Community Building

Bill Grippo talks about the Ambassador Program. A fundraising program designed to provide long-term sustainability for the Franklin Food Bank was debuted November 12. Called the Ambassador Program, the goal is to generate donations of between $5,000 and $10,000 per month.

More than 100 area military veterans gathered Nov. 8 at the Stage House restaurant on Amwell Road for state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen’s Veterans’ Day breakfast. In the largest such gathering to date, more than 100 military veterans gathered at the Stage House restaurant Nov. 8 for state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen’s annual Veterans’ Day breakfast. This is the fifth year that …

More than a dozen township residents gathered at the township performance gazebo on DeMott Lane October 31 to hold a prayer vigil for an 11-year-old boy critically injured in a car accident. A group of township residents gathered in the performance gazebo at the Municipal Complex on October 31 to pray for an 11-year-old township boy who was severely injured …

Photo courtesy American Planning Association – NJ. The historic village of East Millstone has been named a “Great Neighborhood” by the New Jersey chapter of the American Planning Association. The award is one of several given out by the association, according to its web site.

Money and food were raised by the Sodhani Foundation and the Indo-American Association of Canal Walk. A local foundation partnered with a Canal Walk-based group to raise nearly $1,400 for the Franklin Food Bank to help it widen its offerings to its clients. Representatives of the Sodhani Foundation and the Indo-American Association of Canal Walk gathered Oct. 24 at the …

Franklin Township native son Vito Mistretta, in blue shirt, was honored with his own day at the Oct. 22 Township Council meeting. Oct. 22 was officially declared “Vito Mistretta Day” by the Township Council, in honor of a lifelong township resident credited with helping start the Hamilton Street redevelopment. Mistretta, owner of Vito’s Head Shop on Hamilton Street, is an …

The second iteration of the Franklin Township Police Department’s “pink car” was officially unveiled Oct. 10. Representatives from the police department, township officials and members of the Sister2Sister Network – the non-profit organization benefiting from the FTPD’s “Pink Patch” fundraising program – were on hand for what’s become an annual event.

U.S. Marine recruit Daniel DeAngelis, left, credits FTPD Sgt. Ariel Almora with turning his life around. Franklin Township Police Sergeant Ariel Almora has been acting as a drill instructor in the Somerset County and FTPD youth police academies for years. Although he deals with dozens of young men and women in those sessions, he said he’s never sure if he’s …

The annual Franklin Day Festival drew sunny skies and thousands of visitors Sept. 28 to Colonial Park. Along with the usual craft vendors, township booths and food vendors, there were kids’ games, an antique car show and a visit from New Jersey National Army Guard soldiers via a Blackhawk helicopter landing.

Firefighters, EMTs and their supporters gathered at St. Matthias Church on John F. Kennedy Boulevard Sept. 11 to once again honor first responders who died in the terrorist attacks 18 years ago. Participants came from departments across the township to hear the names of the firefighters, EMTs and police officers killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon …