Tuesday, September 30, 2008

In the News - cats, alumni, walk/run, art, fair

GHS
Posted Sep 30, 2008 @ 01:20 AM

FRANKLIN —

People at odds over a feral cat colony at Highwood Condominiums may get a resolution tonight.

The condominium complex's board of trustees will discuss the matter and possibly decide to take action at a meeting open only to condo owners, said property manager Roy Blanchard.

Blanchard declined to talk about the controversy.

"This doesn't need to be in the press anymore. We can take care of our own issues," he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here



All the remaining items can be found in this article on Franklin Notes

Monday, September 29, 2008

Town Council Agenda - 10/1/08

October 1, 2008
7:00 PM

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 3, 2008
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS - Thelma Pullen Knowlton
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
F. HEARINGS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
  • Funding School Late Bus
  • Zoning Bylaw Amendment to Chapter 185-18. Nonconforming Uses and Structures- Dept of Planning & Community Development
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
  • Resolution 08-53 – Order of Layout, Acceptance and Taking Newell Drive, Dover Circle, Cohasset Way, Sherborn Lane and Related Easements
  • Resolution 08-54 – Order of Layout, Acceptance and Taking of Hancock Road, Winthrop Road, Corey Way and Lantern Road and Related Easements
  • Resolution 08-59: Dissolution of Fire Station Building Committee
  • Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-625: Chapter 185-5, Town Code: Zoning Map – Business to Commercial II – 2nd Reading
K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
L. OLD BUSINESS
M. NEW BUSINESS
N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
P. ADJOURN

Sunday, September 28, 2008

late bus on tap for Town Council

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 27, 2008 @ 11:12 PM


FRANKLIN —

Town Council on Wednesday will discuss whether to fund the school district's popular late bus at a steeply discounted rate.

Parent Communication Councils were willing to fund the bus at $10,000 after School Superintendent Wayne Ogden announced the district did not have funds for it this year, but the district is turning to the town instead, said Chairman Jeffrey Roy, after Council Chairman Christopher Feeley and Vice Chairwoman Deborah Bartlett offered their support.

The late bus has been a hot issue since administrators first warned the district it would have to eliminate it without additional money from the Proposition 2 1/2 tax override that was voted down in June. Concerned about the children of working parents, who would miss out on after-school activities and getting extra help with academics, School Committee member Ed Cafasso pushed the School Committee to find a way to keep the service.

read the remainder of the article in the Milford Daily News here

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Live performances this weekend in Franklin

Classical music on Sunday

Franklin’s own LiveARTS Sunday Concert Series presents the 2008-2009 season lineup and opening performance scheduled by award-winning Triple Helix, the Piano Trio, on Sunday, Sept.28, at 3:30 p.m.

All concerts are held at the First Universalist Society in Franklin, 262 Chestnut St.

LiveARTS Sunday Concert Series is an affordable way for classical music lovers to enjoy professional, high-quality artistry right in their backyard. Season subscriptions are $45 adults, $30 youth and seniors, and $75 for family groups of three or more. Season subscriptions give you the gift of four concerts for the price of three.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Folk music on Saturday

Don White is appearing Saturday at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse. Opening will be Teresa Storch. View the full schedule and order your tickets online at the Circle of Friends website here


Cabaret at the High School

The student production of Cabaret will be conducted at Franklin High School this weekend. I could not find additional information online but if you call the high school, they should be able to provide the details.


Accreditation - more kindergartens earn the mark!

FRANKLIN -

John F. Kennedy and the F.X. O’Regan Early Childhood Development Center are one of the first early childhood programs to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.

"We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards," said principals Joan Toye and Karen Seyfried. "NAEYC Accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible."

read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here

I recall that Oak St Elementary School's kindergarten actually achieved this NAEYC certification first in the new process. Check out the announcement from last year and here.

I think it is more impressive that many of the Franklin schools have accreditation than which one was first.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In the News - salt prices, students organize, late bus may return

"It was worse than I expected," said Brutus Cantoreggi, Franklin's director of public works. "That's a lot, especially with everything else going up. Fuel is killing me."

Franklin is part of a 24-town consortium that locks in contract prices for road salt. Other area communities in the consortium include Medfield, Medway, Millis, Walpole, Sharon, Wrentham and Norwood. The low bid this year was from Eastern Mineral at $70.20 a ton. Eastern Mineral's bid last year was $52.68.

read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"Carrying big bulky binders was not the answer I was looking for, and with the demands for tracking student portfolios along with the pressure from impending cuts that would increase class ratios and teaching burdens, I was intent on finding the right tools for this challenge," Bergen said. "Kids who are disorganized are disorganized as adults."

Meanwhile Productive Education LLC of Framingham was reaching out to superintendents across Massachusetts to tell them about its new Organize360 system using Document Organizing Assistant binders, or DocOA, pronounced "Doc Away." It is a three-ring binder-organizing tool for handling school papers.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Following Superintendent Wayne Ogden's announcement that the district this year does not have the money to fund the late bus, parents, administrators and Holmes Bus Service "stepped up to the plate" and found a way to continue offering the service, Roy said.

"We had a bus company (Holmes) willing to negotiate a better deal for the district, which brought the total down to a reasonable $10,000," Roy reported.

Parent Communication Councils from Franklin High School, Annie Sullivan, Remington and Horace Mann middle schools all committed to donating up to $3,300 to completely cover the cost of the late bus, Roy said.

However, the councils will be able to keep their money, he said.

"The Town Council chairman (Christopher Feeley) is very receptive to the notion of the town picking up the cost of the late bus ... There is clearly an overwhelming need for it," said Roy, adding that Feeley and Vice Chairwoman Deborah Bartlett will bring the topic to the council.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Meeting - 9/23/08

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Live reporting - Superintendent

Superintendent’s Report
  • FEA Contract
the full negotiation took over two years

  • Literacy Initiative
professional development required to implement this program
more uniform practices across the district
you will hear more about this, it is a multi-year initiative
later this year, should have Michelle Kingsland Smith and some of the lab teachers come in to provide an update

9/29/08 - Horace Mann Auditorium, kick off

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports - none
School Committee Liaison Reports - none

Live reporting - action items

Action Items:
  • I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed on the attached memo.
tabled - no vote no discussion this evening
  • I recommend approval of the request of the BICO Board of Directors to amend the preamble of the existing agreement of the BICO Collaborative to include the School Committee of the Town of Easton, MA.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $400.00 from the Remington PCC for supplies for RMS.
per earlier discussion tabled to be brought back in a future meeting

  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $600.00 from the Annie Sullivan PCC for 8th grade YMCA end-of-year trip buses.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $9,028.50 from the Davis Thayer PCC for Field Trips and In-House Enrichment as listed on the attached.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $300.00 from the Remington PCC for a 6th grade field trip to the YMCA.
approved unanimously

Live reporting - future agenda items

Cafasso - could we get an update from each of the principals

Trahan - any update on the new building committee?

Rohrbach - an update from Pandora on life long learning

Sabolinski - community health council

Roy - get an update from Chandler on ballot question 1, should bring that before the committee to see if we will take a position

Trahan - if we don't take a position, we should at least let the folks know what it means to the Franklin situation

Live reporting - late bus appears to be coming back

Jeff Roy

previous meeting determined there was no funding for the late bus
after the meeting, parents, administrators, and the bus company stepped up to the plate

the bus company negotiated a better rate, reduced the cost to approx. $10,000
local PCC's started fund raising, commitments made for funding

Roy explored if the Town would be open to picking up the cost of the late bus, Feeley will bring it to the Council, Bartlett also aboard bringing it to the council

a collective effort

Is this for the middle and high school?
Initially for the middle school, could get that answer as the final details are worked out

Live reporting - high school experience

Director: Pandora Carlucci

Facilitors: Kristin Letendre, Kristy Yankee

A first year program to help incoming students to adapt to the high school experience

Student perspective: Emma Kripp

interested in the Freshman transition
The Freshman Collaborative was a good program but the felt there was more to do

four day course, team building/project adventure
incorporated the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens

started each day with an ice breaker, merging students from the four middle schools helped to get to know some others they may not have come across before

academic sessions on English, Science, and Math

worked on items from the 7 Habits
goal setting, mission statement creation, collaborative worj
time management, planning

Emma:
liked the program, it helped a lot
coming from the Charter School was an adjustment
met four of her five teachers during the program
I think they should continue this for future classes

next year, get locker assignments
get schedule and planner during the session
to meet some of the Freshman guidance counselors
would like a greater participation of incoming students
incorporate some professional development for teachers to help

Mullen:
good work, had heard about it and this filled in some gaps

Rohrbach:
how do students get lost?

Yankee:
on email conferences, communications between parents and teachers as soon as issues arise

Trahan:
excellent

MacLeod:
Did students have to pay?

Slight:
How are you going to increase the enrollment?

Yankee:
Start earlier, spread word of mouth

Armenio:

Carlucci, Gould:
Scholarship form is available on the website
The more people sign up, the cheaper it will be
logistics were being worked up still so we were later this year than we would like to be

Rohrbach:
sell the t-shirts at Stop&Shop
would have you any this else?

Emma:
I would add a history teacher

Mrs Kipp:
This was great, I wish this had been available for my son who also came from the Charter School to the high school.

Sabolinski:
Loved to observe the culture and climate created during the week

The poster overview of the High School Experience program, including the t-shirt!

SchCom - High School Experience

There is a Creative Commons license attached to this image. AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike

This photo can also be found on Flickr at
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2884013510_6a09f67646.jpg

Live reporting - Teacher's Contract

The teachers union and School Committee gave formal signature to the Teachers Contract.

Asst Supt Sabolinski updated that the secretaries contract was also signed this afternoon. They chose not to come out for the formal signature.

Live reporting - School Committee meeting 9/23/08

Full committee present this evening: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelly Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan

Student Representatives: Pat Slight, Brittany MacLeod

-----
Call to order Mr. Roy

Pledge of Allegiance

Moment of Silence


1. Routine Business
  • Citizen’s Comments -
Chandler Creedon, President of Franklin Teachers Association
asking for the School Committee to endorse the vote against the Question 1
a similar vote garnered 45% of the vote in an earlier election, early polls show that this could very well pass if the public is not fully informed of what impact it could have

would serve to damage our economy, would force property tax increases

those who would say NH has a better model without a personal income tax, should realize that their property taxes are #1 in the nation


  • Review of Agenda
Action item # 3 from Remington to be reworked and brought forward in a future meeting
  • Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 9, 2008 School Committee Meeting.
Motion to approve - unanimous
  • Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly
Motion to approve - unanimous
  • Payroll Ms. Armenio
  • FHS Student Representatives
Cabaret, a theater production in the cafeteria
progress reports already
SAT exams on Saturday
project to watch the media for specific individuals; Ogden, Sabolinski included in the search
  • Correspondence

"Educating our kids makes absolutely basic economic sense"

Why, indeed, do we sink far more funding into retroactive punishment than into setting a foundation for a child's success? But it's one thing to demonstrate that a holistic and preventative approach makes economic sense, and quite another to actually change the approach. Most people would rather apply a band-aid or suppress a symptom than identify a root cause and treat it. Transformative innovation doesn't come easy. Innovators need not only to be persuasive and patient, they need to weather the discouraging words of doubters, to do much with little when skeptics won't lend a hand, and to hold a clear vision of what the solved problem will look like. Anyone who has seen a solution from miles away and forged a path to get there knows this.
From the award winning World Changing blog, read the full post here

I had the good fortune to hear Geoffrey Canada speak at the GEL 2006 Conference. He is quite an impressive individual. Persuasive? He defines the word.

Even Ben Franklin said:

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Question 1 - Yes or No?

As part of the preparation for November's election, the major question for MA will be Question 1 on the ballot:

The State Income Tax Repeal is also known as Massachusetts Question 1. It is an initiated state statute that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.[1]

If the measure passes, it will end the state's current 5.3% income tax on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains. If that happens, Massachusetts will join Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming in not taxing income. Two other states, New Hampshire and Tennessee, have an income tax, but only on interest and dividends.

Read more on this link here

The Boston Sunday Globe hosted the opposing views on the Opinion Page.

You can read the Yes side here

You can read the No side here

In the News - diabetes, Charter School

GHS
Posted Sep 22, 2008 @ 12:23 AM

FRANKLIN —

More than anything, Ivy Patten wants a cure for juvenile diabetes, so her 14-year-old son, Tyler, can live a normal life.

The possible complications he and others diabetics face are "not a pretty picture," she said: blindness, amputation, nerve damage, kidney problems and death.

"My fears are several. First, a cure will not come very soon. You're always afraid blood sugar is going to go too low and he'll go into a seizure, pass out and die, and it's a very real fear," Patten said.

Many things can trigger problems with a diabetic's blood-sugar level, she said, and often they are not under a person's control.

Technology can help people manage diabetes, she said, but that is not enough.

"We really need to get a cure ASAP," said Patten, especially because the longer a person has diabetes, the greater his or her chances of complications.

,,,,,

For more information about the walk at the Franklin Town Common on Saturday, Sept. 27, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., log on to www.hotshots4thecure.org.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 21, 2008 @ 11:43 PM

FRANKLIN —

Renting out the historic Red Brick School is a top priority for the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, said Principal Kevin O'Malley.

"The topic is still under discussion here. I can assure you, it's a front-burner issue," O'Malley said.

Charter school officials have met with the Brick School Association and had several discussions with Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting about leasing the nearby property.

O'Malley has introduced the topic to the charter school's board of trustees, who will discuss the prospect at their next meeting, on Oct. 2 at the school library, he said.

"The idea is to have position papers presented where we'll talk about whether it's a good idea or not a good idea for the school," O'Malley said, noting that he is unsure whether the board will vote on Oct. 2.

"We're at a point where it's in everyone's best interest to discuss this thing and come to a conclusion. If we don't decide (on Oct. 2), then we will very soon," he said.

Town officials have been great and are making the process easy, O'Malley said. He said the charter school community wants to give back to Franklin, too.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Agenda 9/23/08

September 23, 2008
Municipal Building – Council Chambers
7:00 P.M.

AGENDA

Call to order Mr. Roy
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence

1. Routine Business
  • Citizen’s Comments
  • Review of Agenda
  • Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 9, 2008 School Committee Meeting.
  • Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly
  • Payroll Ms. Armenio
  • FHS Student Representatives
  • Correspondence:


2. Guests/Presentations:
  • Signing of FEA Contract
  • FHS Experience

3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual

4. Action Items:
  • I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed on the attached memo.
  • I recommend approval of the request of the BICO Board of Directors to amend the preamble of the existing agreement of the BICO Collaborative to include the School Committee of the Town of Easton, MA.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $400.00 from the Remington PCC for supplies for RMS.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $600.00 from the Annie Sullivan PCC for 8th grade YMCA end-of-year trip buses.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $9,028.50 from the Davis Thayer PCC for Field Trips and In-House Enrichment as listed on the attached.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $300.00 from the Remington PCC for a 6th grade field trip to the YMCA.

5. Information Matters:
Superintendent’s Report
  • Literacy Initiative
  • FEA Contract

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports

6. New Business:
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations

8. Adjourn

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Harvest Festival visitors - Thank You!

A hearty "Thank you" to all that I had a chance to talk with at the Harvest Festival in downtown Franklin today.

I trust you will find some worthwhile information here. Please consider subscribing via
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If you don't find something you are looking for, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

FM #15 - The 5 Things you need to Know this Week

The 15th podcast on what matters in Franklin, MA. This podcast sumarizes the five things you should know about what happened in Franklin this week.
  1. The School Building Committee was appointed.
  2. The bylaw to rezone parcels on RT 140 was moved to another meeting.
  3. The Finance Planning Committee really got working this week.
  4. The teacher layoffs were confirmed, doubter anonymous should rest easier now.
  5. The imminent danger of Question 1 for Franklin's budget.

    Time: 11 minutes, 37 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

Music intro
My intro FM #15

This podcast for Franklin Matters will focus on the 5 things you need to know about what happened this week.

First, the Town Council appointed the new School Building Committee. This is the one that will work on the high school but because there will be other school buildings that will need work on them before the high school is completed, the committee is not called the High School Building Committee. The State Dept of Education has guidelines that determine the make of the committee so the Town Council was expressly careful to follow the guidelines in making their appointments.

In this clip from the Town Council meeting on 9/17/08, we hear Chair Chris Feeley read the appointments

- insert clip from Town Council/Chris Feeley with the announcement -

Town Officials

  • Chris Feeley, Town Council
  • Scott Mason, Town Council
  • Ed Cafasso, School Committee
  • Paula Mullen, School Committee
  • Maureen Sabolinski, Ass't Supt of Schools
  • Pamela Gould, High School Principal
  • Michael D'Angelo, Town/School Facilities Director
  • Jeff Nutting, Town Administrator
Citizens
  • Lou Allevato
  • Thomas Cameron
  • William Goode
  • Rob Halter
  • Michael LeBlanc
  • Thomas Mercer
  • Scott Nathan
Second, the bylaw to rezone some parcels along RT 140 near the Knights of Columbus and Dunkin Donuts ends up being rescheduled for another meeting as it was evident that the matter was not going to gain enough votes. Two councilors were absent with a two thirds majority required to pass. One factor for the lack of cohesion on the decision was the Department of Planning and Community Development had not provided the additional information required by a couple of members of the council.

In this segment from the Town Council Meeting of 9/17/08, you’ll hear the request and the response from Brian Taberner.

- insert clip from B Taberner with Vallee saying he wasn’t aware of the outstanding request -


Third, the working sessions for the Finance Planning Committee (FPC) started in earnest this past Thursday night. Fire Chief McCarraher spent about 45 minutes reviewing his operation followed by Police Chief Williams. These two discussions were the most informative of all the meetings I have attended in the past 18 months. The information generated from this session will be very helpful in the telling the story as the FPC goes forward.

