMott Lane (near the municipal complex), Somerset. Auditions for “The Last Five Years” are set for 3-6 p.m. Nov. 16, with potential callbacks 3-6 p.m. Nov. 23.

The organization that funds the Franklin Township Animal Shelter received a $2,000 donation to help it buy pet food for families in need.

The Franklin Township Food Bank, 60 Millstone Rd., Somerset, is looking for volunteers for the holiday season. Nancy LaCorte of the food bank said that people are needed “to help us direct traffic and help our clients to their cars with our limited number of shopping carts.”

The largest gathering of business in Somerset County is set for Dec. 16 at The Palace, 333 Davidson Ave. in Somerset. The event is the Somerset County Business Partnership’s “Annual Meeting & Celebration of Success.” The event begins at 11:30 a.m., with a luncheon at 12:15 p.m.

The school district administration will not support a requested reversal of a pay cut instituted this year for substitute teachers, schools Superintendent Edward Seto said Nov. 14. Nor will the administration support a previously promised bonus for those substitute teachers who worked more than 120 days in the 2012-2013 school year, he said.

Single-stream recycling is coming to the township. Township Councilman Ted Chase (Ward 1) told members at the Nov. 12 meeting that Somerset County wants to expand its pilot program, started earlier this year, into the township next year.

The township’s willingness to house its medical and dental health care plans with one company led the company to slash its initial 2014 renewal premiums by more than $750,000. That was the word Nov. 12 from Stuart Migdon, of the Woodbridge-based Business & Governmental Insurance Agency, the township’s insurance broker.

An application to build a 4,246-square-foot home on an undersized lot on Lenox Avenue was approved Nov. 13 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Builder Ronald Snyder will construct a bi-level home on a 75’x 100′ lot, which is half the required size for a home.