Community Building

State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) is running his annual winter clothing drive until February 15. The Head to Toe clothing drive is seeking donations of winter clothing for children aged 3 to 16 from individuals and community partners throughout the 17th Legislative District. Winter clothing items being sought include hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and socks.  Last year his office collected more than 1,000 pieces …

Robert “Kash” Kashinsky for Community and the Franklin Republican Club are sponsoring a clothing gift drive for Franklin Township children in foster care. Working with a local agency, Kashinsky set up the drive which has donors pick a child from the provided list, purchase the gifts, and drop them off at his DeMott Lane home, from where they will then …

The Somerset chapter of Sewa International, a public service group, delivered the last of 1,000 pounds of food to the Franklin Food Bank on December 2. The group had initially donated 300 pounds; this delivery was 700 pounds. The food was mainly collected by student volunteers. The Franklin Reporter & Advocate was there for the donation:

FTPD patrolman Mathew Russo, the Franklin Food Bank’s Mike Clare and FTPD patrolman Kenneth Reid III (left to right) were on hand to help distribute the food. The Franklin Food Bank and Franklin Township Police partnered December 1 to give away more than 700 boxes of produce to those in need. The food distribution was held at the Board of …

The annual Veterans Day commemoration was held November 11 at Veterans Memorial Park, in the Municipal Complex. The event’s keynote speaker was Franklin Township Police Sgt. Ariel Almora, a former Marine. Almora spoke about his family’s fleeing Cuba in 1980, and his joining the Marine Corps when he was 17 years old. Somerset County Commissioners Director Shanel Robinson sang the …

Rob “Kash” Kashinsky prepares to administer a flu shot to his wife, Crystal on October 31. (Photo: Rob Kashinsky). Dozens of Franklin residents received Covid and other vaccinations in two events sponsored by township residents on October 31. Rob “Kash” Kashinsky of DeMott lane held one at his home, while the other was held at the southern end of town …

Dignitaries participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Franklin Township Youth Center on Aug. 15, 2019. (File photo.) A spike in the incidence of township residents contracting the coronavirus has delayed the opening of the township’s youth center on Lewis Street. The 24,000-square-foot, $9.8 million youth center was expected to be open by the end of this month. Official shad …

Somerset County Sheriff Darrin Russo reached back to his Italian roots September 14 in helping to bring some comfort to Manville’s first responders. The Sheriff, his top brass and some Sheriff’s Officers teamed up with members of the Italian-American police Society of New Jersey to do what Italians do by nature: they brought food. The benefactors of their largess were …

The 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Arlington, Va. and Shanksville, Pa. – and the six Franklin residents who lost their lives that day – was commemorated in two separate ceremonies. Among the 2,977 people killed in the attacks were township natives John Collins, Stephen Joseph, Ganesh K. Ladkat, Vanesha O. Richards, Jeffrey Robinson …

A virtual panel discussion entitled “Understanding Franklin’s Racist Past, and How We Get to a Racially Just Future” is set for 7 p.m. September 13. The discussion is sponsored by the JFK Club, the township’s Democratic Club. The event will feature four speakers: Brian Armstong, author of the book, “Franklin Park Tragedy – History of Racism in Franklin.”The Rev. Sonya …