What's happening in Franklin, MA: Sunday, December 21, 2025 ???

Sunday, December 21

1:00pm Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

1:00pm Franklin in Miniature or Train Town #3 (Franklin Historical Museum)

1:00pm Musical Bingo (Teddy Gallagher's Irish Pub)

2:00pm Humbug! (FPAC performs at Franklin High School)

** NO  Town Meetings today   **

------------

Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Agenda for Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, Tuesday, Dec 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM

Zoning Board Of Appeals

December 23, 2025, 6:30 PM

Meeting will be held at the Franklin Municipal Building

355 East Central Street - 2nd Floor, Council Chambers

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

a. Chair to identify members participating remotely.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS

a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. In compliance with G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 20 et seq, the Open Meeting Law, the Zoning Board

cannot engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Zoning Board ask the Dept Director/Other to review the matter.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

December 18, 2025

4. TOPIC

a. 6:30PM : 444 East Central Street- TAG Central LLC

Applicant is seeking a building permit to construct a 264 unit multi-family development. The building permit is denied without a Comprehensive Permit from the ZBA.

1. Draft Decision

5. GENERAL BUSINESS:

6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

7. ADJOURN

The agenda doc also contains remote participation info ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12232025-2057

Agenda for Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, Tuesday, Dec 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM

FHS Girls hockey results for Saturday, Dec 19, 2025

Via Instagram, Franklin TV, and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the Winter sports competition for Franklin High School on Saturday, December 20, 2025

Girls Hockey = Franklin, 1 @ Leominster, 6 – Final

---------------

• HockomockSports.com recap of the Indoor meet King Philip vs. Franklin Thursday   https://hockomocksports.com/indoor-track-meet-1-highlights-top-performers-2025-2026/

Boys Score: Franklin 61, King Philip 38

• Peter Gubka for Franklin was unstoppable in the infield. He set two personal bests and Hock-best times in the 55-meter hurdles and the 55-meter dash, clocking 7.85 in the hurdles and 6.62 in the dash
• Michael Joseph of KP and Kyle Twomey of Franklin battled all the way to the line in the mile, finishing .05 seconds apart, with Joseph taking the win (4:44.93, 4:44.98)
• Pranav Srinivasan, Chris DelVecchio, and Matt Labriola of KP had the only 1-2-3 sweep of the meet in the boys 300m (38.77, 38.98, 39.71)
• Franklin won all 3 field events. Stephon Reed won the high jump (5’4). Peter Gubka won the long jump (20’0.50) for his third event win on the day. Jackson Bartro edged out Brandon O’Brien by a quarter-inch to win the shot put (40’7.75)

Girls Score: King Philip 62, Franklin 38

• King Philip dominated the shot put. Caitlin Laplante (30’7) and Rory Bresson (28’11) had massive personal bests, along with Isabella Sharpe placing third (28’9.75) to give the Warriors the sweep
• Riley DoRosario was dominant in the middle distance events. She won the mile in a PR (5:46.81) and also won the 1000 (3:34.18)
• Alex D’Amadio won both the long jump (16’0) and 300 (43.31), while placing second in the hurdles (9.74)
• Ali Gill for KP made her return to the track after three years away. It was like she never left. She won the 55-meter dash (7.71), placed third in the 600 (1:48.82), and anchored the 4×2 to a come from behind victory (1:51.60)
• Maddie Bruno and Gwen Holland took the league’s top two spots for Franklin in the girls 600 (1:40.86, 1:41.49)

For other results across the Hockomock League (subscription required)  

https://hockomocksports.com/saturdays-schedule-scoreboard-12-20-25/

FHS Panther sports results shared via Twitter & subscription to HockomockSports.com

Franklin TV: Ornaments

Our Lives are Ornamented – with Memories

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 12/21/2025

As we amble through our allotted years we collect things. We are collectors. Doubt me? Check that cabinet of coffee cups – mugs. There’s the one from the museum of whatever – the gag mug – that mug you got as an ‘award’ from coworkers – and so on. Coffee mugs. They are ordinary – and not. They mark moments and memories. Memory mugs?

