News-pourri

A grand opening celebration was held May 21 for Voorhees Station, the first redevelopment project targeted for Route 27. The mixed income, mixed-use project was built by RPM Development, and represents the latest in the township’s efforts to transform the area from industrial to residential and retail.

Township residents are invited to give their input on how the Al’s Brook bridge on New Brunswick Road should be repaired in a public information session from 5-8 p.m. May 29 at the municipal building, 475 DeMott Lane. The bridge, officially known as Bridge K0607,is located between Cedar Grove Lane and Willow Avenue.

Kingston will soon be getting a new Italian deli and market on Route 27. The Planning Board at its May 7 meeting approved expansion plans for a building at 4587 Route 27, owned by township resident Gennaro Costabile.

Dogs of all sizes and shapes gathered May 4 at Colonial Park for the 7th Annual “Paws for a Cause” fundraiser for Second Chance for Animals. The organization supplies volunteers for and funds the Franklin Township Animal Shelter on DeMott Lane.

Township students in grades 8 through 12 have until May 15 to apply for the next Youth Leadership Somerset program. The 9-month program will begin in September. Sessions are held one Saturday each month for between four and six hours.

Six candidates for an unexpired term will be interviewed April 25 during a special Board of Education meeting. The candidates hope to fill the seat of Robert Trautmann, who left in February midway through his first term.

As it has for the past several years, the Township Council has declared April 27 as “Sierra Leone Day” in Franklin. The proclamation designating the day was approved at the council’s April 22 meeting.

A township military couple wed by Mayor Brian Levine in 2011 surprised the Mayor at the April 22 Township Council meeting with a commemorative plaque from Afghanistan. Army Sgt. Santos Avilez and his wife, Air Force Sgt. Grisselle Avilez, presented Levine with the plaque during the meeting’s public portion.

The culmination of a 13-year effort to protect the historic and scenic Millstone Valley area from development was celebrated April 19 with the opening of the restored Griggstown Bridgetender’s House and Muletenders’ Barracks. The house, which was once home to the Griggstown causeway bridgetender and his family when mule barges plied the Delaware River canal, will serve as the visitor’s …

Gov. Chris Christie called for an end to realty transfer fees and limits on campaign spending in a town hall meeting held April 15 at the N.J. National Guard Armory on Hamilton Street. This was the third time Christie has visited the township during his two terms as governor.