You should recall that the FPC is charted with developing a long term plan for the Town, assuming there is an override next year (very likely) what is the long term outlook, how many will there need to be, or is something like the Arlington plan going to work in Franklin.

Fourth, doubting anonymous should be satisfied now. As reported in the Franklin Gazette delivered on Friday, and in the Milford Daily News on Sunday, Supt Wayne Ogden confirmed that yes, there really were 44 teachers laid off and not replaced. Debbie Pellegri and the Brick School Association filed a FOI request and obtained the information on the teachers let go. Now that you have the info, you have the proof that the teachers were indeed let go. Let it go. Let’s get on with business. Let’s work together to avoid another layoff.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1603414373/Superintendent-Franklin-teacher-layoffs-did-happen

Fifth, I think Question One is the most imminent danger that Franklin faces. Question One is on the ballot in November.

The State Income Tax Repeal is also known as Massachusetts Question 1. It is an initiated state statute that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.[1] If the measure passes, it will end the state's current 5.3% income tax on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains.

You can find objective information at this link:
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_State_Income_Tax_Repeal_%282008%29

You can find the Yes position here: http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/

You can find the No position here: http://votenoquestion1.com/?adtrack=education&gclid=CO2I-trz65UCFQpwGgodmkJeew

Where would you cut $11 million from the Town Budget?
Public safety is about 9 M, Central Gov’t Services is about 9 M. Public Works is about 6 M. If 2.8 million cost the town 44 teachers, what would loosing $11 million dollars cost the town?

The idea of the commonwealth is for all of us together to work and pay for the community services we need. If you think taking $11 million dollars out of the Franklin budget would bring you the community you want, I’d like to know what it would look like.

These are the five things that matter to Franklin this week:
  1. School building committee
  2. bylaw rezoning
  3. FPC working sessions
  4. teacher layoffs confirmed
  5. the imminent danger of Question 1
---- ---- ----

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

"Doubting anonymous" should be satisfied now

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 20, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

FRANKLIN —

Weeks into the new school year, some residents are still skeptical that the district actually laid off 44 teachers, an accusation Superintendent Wayne Ogden says he wishes were true.

Referring to an anonymous caller who only identified himself as a former town councilor, who asserted teachers were not given pink slips, or have since been rehired, Ogden said, "He is completely wrong.''

"I wish he were right. I wish that were true. I'd be a happier human being. In fact, I might not have resigned,'' he said.

Residents will be able to check "the truth according to the Department of Education,'' by the end of October, when the department publishes the number of students, teachers and administrators in every school district in Massachusetts, Ogden said.

The department produces both a current list and last year's numbers, so people can compare and view them side-by-side, he said.

.......


This summer, Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri, on behalf of the Brick School Association, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the School Department, seeking the names of all those teachers and positions that had been cut.

"We weren't doubting (teachers had been laid off), we just wanted to see the people's names and how many people were let go,'' Pellegri said.

The list she received in response to her request identified the names, positions, and corresponding schools of 46 teachers, four of whom were part-time, and two administrators.


Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


"It just amazes me to think that people can be so cruel to animals"

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 20, 2008 @ 10:50 PM


FRANKLIN —

With the vigilance of a cat stalking its prey, self-proclaimed "Cat Lady'' Dorothy "Dottie'' Luff, 81, scours the woods that are home to a colony of feral cats for traps.
Every day, she said she watches for them, terrified someone will catch and later kill one of her precious babies, whom she has named, fed and cared for over the past decade.

Recently, while she was checking on "Gayle,'' "Leftie'' (so-named because she always rubs against Luff's left leg), "Debbie'' and "Blackie,'' Luff looked down and saw an unfamiliar puff of fur on the ground.

As she petted the animal, she thought it was the softest fur she'd ever felt, and turned it over to discover it was a raccoon, and it was dead. Someone had stabbed it with a stick through the front of its body, she recalled, shaking her head and remarking that no child or animal had done it.

"Sometimes I think the humans are worse than the animals,'' Luff said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Saturday, September 20, 2008

188 King St - siding is now complete

Windows and doors last week, siding this week. The construction is making good progress.

Another foundation!


Another foundation!, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Yes, for all the talk of the economy in dire straits, there is a new foundation on King St between 188 King (under construction) and 194 King (recently renovated).

Museum - construction progress


Museum - construction progress, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The future home of Franklin's museum looks to be getting a whole new entrance.


Note: the funds being used to do this work are from the CAPITAL budget and not the Operational budget. The funds from the pending sale of the Four Corners building can be used to pay for this work. The funds from the pending sale of the Four Corners building could not be used for an operational expense like re-hiring a laid off teacher or bringing on another person in the Police, Fire or Public Works Dept.

Fall cleaning = yard sales


Fall cleaning = yard sales, originally uploaded by shersteve.

This pole at the railroad bridge downtown says there are quite a few choices for yard sales today!

Electing a US President in Plain English

With the November election approaching, it is time to start preparing for it. Let's start with a good explanation of how the electoral college works. This one by the folks at Common Craft is a good, accurate and simple explanation of the electoral college. No chads are left hanging!


Electing a US President in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

If you are interested in the behind the scenes explanation of how the video was created visit Common Craft here.

Friday, September 19, 2008

"The virus can cause serious, life-altering symptoms"

GHS
Posted Sep 18, 2008 @ 11:28 PM

FRANKLIN —

The first "killer frost," expected in one to three weeks, should end the threat of West Nile virus here, said Franklin Health Director/Agent David E. McKearney.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a warning earlier this week after finding mosquitoes in Franklin that tested positive for West Nile virus.

The virus was detected in a sample taken on Sept. 11, in central Franklin, near Union Street and West Central Street, McKearney said.

"It's really not earth-shattering news. We know that West Nile virus is endemic in Massachusetts. We've had a lot of positive samples in Massachusetts, so it's not surprising," McKearney said.

In the past, the state found West Nile virus in a bird here, but not in a mosquito and never a human, he said.

Read the full article here in the Milford Daily News

In the News - Recycling event; Harvest Festival

GHS
Posted Sep 18, 2008 @ 12:24 AM


FOXBOROUGH —

Piles of electronic detritus, including discarded computer monitors and hard drives, tangles of thick power cords, and bulky TVs, filled a parking lot next to Gillette Stadium last Saturday, waiting to be hauled off and recycled.

The daylong event, a cooperative effort of Sony Electronics Inc. and Waste Management Recycle America, was proclaimed a success by the organizers.

"The event exceeded our expectations on all levels, which was great," said Jensen Kroll, an account manager with Waste Management who coordinates the company's recycling efforts for the northeast region.

"It was fantastic," agreed Doug Smith, director of corporate and environmental affairs for Sony. "Everything was extremely smooth. No one had to wait in line."

He said 3,494 vehicles navigated the 11 lanes set up at the drive-thru event, discarding electronics that had been pushed aside for more modern models.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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

Harvest Festival on horizon

By By Joyce Kelly, DAILY NEWS STAFF

Wed Sep 17, 2008, 04:29 PM EDT FRANKLIN -

The Downtown Partnership is gearing up for its sixth annual Harvest Festival, the largest downtown event, featuring more than 80 vendors, a farmers' market and entertainment.

The festival, which will be held Sunday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is expected to draw 2,200 visitors along Main and East Central streets.

Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here


"the gallery really sends a message that art is important"

Franklin teachers show off their artistic talents

By Heather McCarron/STAFF

Thu Sep 18, 2008, 03:54 PM EDT FRANKLIN -

There’s an old saying that goes like this: "Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach."

And it’s completely false, says Mike Caple, art director for the Franklin Public Schools, who is joining other members of the K-12 art faculty this fall in an exhibit that shows "these teachers can do."

To open the second season of Franklin Public Schools’ new art gallery, Gallery 218, many of the 17 members of the district’s art and visual media faculty are introducing their artist selves to the public by putting their own work up for viewing through Nov. 7.

Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here

Work from the gallery can also be viewed online here.


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Financial Planning Committee 9/18/08

Financial Planning Committee 9/4/08

live reporting - Police Dept

Chief Williams

This is my request for the two additional officers. I am 95% personnel driven. If my budget gets cut, that means some person does less. I have 4 people on our overnight. If we have one accident at 4 Corners and something happens over at the Elks, we are in trouble.

When is the busiest time? Wednesday morning between 8:00 and 9:00 AM last year.
About 70,000 folks coming through here on a daily basis, via 140, 495, the trains.

Our calls for service have gone up 3-4%, our arrests have gone up 40+%
we are the busiest town in court cases in Dedham, in Wrentham
On track to handle about 850 calls just with our children, in our schools and outside

Our biggest complaints are traffic, children, elderly.
We are generally in ahead of the Fire. Grant money is keeping us afloat.
We are down in personnel but maintaining our service with technology
Jim Vallee has gotten quite a bit of money to help our technology needs
Capital money has generally been reduced because of the grants, but there is no guarantee of that

7200 times for 911 calls last year

We need the bodies to answer that call
The State has mandates but they don't fund them properly, proper booking for an arrest, a long process that the State does not fund
Someone processing an arrest is taken off the street who could respond to a call

Looking at four officers over the next four years, 2 right away, then one 2011, another one 2012
The two we asked for this year were cut, I understand that, 40 plus teachers were cut

What have we done on a regional basis?
I lead our tactical regional response group. We have a group ready to respond.

Franklin is the last stop on the train, we are getting an influx of people that we have never had before.

We did over 400 drug cases last year.

Because we are involved people will tend to come to us.
This is the best cooperation we have between schools and police that we have ever had.

Domestic violence is an issue.

44000 incident, incident any call that requires a response; a small portion of that is house maintenance
Over 100,000 phone calls

Looking for a repeater in the north end of town to help the radio can get a good signal there
Possibly putting an antenna somewhere there to help the signal, I have grant money to do this.

Our computer system allows for a quick update and get back on the road more quickly, less time reporting.
Can you do a voice thing and let someone else type it in?
We do have a system but it is expensive and we use it for a big court case where there are lots of witness statements, etc.

FBI stats say 2 per thousand people, we have 46, FBI would have us with 66. I am about 7 officers below in comparable communities, 15 of 16 in ranking.

Chief Williams has provided some statistics to Steve Whalen, he will send it around to the group.

Franklin has a good reputation so they can get transfers in and it gets the new hires up to speed quicker. It would be good to get all four new officers at the same time, could put them all into the training cycle.

The town has more firemen (48) than police (46).

live reporting - Fire Department

Chief McCarraher provides an overview of their budgeting process
Paul Sharp, Deputy

uses regression analysis to determine response effectiveness
when the stats show their decline in responses, they can either add resources or stop handling certain situations; for example, they do not respond to pump flooded basements, they do not handle cat in the tree calls...

when they talk about adding resources, they talk about adding a company
currently a 4 platoon system, budget for 5 people; sick time, vacation, training, all required to keep 4 active and on duty

forecasting to add a company in 2011
rather than taking a big hit, looking for incremental growth
allows for training through the fire academy as a group, rather than one at a time

Dr Eisenburg model shows graphically how to have a successful response within 8 minutes
civilian fire deaths triple when fire flash point is reached in a room
we are right at 81.1%
our exposure is in the north of Franklin
as those parts of Franklin develop, that will create response time issues as the travel is longer from the station
the nature of the population area will help to drive the call volume

2005-2006 we were at 59%
now with additional folks over the last few years, the response time as improved

anticipation of a 4% increase in calls

the call is the event whether it is one call or 15 calls for the same event, it is one event
the event can be responded to with one vehicle or multiple, but it is still a single event

the increase comes from multiple factors, I wish I could tell you it is a pure calculation
I did take the historical numbers and did a regression analysis over time to come up with 4%

when the economy is going from good to bad, or bad to good, there is an increase in call volume
when the economy is steady at either the top or the bottom, there is a steady volume
should be able to write a book about this some day

the model is statistically valid, when it will happen is the question

it is easy when you use big numbers
20% of our base is industrial/commercial and the highway, residential is driven by population
the nature of the industry will drive volume, warehouse is less than heavy manufacturing

there will be increases until we hit the build out scenario, once we hit the build out max, there should be a lessening of demand, although as the community declines, that poses additional problems that can drive call volume

what does the ambulance money pay for or not pay for?
the amount collected via third party billing when the ambulance transfers patients
the money simply covers the capital requirements for the ambulance equipment
the rates are determined by Medicare/Medicaid

goal is to bill out within 30 days of the response
you may not see a bill as the insurance company may cover it

we cross train our paramedics and fireman
we need 15 folks to fight a single family residence, 10 to fight the actual fire and five called back into the station to provide coverage

Medicare used to reimburse at 80% of the fare billing fee
now the rate is $643 per ambulance no matter what the patient requirements are

what happened when we tried to regionalize dispatch
you can only regionalize in MA with the communities are less than 2500 people

what have you done to reduce cost, or improve productivity
we have 12 people on duty, we don't replace until we go down to 10
we are right staffed, it allows us to hold off calling folks back

45% of our call volume happens with 2 calls within 15 minutes of each other
we are staffed to handle two calls, to handle three calls would add another million dollars in staffing

there is really no flashy sexy solution, we have been at this since Prop 2 1/2 came in
over the twenty years, we have done it all, without a major technical advance (and that is not realistic)

it will take a few years beflow 90% to build a trend line for the demand

fire dept are so entrenched in tradition, communities identify with their fire dept, to say we would go to a Charles River Fire department for example, combining with Medway and someone else near

regionalization is a 30 year buzz word, in Eastern MA, very few successful efforts especially when getting to the employees

Animal control works well with Bellingham, no issues, quick response

live reporting - Financial Planning Committee - model overview

Attendees: Deb Bartlett, Steve Whalen, Roberta Trahan, Doug Hardesty, Matt Kelly, Rebecca Cameron, Jeff Nutting, Wayne Ogden, Gwynne Wilschek (late)

Chief Williams, Chief McCarraher

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

Meeting called to order

Jeff provides an overview of the model

the model assumes 4% salary increase, this is only a projection, not a budget
first column for FY 2010 assume no hires

schools calculated in 7% each year as a plug number

collective bargaining agreements run out in 2010
what happens for 2011 and 2012 will be dependent upon the contract settlements

if inflation continues, 2-2.5% salary increases will potentially be harder to win

if we say 3%, it might be an additional 30%. there are some steps and level changes but there is also overtime that increases. so we would use 3.3% to calculate.

Health insurance and pensions are an item

The second 2010 would put some folks back into the mix, bringing in some police, fire, custodians, etc. 2011, 2012 simply grow from the second 2010.

Town Council Mtg Summary - 9/17/08

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"Once your vision is lost, it's gone for good,"

GHS
Posted Sep 18, 2008 @ 12:32 AM
Last update Sep 18, 2008 @ 12:37 AM

FRANKLIN —

Losing one's sight, which sometimes happens with age, is a frightening experience, and people usually don't know what help is available to them, Andrea Schein told a captive audience at the Senior Center Tuesday afternoon.

Those who are blind or suffer vision loss often have to deal with the public's misconceptions and fear as well, said Schein, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.

"If you tell someone you have a loss of vision, the tendency is (to yell), 'HELLO, HOW ARE YOU TODAY?"' Schein said loudly, prompting a few seniors to laugh so hard they started tearing up.

"Attitudes about blindness are terrible, just terrible. The only things scarier to the public are cancer and AIDS - things you die from," Schein said.

Baffled at this, the audience blurted out, "Why? Why?"

People just don't know how to communicate, she told the seniors, who comprise the newly formed Low Vision Group.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.


"dead crows and blue jays"

GHS
Posted Sep 17, 2008 @ 11:58 PM

FRANKLIN —

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has issued a warning: Mosquitoes in Franklin have tested positive for West Nile virus.

"We continue to urge residents to take personal precautions such as using repellent. It's not too late in the season for us to see human cases of West Nile virus or EEE (eastern equine encephalitis)," DPH State Epidemiologist Dr. Al DeMaria said in a press release.

DeMaria advised residents to protect themselves from getting West Nile virus from mosquitoes by:

  • Being aware of mosquitoes' active hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for mosquitoes, he cautioned, so avoid early morning and evening activities outdoors
  • Wearing long sleeves, long pants and socks to protect skin from mosquito bites
  • Applying insect repellent containing DEET (but not on infants under 2 months of age and in concentrations of 30 percent or less on older children), permethrin, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus (but don't use lemon eucalyptus on children under age 3)
  • Draining still water to mosquito-proof a home. This includes rain gutters and drains, because mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, and install or repair screens to keep the pests outside.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"We would be bankrupt,"

GHS
Posted Sep 17, 2008 @ 11:04 PM

FRANKLIN —

Town Council last night postponed a decision on whether to rezone a portion of Rte. 140, demanding more specific information about potential development.

"If they want us to pass that bylaw, give us information," said Councilor Robert Vallee.

Town planners proposed the idea to expand business opportunities, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.

Town Planner Beth Dahlstrom and Town Engineer William Yadisernia are hoping the zoning change will bolster development by allowing a wider variety of projects near the Knights of Columbus property, which is on the northerly side of Rte. 140, they have said.

The plan would switch a portion of West Central Street (Rte. 140) from Business/Single Family III to Commercial II.

The Knights of Columbus is selling its property, town planners want to increase the redevelopment potential of the lots in that area, and the Knights property is in need of substantial redevelopment, Yadisernia has said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Live reporting - Town Council meeting

present: Vallee, Bartlett, Feeley, Pfeffer, Doak, McGann, Zollo
absent: Whalen, Mason

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - none

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
reminder on upcoming Harvest Fair, Library Book Sale

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS - none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS - none

E. APPOINTMENTS - Design Review Commission, appoint approved


motion to amend the agenda to add the School Building Committee to the agenda
motion seconded and passed

first meeting, 5:00 PM October 1st


The members of this committee are as follows:

Town Officials
  1. Chris Feeley, Town Council
  2. Scott Mason, Town Council
  3. Ed Cafasso, School Committee
  4. Paula Mullen, School Committee
  5. Maureen Sabolinski, Ass't Supt of Schools
  6. Pamela Gould, High School Principal
  7. Michael D'Angelo, Town/School Facilities Director
  8. Jeff Nutting, Town Administrator
Citizens
  1. Lou Allevato
  2. Thomas Cameron
  3. William Goode
  4. Rob Halter
  5. Michael LeBlanc
  6. Thomas Mercer
  7. Scott Nathan

live reporting - Administrator report

Nutting -

  • thanks for the website conversions
  • Beaver St to be open on Thursday. There is still some paving to do possibly next week but the road is passable now.
  • Question 1 is on the November ballot would remove the income tax and remove about 12 billion dollars from the State budget. This money provides about 35% of our annual budget. I hope folks think long and hard before voting on that question.
  • Offer for special meeting on commercial property tax evaluation, will be scheduled
Bartlett - question on Verizon work to install FIOS
Nuttling - Verizon is going to fix, patch, repair, etc. Call Verizon 24x7

Old business - none
New business -
Vallee - if the zoning bylaw is going to be brought here again, let's get the information we asked for. If it had come for a vote tonight, it would have failed. It requires a two-thirds vote to pass.

Councilor Comments
Zollo - the fields are a standard barer for the town
(will add comments for the school teachers putting in effort in trying times)

Vallee - The school department is going to have to look forward to less next year. The economy is going into the tank.

live reporting - legislation for action

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
  • Resolution 08-48: Acceptance of Sewer Easement Off King Street
approved unanimously 6-0
  • Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-625: Chapter 185-5:Zoning Map: Business to Commercial II- 2nd Reading
Vallee - I had a question on additional info from last time
Taberner - I was unaware of an outstanding question from last time. I have not had any contact with any one of the principals.

Motion to table until Oct 1
Approved unanimously

live reporting - town website

Tim Raposa, Maxine Kinhart, Debbie D'amico (?)

Maxine provides a recap of the history and recognition of the town website.

Technical limitations forced a change. The application was outdated and becoming unsupported. Quicksite was a home grown application.

Virtual Townhall provides support directly to the users posting their information.

Cost of the prior services was approx. $22,000 per year (hosting and support). The new service is an annual cost of about $6,000.

Initial design and framework was by the team with a focus on ease of use to a website visitor. You can access information in multiple ways. Most information can be found on the page without scrolling up/down.

Designed to separate the town and community/business information.

Community/business links moved to American Towns at no cost.

Conversion sessions conducted. Several general done, individual departments also meet directly with Virtual Townhall. Next week follow up training is scheduled. Questions/concerns being collected to help Virtual Townhall prepare for the training session.

Doak - Question on conversion time, was content there? There seemed to be some confusion with what information would be there.

Raposa - There is a difference between the town and community site, only the Town site can have the official seal.

Bartlett - Is all the old Town information on the new site
Kinhart - No, there is 2-3 years there now. It is a project to continue to add to it.

demo of features -
department list, not complete but what is important to show without scrolling
Connect CTY
Fire Department - pictures of equipment and stations
Contact us - has form to request notice for posting to front page
Top navigation bar for Schools, Residents, Business, Home (return to front page)
Community - American Towns

Doak - question on URL and redirects
Raposa - temporary situation until the school website is moved to another server

FM #14 - Downtown Parking Study

Another in a series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin, MA. This one focusing on the presentation and discussion about the downtown parking study presented by Brian Taberner from the Town Council meeting on 9/3/08.

Time: 29 minutes, 36 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

Music intro

My intro

FM #14

By way of catching up, I will do some shorter podcasts to provide the detailed discussions to you in their entirety. There is little I can add to the discussion itself so you might as well listen to it all and take from it what you will.

This is from the Town Council meeting on Wednesday 9/3/08 where Brian Taberner, the Downtown Planning and Community Development Director makes his presentation covering the downtown parking study. Beth Dalhstrom assists during the presentation. This portion of the meeting includes the Q&A and my own two cents input.


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

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

FM #13 - Downtown Planning & Community Development

Another in a series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin, MA. This one focusing on the presentation by Brian Taberner, the Director of the Downtown Planning & Community Development.

Time: 39 minutes, 27 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes

Music intro

My intro

FM #13

By way of catching up, I will do some shorter podcasts to provide the detailed discussions to you in their entirety. There is little I can add to the discussion itself so you might as well listen to it all and take from it what you will.

This is from the Town Council meeting on Wednesday 9/3/08 where Brian Taberner, the Downtown Planning and Community Development Director makes his presentation covering the goals, objectives, and projects underway. Beth Dalhstrom assists during the presentation.

The notes taken from my live reporting during the Town Council meeting can be found here

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

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

In the News - ice cream social, collecting books

Franklin Library to host ice cream social

This Saturday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m., the Friends of the Franklin Library will host an old-fashioned ice cream social featuring the award-winning barbershop quartet, Concord Express.

The festivities start at 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Franklin Public Library with an ice cream social. Concord Express sings in the traditional barbershop style and consists of four greater Boston-area performers. The public is invited to this free cultural and tasteful event. In the event of inclement weather the event will move indoors to the library community room on the lower level.



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

Friends of Franklin Public Library accepting book donations

The Friends of the Franklin Public Library have announced they are accepting book donations for the Fall Book sale scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18. Book sale donations may be dropped off at the Franklin Public Library during regular business hours lower level.

The Friends are seeking hardcover and paperback books, fine periodicals, videotapes, DVDs, record albums and CDs, but not outdated encyclopedias and reference books, or Reader’s Digest Condensed Books.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Town Council Agenda - 9/17/08

FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL


September 17, 2008
7:00 PM

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS - Design Review Commission

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS – New Town Website

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
  • Resolution 08-48: Acceptance of Sewer Easement Off King Street
  • Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-625: Chapter 185-5:Zoning Map: Business to Commercial II- 2nd Reading

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN

Sunday, September 14, 2008

FM #12 - Street Opening Bylaw

Another in a series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin, MA. This one features the discussion from the Town Council meeting on 9/3/08 on the Street Opening Bylaw.

