Nearly $300,000 in purchases were approved at the Sept. 24 Township Council meeting. The big ticket on the agenda was for a dump truck with snow plow from Cambria Truck Center for $143,773.

An effort by police to look up an injured man’s address so his bicycle could be returned to him ended up with the man in handcuffs, police said. Derek Ray, 26, of Manville was charged Sept. 24 with being a fugitive from justice after police discovered that he was wanted in Virginia and Tennessee.

Former Township Councilman and prolific fundraiser Bill Grippo was honored at the Sept. 24 Township Council meeting for his efforts in raising money for the annual 4th of July celebration.

Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 625 New Brunswick Rd., Somerset, NJ

UPDATE: A resolution urging state Legislators to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of a bill recognizing same-sex marriage died before the Sept. 24 meeting because the all-Democratic Township Council did not support it, its sponsor said.

It was billed as a debate between the two state Senate candidates for the 17th Legislative District, but it ended up being more of a policy discussion.

Victor P. Battagliotti of Kendall Park told police Sept. 20 that he was driving south on Route 27, near Andover Road, when the sun blinded him and his car crashed into the rear of one driven by Manoj Kumar of North Brunswick. Kumar’s car was stopped in traffic at the time. §

A Somerset man had a double dose of bad luck on Sept. 20 when he was involved in a car accident and was later arrested on an outstanding warrant from Piscataway. Police said Blair A. Wilson, 40, was driving down Girard Avenue when his car struck one driven by Eloise Jacobs, also of Somerset. Jacobs told police that she had …

A Somerset man wanted in two other towns was arrested Sept. 20 after police said he was seen trying to leave K-Mart on Easton Avenue with nearly $300 in merchandise. John Highland, 46, was allegedly seen by a store security guard putting $196 worth of Red Bull energy drinks and $98 in miscellaneous clothing items in a shopping cart, then …

The deadline for aspiring playwrights to submit their scripts to the Villagers New Playwrights Series is Oct.15. Selected straight plays will be presented as staged readings in the Zaidi Black Box Theatre from February to March, 2014, according to the program’s Web site.