News-pourri

Township Democrats held their annual summer picnic July 16 in Colonial Park. In addition to the party faithful, special guests attending the JFK Club’s event included candidates for various township, county and federal offices.

Youths’ achievements in scholastics, scouting and sports were highlighted during the July 12 Township Council meeting. The Cedar Hill Preparatory School’s robotics team, which was part of a first place team in an international competition in Germany, was commended by the council for its milestone, as were two DreamCricket Academy cricket teams, one of which won a national tournament and the …

Saying its extended closure could endanger the lives of residents of Franklin and two other towns, the Township Council has asked state officials to resume work on the Route 518 bridge over the Delaware & Raritan Canal. “Not to overstate it, but this is a matter of life and death,” Mayor Phillip Kramer said.

More than 40 people marched from Naaman Williams Park to the township police headquarters July 11 to remember people of color – including a township resident – who were killed by police. Organized by Leah Madison, a former township resident who now lives in New Brunswick, the march was conducted “in the name of justice,” she said.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment had a busy night July 7, approving all four applications brought before it. Township residents Ed Potosnak and Jeremy Pike – Potosnak is the Board of Education president – received permission from the board to renovate and temporarily live in a barn at the rear of a Canal Road property they recently bought.

More than a dozen residents of Arlington and Irvington avenues showed up at a June 28 public hearing to give a big thumbs-down to the proposed Arlington Park. The so-called “pocket park” will feature a basketball court, a Tot Lot, a playground and a small gazebo.

Representatives of the company proposing to build a natural gas compressor facility in the township are willing to hold more public information sessions, the Township Council was told June 28. In response to a request earlier in the day from Mayor Phillip Kramer, township manager Robert Vornlocker said he contacted officials from the Williams Companies, who, he said, told him …

Preliminary plans for a 151-apartment project in the township’s Churchill-Millstone Redevelopment Area were presented June 20 to the Redevelopment Agency. Plans call for 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments – some in a townhouse design – with two new streets and a common green area.

Township officials and staff were on hand June 17 to witness the lowering of the American flag to half-staff, in memory of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting. Mayor Phillip Kramer, Township Councilwoman Roz Sherman (D-Ward 2) and Township Councilman Charles Onyejiaka (D-Ward 3) were joined by township manager Robert Vornlocker and several residents for the short ceremony.

Dozens of people from Franklin and the surrounding area gathered at The Den nightclub on Hamilton Street the evening of June 13 for an impromptu vigil for those killed and injured in the attack on an Orlando, Fla. gay bar. More than 100 people were killed or wounded in the one-man attack on patrons at Pulse, a gay bar in …