Christmas trees can ‘collect’ as well. Ornaments. Some are gifts. Scattered among the decorations, some are special memories. There are the generational hand-me-downs.

Some are especially special; handmade heirlooms passed down from parents and grandparents. Our Christmas tree is adorned with several of my mom’s crocheted snowflakes.

Then there are the ornaments that mark time, and particularly precious family moments. Michael was born in 1984.

The sled broke one year. Needless to say, it had to be repaired. Like broken ornaments, broken memories can be repaired.

This is what this season and spirit calls us to do. This is a time of joy, giving, forgiving, and perhaps being forgiven.

So, let’s raise a coffee mug of kindness yet . . . 

Then there’s my rubber cannoli. Yes, it’s lovely, because, well –  cannoli! No more need be said.

And – as always –

Thank you for watching.

Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.

And staying informed at Franklin●news.

G

et this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

Metacomet Emergency Communication Center (MECC) stats for Friday's storm (12/19/25)

Via the Metacomet Emergency Communication Center (MECC) :

MECC stats

"Yesterday’s storm pushed our center to the highest call volume we’ve see all year and our team rose to the challenge.

Between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM:

• 911 calls- 196
• Business line calls - 340
• Dispatched Incidents- 350

To support the day shift during the surge, we called in additional staff from home, and everyone worked together seamlessly to manage the influx.

We are extremely proud of our dispatchers and support staff for keeping our communities safe when it mattered most. ALSO a big thank you to all our Fire and Police Departments that worked tirelessly going call to call to ensure safety!"

Shared from ->  https://www.facebook.com/share/1AQmzBnues/

Did you catch my conversation with Gary Premo, Executive Director of the Metacomet Emergency Communication Center (MECC) recorded in February 2025 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/gary-premo-talks-about-growth-and.html

Recycling center hours for the coming holiday weeks

Recycling center hours for the coming holiday weeks

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1G826W13GK/

The Franklin Democratic Town Committee sets date for caucus as March 14, 2026

The Franklin caucus to elect delegates to the annual Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention is coming on March 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM. 

This year we will be voting to endorse and officially put candidates on the ballot for these offices,

• 
  US Senate (currently held by Ed Markey)
• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of the Commonwealth
• State Treasurer and
• State Auditor

Any Franklin registered Democrat can be a delegate and the Caucus is open to the public.

Watching our democracy in action right here in Franklin is inspiring and you don't have be a nominee to participate, learn or appreciate.

The Convention will take place in Springfield on May 29th and 30th

Look below for more information and use the following link to register  https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/875776/

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19X8M5gN89/

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday, December 21, 2025

Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a schedule full of the locally produced shows that fill our air waves. 

It is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm or in the local Franklin, MA area at 102.9 on the FM dial.

Tune in to listen to the following:

 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Saturday, December 20, 2025 ???

Saturday, December 20

• 
  FYHA fundraiser (all day) (Panera Bread)

8:00am St. Mary Men's Faith Formation Group (St. Mary's Parish)

9:00am Thrifty Threads (Franklin Federated Church)

9:00am St. Mary Women’s Faith Formation Group (St. Mary's Parish)

10:00am Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

10:00am Rise Up - Open House & Holiday Party (Franklin United Methodist Church)

3:00pm Copley Cats Holiday Concert (Franklin Public Library)

7:00pm Country Music Classic (live music) (Teddy Gallagher's Irish Pub)

7:30pm Humbug! (FPAC performance at Franklin High School)

8:00pm Karaoke at The Raillery (Raillery Public House)

** NO  Town Meetings today   **

------------

Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Storm brings power outages, downed trees; Clean up and restorations continue this morning

Our household and neighborhood had power restored at 4 AM Saturday morning, an outage of approx. 17 hours. At the peak of the outages, streets were blocked with downed trees. Police and Fire units were active in responding. 

"Good morning,

I wanted to provide an update on the power outage situation from overnight into this morning.

I did not want to send emails throughout the night; however, please be assured that we were actively monitoring conditions and remained in close contact with National Grid throughout the event.

