News-pourri

A student member of a township commission, a charitable foundation and awareness of PTSD were recognized June 13 by the Township Council. Nicholas Renda, a Franklin High School senior who was a junior member of the township’s Human Relations Commission for two years, was commended by the council for his work.

If the number of cars parked at The Palace at Somerset June 12 was any indication, the 17th annual Elijah’s Promise Chef’s Night was a success. The event is the largest fundraiser held by Elijah’s Promise, and supplies the organization with about 25 percent of the culinary school’s budget, said Michelle Wilson, Elijah’s Promise’s associate director.

Township residents who are incumbent Democrats at the state and local levels handily beat back challenges in the June 6 primary election. Deputy Mayor Carl Wright (D-Ward 4) and state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) came up big winners in the voting. Danielsen was joined in the winners’ circle by his running mates, state Assemblyman Joe Egan and state Sen. Bob …

It seemed a little dicey earlier in the morning, but the Franklin Township Farmers’ Market’s debut June 3 was deemed a success by its organizer and participants. A steady rain that fell for hours before its kickoff time cleared up shortly after 10 a.m., just in time for the market’s grand opening.

Most everyone had left the municipal building and Veterans Memorial Park on May 29, after the Memorial Day observance, when three people came running up the complex driveway. The trio, all of whom were carrying U.S. flags, stopped when they reached the monuments.

For the second consecutive year, inclement weather forced the cancellation of the township’s annual Memorial Day parade, but the commemoration went on as scheduled. Rather than chance the rain and hold the ceremony in the Veterans Memorial Park, organizers Mayor Phil Kramer and Bob LaCorte decided to move it indoors, into the Township Council chambers.

The Board of Education at its May 25 meeting commended a number of Franklin High School students for their achievements during the school year. Among those honored at the meeting were members of the FHS football, track, cross country and field hockey teams, the varsity cheerleaders, the FHS marching band and the Junior Classical League.

Franklin Township had the second-largest numeric population increase in Somerset County from 2015 to 2016, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows. According to the new population estimates, released May 25, Franklin’s population in 2016 stood at an estimated 66,311, up from 2015’s 66,028.

Two pieces of proposed legislation supported by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) are making their way through the state Assembly. The first, a bill that would give a second chance to National Guard and Reserve members who could not accept a police or fire fighter job because of their service, won assembly approval on May 22.

About 90 Democratic Party loyalists gathered May 18 at The Palace at Somerset for what was described as a “low-key” fundraiser for Township Council candidates. The evening featured speeches and food, and one-on-ones with the five Democratic council candidates.