News-pourri

A variety of performances are set for two stages on Franklin Day, which is scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. on September 13 in the municipal complex on DeMott Lane. Additionally, vendors and organizations will have tables to promote their products and services, and a number of food trucks are also scheduled to be there.

The Township will once again run its annual curbside leaf collection program starting the last week of October, and running through the end of December. Leaves only can be placed in 30-gallon biodegradable paper bags available at home improvement stores. Leaves should be placed at curbside by 7 a.m. on the Monday of the week scheduled for pickups.

FERAL CAT ADVOCATE – Tamar Thier, a former Franklin residents, speaks in favor of the Township adopting a “Trap, Neuter, Return” program at the September 9 Township Council meeting. An ordinance that regulates the feeding and care of feral cat colonies – and which generated a fair amount of controversy – was finally adopted by the Township Council at its …

FUTURE POOL OWNER – Faisal Iqbal prepares to testify before the Zoning Board of Adjustment September 4. A Bennetts Lane couple’s plan to install an in-ground pool, patio and two sheds was approved September 4 by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The couple, Faisal and Rehana Iqbal, needed a variance from the Township’s regulation that only 20 percent of a …

RETURN ENGAGEMENT – Shri Kotdawla, the engineer for NPH Real Estate, explains the changes made to the plan at the September 3 Planning Board meeting. For the second consecutive meeting, a developer who wants to build a mixed-use retail center across from the Somerset Run housing development was told by the Planning Board on September 3 to rethink its plan. …

Following are the latest updates in the Township’s road resurfacing program. Sebring Rd Area Resurfacing – Contractor working on concrete work. 

INTRODUCING HERSELF – Ashley Delgado-D’Amore speaks after being named as the new vice-principal at Elizabeth Avenue Elementary School on August 28. A 17-year teaching veteran was named to be the new vice-principal at Elizabeth Avenue Elementary School by the Board of Education at its August 28 meeting. Ashley Delgado-D’Amore, who has spent the last 12 years teaching in the New …

The township’s three public high schools achieved award-winning rankings in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of high schools. The ranking takes into account a number of criteria, including graduation rates, performance on standardized tests, enrollment in advanced placement courses, and how well they prepare students for college, according to the magazine.

Sebring Rd Area Resurfacing – Contractor working on concrete work.  Sebring Rd Annapolis St Lexington Rd Phillips Rd Francis St Link Rd School Ave Lewis St Van Doren Ave Area Resurfacing – Contractor to begin Concrete work on or about August 25.

A township-based cultural organization was awarded more than $26,000 in two grants from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission. The Ukrainian History and Education Center was awarded a $20,175 Local Arts Program grant to provide in-person and virtual programming on Ukrainian folk arts and traditions for Somerset County residents.