Franklin Middle School football coach Blair Wilson, seen here after his team captured the 2019 Middle School Championship, is the pick of many members of the Franklin football community to become the new high school football head coach. Coaches, parents and players showed up en masse at the November 18 Board of Education meeting to lobby for their pick for …
Read More »School District Gains, Loses Elementary School Principals
Newly appointed Conerly Road principal David Heras address the school board at the November 18 meeting. The Board of Education appointed one new school principal, and accepted the resignation of another at its November 18 meeting. The Board appointed David Heras as the top educator at Conerly Road School. Heras, who assumes the $128,000-a-year position on January 1, 2022, succeeds …
Read More »Former Big Kmart Site Eyed For Four-Storey Residential Building
An artist’s rendering of The Cosmopolitan, the four-storey residential building planned for the former Kmart site in Rutgers Plaza. The three-year speculation of what would replace Big Kmart in Rutgers Plaza may be at an end. Levin Properties of Plainfield, the owner of Rutgers Plaza at John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Easton Avenue, has submitted to the Zoning Board of …
Read More »Township Commemorates Veterans Day
The annual Veterans Day commemoration was held November 11 at Veterans Memorial Park, in the Municipal Complex. The event’s keynote speaker was Franklin Township Police Sgt. Ariel Almora, a former Marine. Almora spoke about his family’s fleeing Cuba in 1980, and his joining the Marine Corps when he was 17 years old. Somerset County Commissioners Director Shanel Robinson sang the …
Read More »Township Council Introduces State-Mandated Electric Car Charger Ordinance
The Township Council introduced a state-mandated ordinance involving electric car chargers. An ordinance that would require the installation of electric car charging stations in some new housing developments was introduced at the November 9 Township Council meeting. The ordinance is mandated by the state, Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said. Under the ordinance, which amends the township’s Zoning Ordinance, housing developments …
Read More »Covid Vaccination Clinic For Kids Aged 5 to 11 Years Set
Township students between the ages of 5 and 11 years can receive their Covid-19 vaccinations beginning November 17 at Franklin Middle School — Hamilton Street Campus. The Somerset County Board of Health is sponsoring the clinic, which is set to be held from 4-7 p.m. The second dose of the vaccine will be administered on December 8. The school is …
Read More »Planning Board Approves Solar Array For NJ Water Plant
(Photo: Planning Board) Nine arrays of solar panels, targeted for the NJ Water property on Randolphville Road, were approved by the Planning Board at its November 3 meeting. The arrays will join several other panel arrays erected on the site in 2006, the Board was told. The approved plan calls for five ground-mounted arrays, two roof-mounted arrays, one array on …
Read More »School District Honors Educators Of The Year At Breakfast
Elizabeth Avenue School principal John Haney honors Donna King, a school paraprofessional, during the breakfast ceremony. Nearly 40 of the school district’s teachers and educational service professionals were honored November 3 at a special breakfast. For some, the ceremony was a year in the making. The district has been honoring its Teachers and Educational Service Professionals of the Year with …
Read More »Updated: Unofficial Election Results: Dems Retain Council Dominance; Merris, Shaban Hopkins Slate Wins BOE Race
Mayor Phil Kramer, right, and Township Councilman Ram Anbarasan review voting results on November 2. Final tallies were updated on November 9, and included all provisional and write-in ballots. Democrats have once again swept the Township Council race with four incumbents and one newcomer being installed by Franklin voters, according to unofficial results of the November 2 election. In the …
Read More »Around The Eight Villages: Private Vaccination Clinics Held
Rob “Kash” Kashinsky prepares to administer a flu shot to his wife, Crystal on October 31. (Photo: Rob Kashinsky). Dozens of Franklin residents received Covid and other vaccinations in two events sponsored by township residents on October 31. Rob “Kash” Kashinsky of DeMott lane held one at his home, while the other was held at the southern end of town …
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