News-pourri

Mayor Phil Kramer said conditions have improved to the point where the indoor mask mandate in businesses and other venues was no longer needed. Visitors to township businesses and other venues will no longer be required by the Township to wear a mask against Covid-19. The Township Council at its January 25 meeting rescinded the mandate that it passed at …

FTPD Sgt. George Habeiche was sworn in virtually during the January 25 Township Council meeting. The Franklin Township Police Department’s supervisor ranks grew again January 25, with the formal swearing in of another department Sergeant. Sgt. George Habeiche was sworn in virtually during the Township Council meeting. Aside from the Council, on hand to witness the swearing-in were Public Safety …

District students and staff either infected or in close contact with someone who is infected with the coronavirus would be able to return to school sooner, but with more restrictions, under updated Covid-19 protocols set to be voted on by the Board of Education at its January 27 meeting. The updated protocols come amid ever-increasing numbers of students and staff …

The annual Tour de Franklin charity bike ride is set to return as an in-person event this April. The organizers of the annual Tour de Franklin charity bike ride announced January 24 that they are planning to hold the 2022 ride in-person on April 24. The starting point for the ride, which benefits the Franklin Food Bank, will be at …

Township Girl Scout Grace Glynn won approval from the Committee for her Sensory Trail idea. A township Girl Scout received the Open Space Advisory Committee’s go-ahead for a project at Middlebush Park at its January 18 meeting. The Scout, Grace Glynn, a Scout with Troop 60607, wants to do the project in furtherance of her quest for the Scouts’ Gold …

Second Street resident Neil Patel’s plan for a “sport court” and in-ground pool in his backyard wasn’t winning raves from the Zoning Board. Update: A Second Street resident’s application to install an in-ground pool and build a pickleball court in his backyard was partially approved at the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s March 3 meeting. The Board approved a modified plan, …

The annual MLK Foundation Community Breakfast draws hundreds of Franklin residents. (File photo.) Safety concerns spurred by the surge in Covid-19 cases in the township forced the postponement of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast. The Franklin Township Dr. Martin Luther King Community Foundation, the organization sponsoring the annual breakfast, announced the postponement on January 13. The breakfast …

A bill co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) that will help school districts across the state install “panic buttons” was recently signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy. The bill, formerly A-6258, allocates $5.1 million from the Securing Our Children’s Future Fund to the state Department of Education to fund grants to 60 school districts for the security projects. …

One could still hear the anger in the voice of U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, more than one year after an angry mob breached the U.S. Capitol building in a failed attempt to stop the certification of Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election. You could see it in her eyes, in the way she softly banged on the …

Schools Superintendent John Ravally explained the meeting resolution during the Board’s reorganization session. The remainder of Board of Education meetings for the 2021-22 school year will be held both virtually and in-person, the Board decided at its reorganization meeting. The Board held the hybrid meetings last year, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meetings were switched back to in-person …