As of approximately 4:30 AM, there were about 1,600 households without power. By 6:30 AM this morning, that number had been reduced to approximately 600 locations still without power. National Grid continues to work on restoring service to the remaining customers.

I hope these updates have been helpful to you as you field questions from residents. I understand that some residents were looking for more detailed information and exact restoration timelines. I want to stress that we share all information as soon as it is provided to us by National Grid.

To recap, although there were multiple individual power lines down within our community the primary cause of the widespread outage was damage that occurred outside of town. National Grid advised that the root cause was a failure of a power transfer loop at a substation. This substation failure impacted four communities. The large-scale outage was due to the substation issue, not individual line failures.

Throughout the night, our crews kept up with demand and responded to calls for service as power was restored. There were no major incidents reported overnight.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely as the morning progresses and provide updates as necessary.

Please feel free to reach out if you need any additional information."

Fire Chief & Emergency Management Manager Charles Allen

And 

"Good morning,

The Department of Public Works has crews out this morning continuing with debris cleanup around town.

The good news is that we did not need to salt the roads, which saved municipal funds.

Have a great week!"

Robert Cantoreggi

Director, Department of Public Works

The NationalGrid outage map as of 7:30 this morning

The NationalGrid outage map as of 7:30 this morning

Happenings at the Franklin Historical Museum

Happenings at the Franklin Historical Museum

Don't miss your chance to see "Franklin in Miniature", the HO scale model of Franklin - only on display through January 31!

Check out new and upcoming events at www.franklinmuseum1778.org

See the latest on our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Franklin-Historical-Museum/61577107304816/#

Shared from ->   https://www.instagram.com/p/DSX7IrRj-NT/

FHS gymnastics posts win in opening meet on Friday, boys basketball (video)

Via Instagram, Franklin TV, and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the Winter sports competition for Franklin High School on Friday, December 19, 2025

Girls Basketball = Foxboro, 41 @ Franklin – 31 – Final 

– Foxboro held the Panthers to just one made field goal in the first half and built a 15-point lead going into the break. Franklin’s offense came alive in the third, outscoring the Warriors 14-4 to get back into the game, but Foxboro scored 18 points in the fourth, including eight from top scorer Adrianna Porazzo (4-for-4 from the line) and seven from Alaysia Drummonds, to seal the win. The first quarter was a struggle for both teams, but Foxboro led 7-0 after one. In the second, freshman Gia Porazzo scored five points (the first points of her varsity career) and Foxboro won the quarter 12-4 to build a double-digit cushion. The Panthers came to life in the third behind a pair of threes and 10 points from Sophia Sacramone, who finished with 11 for the game. Liz Dumais added four points and Franklin trimmed the deficit to just five going to the fourth. Foxboro won a shootout in the fourth, outscoring the Panthers 18-13. Adrianna Porazzo and Drummonds led the way for the visitors, while Tessah Rodrigues scored seven to try and bring Franklin back into it. Porazzo scored a game-high 13 and Drummonds finished with a dozen.

Boys Basketball  = Foxboro, 53 @ Franklin, 48 – Final 

– Foxboro took a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way, holding onto a slim lead for the majority of the game before finally closing out the win in the final seconds, marking the Warriors’ first win over the Panthers since 2017. After Franklin senior Jack Sullivan (career-high 21 points) converted a bucket in transition to pull the Panthers within one early in the fourth, Henry Griffin found sophomore Logan Walford down low with a beautiful pass for an easy two, and Timmy Kerzner-Greenwell splashed in a triple on a feed from Cam DeLeskey (9 points) to push the lead to 47-41. Sullivan drained a three for Franklin with 4:38 to go but the Panthers went without points for over two minutes and Colin Trimble (career-high 19 points) had a strong finish at the rim, and Griffin cleaned up an offensive rebound for two more to make it 51-44 with two minutes to go. Franklin didn’t go quietly though as Gio Carlucci stole a pass and laid it in for two with 44 seconds to go, and Kyle Batla snagged a loose ball that led to a layup for Sullivan with 30 seconds to go to make it 51-48. Batla got another steal at midcourt with 15 seconds left but Franklin was off the mark. Foxboro sophomore Bobby Hickox calmly sank a pair of free throws right in front of the student section to ice it with 4.3 seconds left.

