Community Building

Jada Bethea. Photo: Emma Richter. Submitted by Emma Richter, FHS Class of 2018. Someone I used to spend most of my time with at Franklin High School, running up and down the field hockey field with, rooting for each other on the sidelines, is also the same person who is standing up for change in Franklin right now. Jada Bethea, …

Marchers take their message from Middlebush Park to the Public Safety Building on June 26. Close to 100 people gathered June 26 at Middlebush Park for a march for justice to the Public Safety Building on DeMott Lane. The march was to honor people of color who have been killed by police. Once at the Public Safety Building, which houses …

Franklin residents celebrating Juneteenth took to the streets June 20 with a loud, joyful celebration of Black emancipation. Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 – June 19 – when Union Gen. Gordon Granger read aloud in Galveston, Texas, General Order No. 3, which announced the emancipation of slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by Pres. Abraham Lincoln nearly 2 …

Township police officers mustered in front of the Public Safety Building on June 16 to publicly reaffirm their Oath of Honor to the community. The officers also heard from a number of the township’s faith leaders, all of whom expressed their support for the FTPD and offered their services if needed. The event comes during a time when police and …

Saying there’s no time to arrange for the program, the township has canceled the annual summer camp in favor of a virtual camp. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker made the announcement during the Township Council’s June 9 virtual meeting. “We’ve gone past the line of no return and we’re going with a full-blown virtual summer camp,” Vornlocker said. “There’s no cost …

Franklin native Jasmin Bonner leads hundreds of protest marchers through the streets of Franklin in a Black Lives Matter-sponsored event on May 31. Hundreds of protesters – possibly up to 1,000 – took to the streets of Franklin on May 31 to call for for an end to institutionalized violence against African-Americans. Organized by Black Lives Matter, the protestors gathered …

The two winning designs in the Venus Jewelers Mother’s Day design contest. (Photo: Venus Jewelers). A 9-year-old township girl was one of two winners in a Mother’s Day jewelry design contest sponsored by a local jeweler. The contest, run by Venus Jewelers in the Rutgers Plaza on Easton Avenue, was held on Facebook, where viewers were invited to vote for …

The Razi Foundation has donated 4,000 KN95 masks earmarked for local hospitals and first responders. (Photo: Razi Foundation). The Franklin Township Interfaith Council has launched a fundraising campaign to help purchase Personal Protective Equipment for local hospitals, other health care facilities and first responders. Alex Kharazi, the Council’s president, said that more than 4,000 KN95 masks have been donated by …

Franklin Township Animal Control Officer Katie Nordhaus and Franklin GOP Club member Rob Kash with the donation Kash made to the animal shelter on behalf of the club. (Photo: FTGOP). Submitted by the Franklin Township Republican Club. The Franklin Township Animal Shelter on DeMott Lane in Somerset is a little quieter during the COVID-19 crisis. That does not mean, however, …

State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen has cancelled his planned Job Fair due to coronavirus concerns. “Today my office is forced to make a difficult decision of cancelling my 2020 Job Fair” Danielsen wrote in a statement. “While this event has provided many individuals to improve their quality of life by seeking new employment opportunities, the current state of affairs with the …