Speak Out!

By William Galtieri, Somerset. When Chris Kelly ran in 2007 his message was clear that the only way to control taxes is to control spending. Now as acting mayor, he has reversed that opinion doing the complete opposite. He has voted to spend more of taxpayers’ money, wanting to spend more than anyone else on the Township Council but not …

By Richard Seamon, Somerset. My involvement in the Franklin Township School District began in 1998 when I attended a Board of Education meeting due to a transportation issue for my oldest child who was entering Kindergarten. With a younger child at home and a third child on the way, it became very clear to my wife and I that we …

By Scott Siegel, Somerset. Recently Franklin Township experienced a sad and tragic experience when Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad accused innocent opponents of racism, while in reality they opposed the building of Catalpa Park. There were several reasons why the Tranquility Alliance was formed: traffic congestion on a two-lane, highly traveled, South Middebush Road; noise from athletic events and keeping the …

By Skip Schaefer, Somerset. I’ve been a Franklin resident for 28 years and have been going to Board of Education meetings for the last dozen. Witnessed plenty of BOE budget vote rejections that had to be scaled down to be approved. Same with building referendums. However, last December’s “One Less Move” building referendum vote for $85 million passed relatively easily. …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. The Township Council makes hundreds of decisions a year. Many people come to meetings for the sideshow of public session and then leave, but the best part is the Consent agenda. This is where you start to understand what it takes to keep the town running. I have been to more than a few meetings where …

By Skip Schaeffer, Somerset. For too many years the Franklin Township Council has been overwhelmingly in the hands of the Democratic Party by an 8-1 count. The result has been an overall decreasing level of ethics, integrity, and honesty from the Council. Council Democrats have clearly demonstrated that Party comes first in Franklin – ahead of residents and common decency. …

By Bill Connell, Somerset. If you look at Home Depot Do-It Yourself Book, it gives approximate times it takes to do different tasks. Depending on your skill level the time can double or triple. The Board of Education is not just about books and kids. They have to weigh in on a broad spectrum of ideas from a textbook to …

By Peter Stavrianidis, Ph.D Regarding your comments about the status of the Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce – the truth of the matter is that there were a lot of challenges during the last few years and I would be the first one to admit it. Although the chamber was quite active with frequent events and networking opportunities – we …

By John Felix, Somerset. During the past 14 years I’ve been a keen observer of the Franklin Township Board of Education (BOE), as well as a steady advocate for student academic achievement and active parent engagement. Although this period has been marked with measurable BOE successes, it has also been an era of acrimony and division among BOE officers and between …

By Dorothy Reed, president, SNCNJ. We would like to thank our sponsors, ProCure, Celgene, Otsuka, K-Eye Sports Apparel 13, Razac, Ferrero and Genentech. Also thank you to all of our participants and those that donated, participated and volunteered for our 11th Annual 5K Breast Cancer Awareness RACE/WALK 4Life on Saturday, October 3rd at Colonial Park. Sponsorship and all the donations …