News-pourri

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 …

  A township resident is suing one of the township fire districts and a Pennsylvani-based insurance company over the company’s refusal to release documents relating to the settlement of a defamation lawsuit. John Paff, a well-known open government advocate, filed the suit on Nov. 13 in state Superior Court, Somerville. Paff is alleging that officials in Fire District No. 3 …

  New state regulations banning the use of underground wells as public water sources are forcing the closure of a long-used well in Colonial Park. The well, located in Parking Lot F, near the bocce courts off Mettlers Road, has been used for decades by township residents as the source for their drinking water. But regulations adopted about a year ago …

  Most people have never heard of Martha Garretson Place, but the former East Millstone resident earned some degree of infamy in her day. Place is the first woman electrocuted in New York state, a distinction she earned in 1899 after being found guilty of the 1898 murder of her step-daughter, and the attempted murder of her husband in their …

  A proposal by the Board of Education’s vice president to move the December meeting so board members could attend a Chamber of Commerce event received no support at the Nov. 13 meeting. Board vice president Eva Nagy made the proposal, she said, because the chamber has been very supportive of the school district and she thought the district should respond …

  Ethics complaints against the Board of Education’s president and vice president have been dismissed by a state Administrative Law judge. The complaints were filed by former board member Robert Trautmann, who alleged that board president Julia Presley and vice president Eva Nagy violated state ethics regulations when they voted earlier this year to accept a buyout contract with former schools …

  A proposal to eliminate mid-term exams in Franklin High School will be up for a vote at the Board of Education’s Nov. 20 meeting. The proposal has been discussed by the district administration and high school staff since about September, interim Schools Superintendent Lee Seitz said at the board’s Nov. 13 meeting. Seitz said the proliferation of state-mandated tests …

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 …