News-pourri

Bill Grippo, the longtime head of the township’s July 4th celebration committee, was commended by the Township Council at its Sept. 13 meeting. The commendation, Grippo said, “belongs to all the people” who contributed to the event.

Township officials, first responders, faith leaders and families of the fallen gathered Sept. 13 at the 9-11 Memorial to pay their respects during the township’s official commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Families of three of the six township residents killed in the attacks attended the short ceremony, held near the township library.

The 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks were observed in the township throughout the course of the day. At about 8:30 a.m., an observance organized by Mayor Philip Kramer was held at the township’s 9-11 Memorial near the library. Among those in attendance were Township Councilman Charles Onyejiaka (D-Ward 3), Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large), Alex Kharazi, head …

DisABILITY Services Fair Set for Oct. 1 A free DisABILITY Services Fair is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Thomas J. Kavanaugh VFW Hall, 600 Washington Ave., Manville.

Update: Two Republican state legislators from the neighboring 16th District are calling on Gov. Christie to recognize the Route 518 bridge work as “essential,” and free up the money needed to complete it.

All charter school students would be banned from district-sponsored co-curricular and athletic activities starting in the 2017-18 school year under a policy revision introduced by the Board of Education at its Aug. 25 meeting. If enacted, the policy revision would allow charter school students who have participated in those activities in prior years to do so again during the 2016-17 …

Saying he was “frustrated” with the slow pace of arranging for their meetings to be televised, Mayor Phillip Kramer Aug. 24 told the Library Board of Trustees, to, essentially, “get it done.” “I am suggesting that you task January (Adams, the library director) to get it done,” Kramer told the board. “Find the cheapest way.”

Update: An interesting wrinkle developed Aug. 24 in the “adopting” of Cedar Grove Lane by the two Somerset County Sheriff’s candidates. Incumbent Sheriff Frank Provenzano, at a press event in the township that morning, said that his office had adopted the entire stretch of Cedar Grove Lane from Amwell Road to Easton Avenue.

The first installment of about 400 backpacks filled with school supplies, destined for area schoolchildren, was distributed Aug. 20 at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens on Route 27. The backpacks were collected and distributed by the Zakee Bowser Enrichment Foundation, an 18-year-old charity founded in memory of a New Brunswick teenager killed in 1997.

Update: The Freeholders approved the plans and authorized receipt of bids for the project. Original: Replacement of the Six Mile Run bridge on South Middlebush Road is expected to be brought closer to reality at the Somerset County Freeholder’s Aug. 23 meeting.