News-pourri

Six candidates have filed for the three Board of Education seats up for contention in November’s election. In addition to incumbent Laurie Merris and former board president Ed Potosnak, former board member Pat Stanley has submitted an application to run. Potosnak and Stanley lost their bids for re-election in 2017. Also throwing hats in the ring are Beverly Briggs-Lawson, a …

Students in grades Kindergarten to 9 made good strides in math during the last school year, the Board of Education was told at its last meeting. The students showed better growth during the 2017-18 school year than they had in the previous year, according to internal testing, the board was told at its July 26 meeting. There were equally promising …

              Only one of three Board of Education members whose seats are in contention this November will run for re-election. One of those open seats is being eyed by a former member whose re-election bid fell short last year. School board members Laurie Merris, Margaret Steele and Richard Seamon are up for re-election in …

About 3,000 people gathered at Zarephath July 21 to play in the mud, but for a good cause. It was the MuckFest MS, a 5k run/walk obstacle course through a muddy trail. The event was sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, under the auspices of the New Jersey Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. …

The Franklin JFK Club – the township’s Democrat organization – held its annual picnic July 21 at the gazebo in Middlebush Park. Club members mingled and feasted on hamburgers, hot dogs and various accompaniments, while state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) had his crew there to make pizzas. This is an off-year for the Township Council, so the only candidates who …

More than two dozen township students graduated from the township police department’s Junior Police Academy during a July 20 ceremony held at Franklin High School. The 25 cadets spent the previous week drilling, marching and learning various aspects of law enforcement, from the local level through the national level. The program included a trip to the Somerset County forensics lab …

A Nigerian king spent a few hours in the township July 20, touring Franklin High School and visiting the library’s main branch during his time here. The monarch, His Royal Highness Apollos Chu, King of  Eleme in Nigeria’s Rivers State, traded gifts with Mayor Phil Kramer and others in the township – from the king, books he authored and from …

Two Congressional candidates have weighed in on Pres. Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and, as expected, their reactions are split down party lines. Township resident Daryl Kipnis is the Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman for the state’s 12th Congressional District seat in the House. Trump on July 16 held a controversial meeting …

Hundreds of Franklin Food Bank supporters gathered July 16 at the Palace at Somerset Park for the organization’s annual “Gathering for Groceries.” The event was the second half of a two-pronged fundraiser, the first being “Golf for Groceries,” held earlier in the day at the Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough. The day-long event is the food bank’s largest fundraiser …

Preparations are underway for the annual backpack and school supply drive run by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17). School supplies will be collected through Sept. 7, according to a press release from Danielsen’s office. “The collective kindness and generosity shown by the wonderful residents, businesses, and social organizations brings unity to our community, which I am proud and humbled to …