News-pourri

The Grand Opening Celebration will be followed by a “Youth Fest.” (File photo.) U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) will be among the dignitaries attending the grand opening of the Franklin Youth Center, set for 1 p.m. on May 14. The Center is located at 429 Lewis Street. Watson Coleman will present a $1 million House Appropriations Committee Community Project …

NJ State PBA President Patrick Colligan, Retired Fanwood Police Sergeant Russ Yeager (holding a picture of his father Sheriff’s Detective Ronald Yeager) and Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo (left to right) stand in front of the Somerset County Law Enforcement Memorial in Somerville. (Photo: Cosmo Tomaro, Sheriff’s Office BCI Unit.)   Somerset County Sheriff and township resident Darren Russo will …

Applications will be accepted through June 1. Applications are now being accepted for the Franklin Township Police’s Youth Police Academy, to be held from July 14-22, 2022. The program is open to students in 8th to 12 grades. The application deadline is June 1. The academy will be held daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is open to …

Former Township Councilman Upendra Chivukula, right, answers questions posed by temple attorney Peter Lanfrit at the May 5 Zoning Board meeting. A proposed Hindu temple on a 25-acre South Middlebush Road parcel could draw between 80 to 250 people on weekdays and as many as 200 a day on weekends, the Zoning Board of Adjustment was told during the temple’s …

Photo: Greater Somerset YMCA Township resident Bill Grippo is one of 34 volunteers honored with the Greater Somerset YMCA’s Volunteer Spirit Awards. Grippo was honored for his leadership in establishing a YMCA in Franklin. “Bill has always envisioned a YMCA in the community and set his sights on working toward thatvision,” according to the award ceremony program. “Over the past …

Marchers in the 2019 Memorial Day Parade. (File photo). The full-fledged Memorial Day parade will return to the township at noon on May 30. The parade route will start at DeMott Lane and New Brunswick Road and follow DeMott to the Municipal Complex. A ceremony will follow at the Municipal Building. Organizations from throughout the township have participated in the …

A free health fair and food distribution is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 6 at the HOPES Hamilton Center, 900 Hamilton Street. Among the offerings during the event are HIV and Covid-19 testing, health screenings, blood pressure screenings, dental screenings and children’s oral health program education and Pfizer vaccines, adult and pediatric. For more information, contact Catherine …

Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is easing into its endemic stage, with the concomitant reduction in serious infections, things are starting to return to normal in district schools. Schools Superintendent John Ravally at the April 28 Board of Education meeting enumerated the ways in which the district is coming back to a semblance of pre-pandemic activity. “We are returning many …

Pictured left to right – Branch Executive Director Ben Green, President and CEO David M. Carcieri along with Somerset County Commissioner Director Shanel Y. Robinson and Commissioner Deputy Director Melonie Marano celebrate the Camp SOAR partnership with Greater Somerset County YMCA. (Photo: Greater Somerset County YMCA). Submitted by Franklin Township YMCA. Franklin Township YMCA, a branch of Greater Somerset County …

Schools Superintendent John Ravally, seen here during the school board’s March meeting, has tested positive for Covid-19. (File photo.) Schools Superintendent John Ravally is currently in isolation, following a Covid-19 diagnosis earlier this week. Ravally made the announcement of his illness via telephone during the April 28 Board of Education meeting. In a text message, Ravally said that he had …