News-pourri

A Public Information Session to educate the public on proposed improvements to the DeMott Lane/Easton Avenue intersection has been set for 4:30-7 p.m. December 5 at the Township Municipal Building, 475 DeMott Lane. The proposed work includes “the reconstruction of the traffic signal equipment, curb, sidewalk, pavement, and median barrier in the vicinity of the intersection. Additionally, the existing multiuse …

FUNDING HIGH HOPES – Vimal Sodhani speaks to the Board of Education at its November 16 meeting, prior to donating $10,000 for the Invention Competition. A township philanthropist has once again made a substantial donation to a special program run in the school district. Vimal Sodhani, of the Sodhani Foundation, presented the district with a $10,000 check for the annual …

Once again, Franklin Township is represented on a statewide political power list. This time it’s Insider NJ’s Insider 100 Power List 2023. Representing the township on the list are Franklin Township Police Det. Pat Colligan and Township Councilmember Ed Potosnak. Colligan, who is also the head of the state PBA, is a veteran of statewide power lists. Insider NJ ranked …

MEETING SET – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said he and several other officials will brainstorm on the best way to ask Somerset County to decertify some County roads for truck traffic. Township officials plan to put their heads together this week and strategize on how to ask Somerset County to decertify some County roads for truck traffic. The idea is …

Odei Boateng (Photo: RVCC) A Somerset man is one CNN’s Top 10 Heroes for 2023, and is in competition for a $100,000 prize. Odei Boateng, a native of Ghana and a graduate of Raritan Valley Community College, was selected for his international humanitarian service. Boateng is the founder and CEO of the OKB Hope Foundation. Township residents can help Boateng …

NURSES SEEKING HELP – Township resident Erika Colindres, a nurse at RWJ New Brunswick, speaks to the Township Council at the November 13 meeting. UPDATE: The Township Council unanimously passed the resolution in support of the proposed bills at the November 28 Council meeting. A contingent of nurses from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick asked the Township Council …

LIGHTS OUT – PSE&G is working to fix a broken electrical line that powers lights along the driveway that fronts the Municipal Building off DeMott Lane. The front of the Municipal Building should soon be well-lit again. The lights along the building’s circular driveway, as well as in Veterans’ Memorial Park and in the parking lot across John M. Collins …

VETERANS’ DAY OBSERVANCE – One of the many township veterans who attended the annual Veterans’ Day observance at the Municipal Complex on November 11. The Township Council chamber and veterans Memorial Park in the municipal complex were once again the venues for the annual Veterans Day celebration on November 11. Featured speakers during the ceremony were Army veteran Shirley Pietrucha, …

A potential multi-year improvement project along Easton Avenue from Franklin Boulevard to Worlds Fair Drive has entered its first phase, and officials are looking for public input. The Local Concept Development Study for the Easton Avenue corridor, conducted by Somerset County, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and the state Department of Transportation is designed to investigate options for improving …

Student proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Science, and Math are approaching pre-pandemic levels, but there still are some gaps that need to be addressed, school district officials said recently. Proficiency rates took a hit from the 2019-2020 school year – the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic – through the 2020-2021 school year when all students were learning at home …