News-pourri

The Franklin High School Class of 2016 will graduate this June at the high school. With one dissenting vote, the Board of Education Feb. 25 voted to move the graduation ceremony from Sun National Bank Center in Trenton to Warrior Stadium or, in the case of bad weather, the FHS gym.

American Legion Post 478 was commended Feb. 23 by the Township Council for its donation of $18,000 to the township police department. The money will be used to purchase bullet-proof vests for township police officers.

Lighting up a smoke in a township park could cost you as much as $1,000 under an ordinance introduced Feb. 23 by the Township Council. The ordinance, which has been discussed for more than two years, would ban smoking and vaping on any property, building or automobile owned by the township.

Six members of the Franklin High School athletics staff were commended Feb. 9 by the Township Council for their actions in saving the life of their colleague. Athletic trainer Matthew Ellmyer and gym teachers Scott Burd, Anthony Racioppi, Dan DiColo, Chris McEvoy and JaMon Dunn were praised by the council for their “selfless act of bravery and heroism” in saving the life …

The developer of the Canal Walk active adult community on Feb. 3 won approval for the final phase of the housing project. The Planning Board, with one dissenting vote, approved a change in the project’s General Development Plan and also gave preliminary site plan approval for the construction of Enclave II, a 3-building, 62-unit condominium/apartment development near the project’s Schoolhouse Road …

Opponents of a proposal to move the Franklin High School graduation to the school rather than stay at a Trenton arena let their voices be heard at the Jan. 28 Board of Education meeting. All but one of more than a dozen people who spoke on the topic urged the board to keep the graduation ceremony at the Sun National …

Township officials have one request for residents concerned about snow plowing after the weekend storm: Please be patient. Crews from the township Department of Public Works and hired contractors have been plowing the township’s more than 800 streets since the storm began, officials said. But, they admitted, some mistakes were made.

Some may have seen more than two feet of snow an impediment, but two township siblings saw it as an opportunity to help their neighbors. Noelle and Noah Brent-Magri, both 16, teamed up on Jan. 24 to dig their neighbors – and some strangers – out of the blizzard’s aftermath.

Township residents spent Jan. 24 digging out of or playing in the average 24 inches of snow that Winter Storm Jonas dumped on the Eight Villages. One lingering effect of the storm, which began Friday evening and didn’t stop until about 24 hours later, was the cancellation of school for Jan. 25.

There were no reported injuries in 14 automobile crashes reported Jan. 23, during the Blizzard of 2016. The storm, which began late in the evening of Jan. 22, was expected to drop between 25 and 30 inches of snow on the township.