News-pourri

A local state legislator looks to play a role in what promises to be groundbreaking marijuana legislation due later this year. State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) is working to include key segments of medical marijuana legislation he introduced into the final bill, which is now being formed in a Democratic caucus.

The replacement of a 20-foot-long stretch of water supply main on Amwell Road, near Van Cleef Road, should be done by the end of the week, township officials said. The main burst on Aug. 6, sending what some witnesses said was a geyser of water into the air.

A raccoon that was attacked by a pet dog on Hollywood Avenue was found to have rabies, county health officials said. The altercation between the dog and raccoon occurred on Aug. 1, according to a press release from Somerset County. The raccoon was picked up by township Animal Control, and was sent to the public health laboratory at the New …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …