News-pourri

HISTORY MAKING – Audrey Taylor reacts during the 2019 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions championship game at the Rutgers Athletic Center. (File photo.) Franklin High School’s boys’ and girls’ basketball programs took hits recently with the resignations of both of their head coaches. Girls’ head coach Audrey Taylor, who gained national recognition during the historic 2018-19 season, and boys’ head coach …

GETTING CLOSER – An opening date for the new Franklin Park library branch has not been set, but the old branch is now closed. (File photo). Work continues on the new Franklin Park branch of the Franklin Township library, although it’s still not known when it will be open. A problem with sourcing a large electrical panel delayed construction for …

TALKING NUMBERS – Schools Superintendent John Ravally describes the 2024 budget at the March 9 open Finance Committee meeting. (File photo.) The Board of Education approved its $214 million spending plan for Fiscal Year 2024 at a special April 25 meeting. The $213,803,051 budget is powered by a $164,387,049 tax levy for calendar year 2023, up $7,285,784 from calendar year …

NEW SGS ADMIN TEAM – Rebekah Solomon, center, with Sampson G. Smith vice-principals Jill Santoni and Jarred Sheffrin after Solomon was appointed SGS principal at the April 25 Board of Education meeting. (Photo: Rebekah Solomon.) The Board of Education on April 25 once again chose home-grown talent in naming Rebekah Solomon as the new principal at Franklin Middle School – …

The Ukrainian History and Education Center and the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition were two of eight Somerset County organizations awarded grants recently through the County History Partnership Program. The grants assist organizations with general operating support and special projects. The Preservation Coalition’s $15,500 grant will be used to create a smart phone enabled audio tour of the Millstone Valley Scenic …

A longtime township resident has been named the new Somerset County Chief Financial Officer. Yvonne E. Childress, currently Director of Fiscal Operations at the County, was promoted to the position by the Somerset County Board of Commissioners. Childress replaces former CFO Nicola Trasente. Childress first joined the County in 2007 as Deputy Treasurer, according to a press release about her …

TESTIFYING – Engineer Richard Adelsohn testifies before the Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing on April 20. The developer of a proposed 12-unit townhouse project on Norma Avenue will have to wait until at least May to hear if the project is a “go.” That’s because the project’s hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on April 20 had to be …

CHAMBER GALA – The Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce held its 63rd annual gala April 19 at The Marigold. The Franklin Reporter & Advocate received one of seven awards given to organizations and people honored by the Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce at its April 19 annual gala. The Reporter co-publishers, Bill Bowman and PJ Parker, were honored in the …

TALKING TREES – Tara Kenyon, the township’s open space consultant, told the Open Space Committee what steps needed to be taken to bring about the Memorial Forest. A plan that’s been talked about for two decades may be getting a little closer to reality. The Open Space Advisory Committee on April 18 endorsed a plan to develop a site plan …

PROJECT DESCRIBED – Adnan Khan, an engineer hired by the project’s developer, tells the Planning Board about the proposed 25-unit mixed-use building. A three-story, 25-unit mixed-use building was approved for a tract on Hamilton Street by the Planning Board at its April 12 meeting. The building, targeted for a half-acre lot at the corner of Hamilton and Shevchenko Avenue, will …