Community Building

A call has gone out for aid for a township woman whose 2-year-old daughter drowned in a pool on May 13. Nilda Sanchez’s daughter, Alani, was at her babysitter’s house in Somerset when teh little girl fell into the pool and drowned. Sanchez is the sole wage earner in her family and has two other daughters, Angel, who attends MacAfee …

Participants in a June, 2020 Juneteenth march in the township. (File photo) The Somerset County Democratic Black Caucus’s first Juneteenth Parade is set for 11 a.m. June 18, with the starting point being the Pine Grove Manor School, 130 Highland Ave. The parade will wend its way up Highland Avenue to Hamilton Street, ending at Naaman Williams Park, 42 Matilda …

Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the Franklin Township Youth Center as Township Manager Robert Vornlocker and Mayor Phil Kramer (left to right) look on. A half-century of talking about it and 15 years of planning came to fruition on May 14 with the Grand Opening of the Franklin Township Youth Center at 429 Lewis Street. Set …

Franklin High School Project Graduation in conjunction, with the Franklin High School Booster Club, has announced its annual Food Truck Festival event will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 21 at Franklin High School, 500 Elizabeth Avenue. There will be a variety of 15 food trucks on-site with many varieties including hot foods, desserts and more. Numerous …

Parks & Recreation Director Beau Byrtus, right, talks about the Youth Center opening as Advisory Recreation Council chairman Keith Stewart looks on. More than 400 township youths have taken out free memberships in the township Youth Center, with the facility’s grand opening just days away. That was the word on May 11 from Beau Byrtus, the director of Parks and …

Performance Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine will hold its inaugural 5K charity run/walk, “Conquer the Island,” from 10 a.m. to noon May 14 at Duke Island Park in Bridgewater. All proceeds from the event will go to the “30 Days for Clean Water” program run by  Mission Clean Water, a New Jersey-based 501c3 nonprofit that focuses on providing clean drinking water …

The Grand Opening Celebration will be followed by a “Youth Fest.” (File photo.) U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) will be among the dignitaries attending the grand opening of the Franklin Youth Center, set for 1 p.m. on May 14. The Center is located at 429 Lewis Street. Watson Coleman will present a $1 million House Appropriations Committee Community Project …

NJ State PBA President Patrick Colligan, Retired Fanwood Police Sergeant Russ Yeager (holding a picture of his father Sheriff’s Detective Ronald Yeager) and Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo (left to right) stand in front of the Somerset County Law Enforcement Memorial in Somerville. (Photo: Cosmo Tomaro, Sheriff’s Office BCI Unit.)   Somerset County Sheriff and township resident Darren Russo will …

Applications will be accepted through June 1. Applications are now being accepted for the Franklin Township Police’s Youth Police Academy, to be held from July 14-22, 2022. The program is open to students in 8th to 12 grades. The application deadline is June 1. The academy will be held daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is open to …

Photo: Greater Somerset YMCA Township resident Bill Grippo is one of 34 volunteers honored with the Greater Somerset YMCA’s Volunteer Spirit Awards. Grippo was honored for his leadership in establishing a YMCA in Franklin. “Bill has always envisioned a YMCA in the community and set his sights on working toward thatvision,” according to the award ceremony program. “Over the past …