Franklin TV video replay -> https://www.youtube.com/live/w_hMOXtGYgg?&t=1063

Swimming = King Philip @ Franklin, 6:45

Gymnastics = North Attleboro, 117.45 @ Franklin, 129.70 – Final 

– Franklin opened the season with a home tri-meet, earning wins over Canton and North Attleboro, posting a team score of 129.70. Senior captains Abby Robillard and Kendra Love anchored the lineup with consistent performances across all four events. Robillard scored an 8.0 on vault, followed with a 7.8 on bars, a 7.6 on beam, and an 8.05 on floor, while Love added an 8.55 on vault, a 7.75 on beam, and an 8.25 on floor. Freshman Alivia Hess made a strong varsity debut, highlighted by a 9.3 on vault and a 9.25 on beam, and Ciara O’Brien, Veronica Pimentel, and Chrissy Beaupre also delivered scoring routines throughout the meet.

For other results across the Hockomock League (subscription required)  

https://hockomocksports.com/fridays-schedule-scoreboard-12-19-25/

FHS Panther sports results shared via Twitter & subscription to HockomockSports.com

Last Thrifty Threads Shop opportunity then off until January 9, 2026

Via Franklin Federated Church:

Last Thrifty Threads Shop opportunity
then off until January 9, 2026

Saturday (Dec 20, 2025) is your last chances to visit the Thrifty Threads Shop, 171 Main St. ( Sat. 9-1) before we close for the holidays. 

We will reopen Friday, January 9, 2026 with among other things a one dollar jean sale. 

The Thrift Shop thanks all those who have made it a success: donors, shoppers, workers, and cheerleaders!

Shared from ->   https://www.facebook.com/share/1D4MKmwzRy/

Franklin Fathers up and coming events

**Franklin Fathers – What’s Coming Up!** 

We’ve got some great ways to kick off the new year with the kids and connect with other dads in the community. Mark your calendars 

 **December 30 – Dads & Donuts**

 8:30–10:30 AM |  Downtown Sports

Franklin Fathers

Coffee for the dads, donuts for everyone, and plenty of space for the kids to burn off energy. Come hang out, meet other Franklin Fathers, and start the morning on a high note.

**January 16 – Daddy–Daughter Hair School**

 3:30 PM |  Franklin Library

Brushes, braids, bows—and definitely a lot of laughs. More details coming soon, but save the date for this special dad-and-daughter event.

 **Run Club – Every Sunday**

 8:00 AM

All paces welcome. Start your week with a good run, good people, and a very solid excuse to enjoy extra donuts afterward.

 **Not on our mailing list?**

Want to stay in the loop but not getting our emails yet? Send us a note at franklinfathersma@gmail.com and we’ll get you added.

As always, all dads are welcome—hope to see you there!

Shared from ->   https://www.facebook.com/61580257836187/posts/pfbid0Qot6VCFLwXpA73gHbMGzSFzxRLFCrQHendsHqB8dHGR9jTQXgNsqcmVooEQgDsJEl/

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday, December 20, 2025

Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a brand new schedule for the locally produced shows that fill our air waves. 

It is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm or in the local Franklin, MA area at 102.9 on the FM dial.

Tune in to listen to the following:

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Friday, December 19, 2025 ???

Friday, December 19

10:00am Knitting Group (Franklin Public Library)

1:00pm Thrifty Threads (Franklin Federated Church)

5:00pm Ken Barney (live music) (The Red Rooster, Wrentham)

Library & Senior Center events

For additional details on Library events -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/942/Calendar-of-Events

For additional details on Senior Center events ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar.aspx?CID=37,24&showPastEvents=false

** Town Meetings today   **

FOFE Meeting

Friday, December 19 Time: 9:30 AM

Council on Aging Meeting

Friday, December 19 Time: 1:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12192025-2066

------------

Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar