News-pourri

ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT – Schools Superintendent John Ravally will retire at the end of this school year, ending an 11-year tenure in the district. Schools Superintendent John Ravally has notified the Board of Education that he intends to retire at the end of June, ending an 11-year stewardship of district schools. Ravally notified school board members of his intention in a …

MAKING A POINT – Chris Szalay, an engineer for the 14-home project, gestures while he testifies at the January 7 Planning Board meeting. The developer of a proposed 14-unit luxury home community on Cedar Grove Lane was sent back to the drawing board by the Planning Board on January 7. Board members objected to a number of the plan’s elements, …

NEW BOE LEADERSHIP – Dr. Dennis Hopkins, president, and Erika Inocencio, vice president, after their election at the January 6 Board of Education reorganization meeting. Dr. Dennis Hopkins was picked as president, and Erika Inocencio as vice president, at the Board of Education January 6 reorganization meeting. Also at the meeting, newly elected members Clara Wilson and Meher Pervaaz-Rafiq were …

BLOWER BAN PROPOSAL – Environmental Commissioner Arnold Schmidt has proposed banning fossil fuel-powered leaf blowers six months out of the year. A suggested Township ordinance amendment that would ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers six months out of the year was the main topic of discussion at the January 5 Environmental Advisory Commission meeting. The idea was brought up …

RE-ENACTING HISTORY – Re-enactors portraying General George Washington and Generals Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan at the “Conference on Horseback” January 4 in Kingston. Several hundred people gathered along Church Street in Kingston on January 4 to witness an event that has not been seen in 249 years. It was on January 3, 1777, on a hill in Kingston in …

ALL SMILES – Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill shares a laugh with Township Councilwoman Shepa Uddin after the latter was sworn in to her new term at the January 3 Township Council reorganization meeting. The five newly elected Township Council members had a special guest swear them in at the January 3 Township Council reorganization meeting: Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill. During the afternoon …

ONE LAST PICTURE – Outgoing Board of Education members Ardaman Singh, Walter Jackson and Nancy LaCorte (left to right, holding plaques) pose with schools Superintendent John Ravally, former Board member Michael Smith, Mayor Phil Kramer and Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (left to right) at the December 18 Board meeting. The three departing Board of Education members received many accolades during their …

STUDENTS FETED – Members of the Franklin High School GoldN’Blues Choir after their performance at the December 18 Board of Education meeting. Continuing their victory tour after appearing in the nationally broadcast NBC Rockefeller Center tree lighting, the Franklin High School “GoldN’Blues” choir were feted by the Board of Education at its December 18 meeting. The choir, which also goes …

The Franklin Township Police Department’s Community Relations Bureau on December 20 held its 5th Annual Holiday Toy and Clothing distribution at the CRB headquarters on Hamilton Street. The fifth year of the event is a “milestone that reflects the continued generosity and community spirit of Franklin Township residents and local partners,” FTPD spokesman Capt. Vincent Wilson said in a release …

NEW VICE PRINCIPAL – Cindy Jimenez speaks to the Board of Education December 18 after being named the new Claremont Road Elementary School vice principal. A veteran English as a Second Language teacher was named the new vice principal at Claremont Elementary School December 18 by the Board of Education. Cindy Jimenez, a 14-year district veteran, will start her new …