News-pourri

By PJ Parker. The Somerset Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company No. 1 held its annual open house Oct. 13 at its fire house on Hollywood Avenue.

The land swap between the township and school district is all but a done deal with the Oct. 9 final passage by the Township Council of an ordinance approving it. The Board of Education approved the deal at its September meeting.

It appears that the idea to form a citizen’s committee to rework an idea for a “Peace and Non-Violence” memorial is on ice, at least for now. There were no takers at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting when Mayor Phil Kramer asked for comments from the council, after giving his opinion that it would be difficult to discuss “what …

Embattled Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad has decided to take some time away from council business. A statement from Prasad (D-At Large) to that effect was read at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting by Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy.

Sunday alcohol sales would be permitted during the same times as the rest of the week under an ordinance amendment set to be introduced at the Oct. 9 Township Council meeting. Currently, Sunday sales of alcohol are restricted to noon to 2 a.m., in restaurants and noon to 10 p.m. in liquor stores.

Children were the focus of the annual Safety Fair, held by the Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department on Oct. 6. Games, arts and crafts, and hands-on demonstrations of firefighting techniques and equipment highlighted the day.

The group that for the past 10 years has acted as the repository for donations earmarked for a proposed “Peace and Non-Violence” monument park on Oct. 2 took the first steps toward divesting itself of the money, and effectively killing the project. The Franklin Township Community Foundation is holding more than $79,000 donated to the monument effort. Money was donated …

Members of the Franklin Township Police Department will don pink patches this month as part of a department-wide fundraising effort for breast cancer awareness. The Pink Patch Project is a collaborative effort among the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association and public safety organizations around the country, according to the group’s Facebook page. The goal of the project is to …

Actions taken by a Township Councilman and Municipal Court Judge are being reviewed in a “judicial investigation,” according to an email sent by a top Somerset County Democratic Committee official. An email set out Oct. 1 by Somerset County Democratic Committee executive director Max Blum said that there is an “ongoing judicial investigation” into township Municipal Court Judge Hector Rodriguez, …

The first steps in the property swap between the township and the Board of Education were taken the week of Sept. 24. Through the swap, the Board of Education will acquire about 13 acres of the Consolata Mission property on Route 27, and the township will get about six acres on Amwell Road, in the form of the old Middlebush …