News-pourri

The annual MLK Foundation Community Breakfast draws hundreds of Franklin residents. (File photo.) Safety concerns spurred by the surge in Covid-19 cases in the township forced the postponement of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast. The Franklin Township Dr. Martin Luther King Community Foundation, the organization sponsoring the annual breakfast, announced the postponement on January 13.

A bill co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) that will help school districts across the state install “panic buttons” was recently signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy. The bill, formerly A-6258, allocates $5.1 million from the Securing Our Children’s Future Fund to the state Department of Education to fund grants to 60 school districts for the security projects.

One could still hear the anger in the voice of U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, more than one year after an angry mob breached the U.S. Capitol building in a failed attempt to stop the certification of Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election. You could see it in her eyes, in the way she softly banged on the …

Schools Superintendent John Ravally explained the meeting resolution during the Board’s reorganization session. The remainder of Board of Education meetings for the 2021-22 school year will be held both virtually and in-person, the Board decided at its reorganization meeting. The Board held the hybrid meetings last year, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meetings were switched back to in-person …

Governor Phil Murphy swears in Somerset County Commissioners’ Director Shanel Robinson during the Commission’s January 7 reorganization meeting. (Screenshot courtesy of Somerset County Commissioners.) Fresh off a November victory returning her to her Somerset County Commissioner’s seat, Shanel Robinson on January 7 was once again voted in as Commissioner Director. Robinson won re-election to the Commission in November, along with …

The Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting on January 6. Nancy LaCorte and Ardaman Singh retained their positions on the Board of Education at the January 6 Board reorganization meeting. LaCorte was re-elected president, and Singh was re-elected vice president.

Discarded Christmas trees will be picked up by the township Public Works Department on January 10 and January 18. All lights, wires, decorations and tinsel should be removed from trees.

Township residents whose employment was adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic may qualify for a free job training program. The training program is sponsored by the township, the Somerset Community Action Program and Raritan Valley Community College.

Township Councilman Ed Potosnak, right, is sworn in by state Sen. Vin Gopal during the Council’s January 4 reorganization meeting. Newly minted Township Councilman Ed Potosnak made history January 4 when he took his Oath of Office, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person to hold the office. Council members also chose Crystal Pruitt (D-At Large) to serve as this year’s …

One of the three entities from which the township buys water has asked its customers to conserve water as much as they can. NJ American Water put a notice out on January 3 asking its 45 customer towns in Somerset, Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Union counties to hold back on water usage.