General News

Although Colonial Park remains open, new rules have been applied to its use. Starting May 9 and continuing on weekends and holidays until further notice, Colonial Drive – the road that runs through the entire park – will be closed to vehicles, according to a press release from the Somerset County Park Commission. Parking will be accessible only from a …

Quovella Spruill. The township has hired a retired Essex County Prosecutor’s Office chief of detectives to lead the Franklin Police Department, a move that is historic in at least two ways. Quovella Spruill, the newly hired Public Safety Director, is the first woman and first African-American to lead the township police department. Spruill’s appointment to the position was announced at …

The township’s annual Farmer’s Market has been cancelled this year, but not for the reason you’d think. The market, begun in 2017 and located at the corner of DeMott Lane and Amwell Road, has for the past three years run from the beginning of June through September, ending on Franklin Day. But not this year. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said …

The Somerset County Park Commission is reminding park patrons that while parks such as Colonial Park are open, there are restrictions. Patrons should maintain the CDC-suggested Safe distance of at least six feet, and should move over on trails when encountering other people. Also, there is no access to bathrooms, entry onto playgrounds has been prohibited, and buildings have been …

Township library director January Adams, right, speaks to the Board of Education while Board of Trustee member Nicholas Ciampa looks on. The Board of Education February 27 approved the sale of a parcel of land near Franklin Park School to the Franklin Township Library Board, for the use of a new library branch. The planned 5,000-square-foot building will replace the …

The Somerset County Park Commission will be accepting natural Christmas trees for recycling through Friday, January 31. Somerset County residents may bring their tree to Colonial Park Gardens, Parking Lot F, 156 Mettlers Road in Somerset, Franklin Township or to North Branch Park at the lighted baseball field, 355 Milltown Road in Bridgewater. Both facilities will accept trees from 8:00 …

A 4-year-old township girl is being credited with saving her mother’s life on December 6, after the woman had collapsed in their home. Police Dispatchers Julie Kozo and Olivia Klein received a 9-1-1 call at 7:45 a.m. from a little girl who turned out to be Isla Glaser, a Bartle Road resident, who told them that her mother had fallen …

An employee of the Somerville ShopRite has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A, leading state health officials to issue warnings and advisories to customers who shopped in that store last month. The unidentified person worked as a food handler in the store’s deli, according to a press release from Somerset County. The person worked there during their “infectious period,” Oct. 13-30, …

D&R Canal dredging will close parts of Canal Road the week of November 5. (File photo.) The ongoing Delaware & Raritan Canal dredging project will lead to sporadic closures of Canal Road from November 5-8. The closures will occur from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on all four days. On November 5 and 6, Canal Road will be closed between …

Plans call for the 12 x 73-foot memorial to be placed on the retail center’s property along JFK Boulevard. Plans to erect an 876-square-foot memorial to Pres. John F. Kennedy at a JFK Boulevard retail center are under review by township planning staff. The 12 x 73-foot memorial would include a statue of Kennedy walking with his son, two wall …