General News

A state panel has ordered a township Fire Commissioner to pay $2,500 and his Fire District nearly $15,000 in fines for “willfully and knowingly” violating the state’s Open Public Records Act. The Government Records Council made the Dec. 18 ruling against William Kleiber, a Fire Commissioner with Fire District 2 and that district’s former designated public records custodian, in a …

News that several outside groups have approached the Recreation Department with requests to rent Middlebush Park was not greeted with enthusiasm by the Advisory Recreation Council. Township recreation director Alice Osipowitz told council members at their Dec. 10 meeting that the department has received requests from a variety of groups, including a “semi-professional football team and an independent AAU soccer team” …

  The traditional holiday tree lighting ceremony will return to the township’s municipal complex on Dec. 12. The ceremony, sponsored by the township recreation department, is scheduled to run from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the large tree located between the municipal building and the township library. The event will feature music, cookies and hot cocoa. The went will also …

Seven members of the township police department were honored Nov. 22 during the state Policeman’s Benevolent Association’s annual Valor Award ceremony. Officer Robert Brown was given the Gold Medal of Valor. Brown was nearly shot by a robbery suspect in August, 2013, in a violent struggle behind St. Matthias Church on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Earlier this year, Brown was …

The costs of complying with federal regulations – the deadline for which is the end of this year – are the real reason why Somerset County is turning off the spigots at public access wells in Colonial Park, according to a county official. Those costs would be incurred if the county decided to bring the wells in conformity with federal regulations, …

A stray cat found in the Emerald Place area has tested positive for rabies, Somerset County officials said. The cat, described as being a black, brown and white tabby, scratched a resident on Nov. 10, according to a release from the county. The cat was taken to the public health laboratory at the state Department of Health for tests, and …

The annual Veterans’ Day observance was held Nov. 11 in Veterans’ Memorial Park, DeMott Lane. The event was held by members of American Legion Jensen-Scalzone Post 478, somerset, and the Canal Walk Veterans Club. Also participating was an honor detachment from the Franklin High School Junior ROTC. The observance was highlighted by the ringing of the memorial bell 11 times by the …

The scheduled closing of Route 518 between Canal Road and Carroll Place has been delayed, according to a statement from Somerset County. The three-quarter mile stretch was originally scheduled to be closed to all traffic between Nov. 10 and 24, and then during work hours from Nov. 24 through Dec. 23. Unspecified delays led to the postponement of that schedule, …

Township property owners who carry flood insurance will see their premiums decrease 5 percent this year, thanks to an improved rating in a voluntary program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Called the Community Rating System, the program provides incentives to towns to take actions to minimize flood risk that are greater than the floodplain management practices mandated by the National …

A problem with the boiler at Consolata Missionaries, Route 27, has forced a change in the polling place for some districts for the Nov. 4 election. Those voters living in Districts 30 to 34 will now vote at Franklin Park School, 30 Eden St. In a memo to the Township Council, township clerk Anne Marie McCarthy wrote that she was …