Time: 22 minutes, 18 seconds



MP3 File

Session notes:

Music intro

My intro

FM #12

By way of catching up, I will do some shorter podcasts to provide the detailed discussions to you in their entirety. There is little I can add to the discussion itself so you might as well listen to it all and take from it what you will.

The first is from the Town Council meeting on Wednesday 9/3/08 where they discuss the proposed bylaw covering digging into a street in less than five years after it was re-done. The council completes the discussion and leaves the bylaw unchanged.

This will leave some residents with a situation that they are not happy with but it will leave the town overall with a better road infrastructure.

Choices, choices.

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

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Windows and doors

It appears to be the season for windows and doors.

The house at 188 King St now sports them:

Franklin: 188 King St

There is a Creative Commons license attached to this image. AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike

The renovation/rebuilding of Honey Dew Donuts on East Central St now sports them as well. Looks like the coffee will be brewing soon!

Franklin_80914 002

There is a Creative Commons license attached to this image. AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike

How important are windows and doors?
Without them, all you have are four walls and no way to get in or out.

In the News: defibrillators, Pirelli Scholarship, Back to Business

Since Franklin, which has five AEDs, began sending them out in every car during a shift several years ago, they've become an important staple, said Chief Stephen Williams.

"We have had to use them, and we have had saves," he said. "If we're there a minute or two before emergency services, minutes count for a person having a heart attack."

Read the full article about local police departments and their defibrillator inventory in the Milford Daily News here

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

Staff Sgt. Pirelli, 29, was killed in a gun battle on Aug. 15, 2007 in Diyala Province while serving a tour in Iraq with the Army Special Forces. The Green Beret had been a goalie for the Franklin High School Panthers hockey team.

"My main job for the rest of my life is to keep his name alive,'' Pirelli said.
One of the ways he will do that, with the help of family and friends, is through establishing a perpetual scholarship for Franklin High School graduates.

To raise money for the first set of scholarships, which the Pirellis plan to hand out in 2010, they are holding a comedy night (for ages 21+) on Sept. 27 at the Doubletree Hotel in Milford (formerly the Milford Sheraton), at 7 p.m.


"We're really putting on a Las Vegas-quality show in Milford. There are headliners, Johnny Pizzi, who is in Vegas right now, Paul Gilligan, Tony Vee, Paul D'Angelo,'' Alberts said.
Read the full article about the Pirelli Scholarship fundraiser in the Milford Daily News here.

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

A "super mom'' was sitting with her, talking about how she had just sent her child to college and needed to find a job, but felt she had nothing to offer, Waters recalled.

"I thought she had it all together. She sat in front of me and started crying, and told me nobody would talk to her,'' Waters said.


The woman had spent a lot of time volunteering and was active in the community, but didn't think potential employers would value that experience, she explained.

So Waters used her corporate vocabulary and applied it to her resume, showing her she had many transferable skills.

"She started to sit up straight and became confident she was worth something out there,'' Waters said.


That woman, in turn, inspired Waters to start Back to Business, instead of one of the other dozen or so ideas she was kicking around, she said.


She spent the next year and a half researching, interviewing human resource managers, recruiters, and other hiring entities to learn what they wanted in employees.


"They're not against moms returning to the workforce, or people making a job transition. They just want to see transferable skills, computer skills, and they want the candidate to be clear about what they want,'' she said.


Waters realized she could bridge the gap and clear up misperceptions, she said.

Unable to find a good alternative to their situation, many women do nothing and simply continue feeling stuck, she said.

"We un-stick these fabulous women,'' Waters said.

"Confidence is the biggest thing missing,'' she said, adding that hiring managers do comment about applicants needing to have more of it.
Read more about getting women Back to Business in the Milford Daily News here.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Recycle electronics at Gillette today update

utterz-image

The Sony recycling event at Gillette Stadium is a logistics marvel! You don't need to leave your vehicle. You drive through a brief slalom-like set of cones, get directed to a lane and stop. Recyclers are ready to empty your vehicle into large boxes. As the boxes fill, they are fork-lifted onto trucks. As soon as you are empty, you drive up to be handed a Sony recycle bag and pointed to the exit. A quick drive out and you're on your way again.

It's the least amount of time you'll ever spend getting out of an event at Gillette! Well worth the effort loading your car with electronics to recycle!

Mobile post sent by shersteve using Utterz. reply-count Replies.

Industry: Vacumet - holography

I found this press release recently and want to add it to our growing collection of what is happening in the industry located here in Franklin.

Franklin, MA, September 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Vacumet, Corp., the world’s leading vacuum metallizer, today announced the launch of its new commercially available holographic stock design library. Vacumet’s new library houses over 100 holographic stock designs and represents two years of research and development efforts and an over $2 million investment. Vacumet’s holographic stock designs are being used to create unique, illuminating effects for packaging across industries, including food and beverage, beauty, publishing, home entertainment and holographic security. While maintaining the expanding holographic stock library, Vacumet will continue to offer its award-winning custom holographic design service.

The new library offers an assortment of exclusive stock patterns and utilizes all manners of holographic techniques, including dot matrix and conventional “full wave” holography. Vacumet’s library represents both traditional and modern patterns, and is currently stocking a variety of “Multiple Dots” patterns, “Cracked Ice/Broken Glass” designs, as well as distinctive lenslet and kinetic plaid designs. Vacumet plans to continually add to this stock library and will announce additional exclusive holographic stock patterns in the coming months.

“Brand differentiation and shelf appeal continue to be important factors in building a successful point-of-purchase sales strategy,” said Joe Formosa, business manager for HoloPRISM® at Vacumet. “With our extensive holographic stock design library, Vacumet can provide virtually limitless packaging solutions than can increase brand visibility while boosting sales.”

About Vacumet Corp.

Vacumet Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Scholle Corporation, is the single largest commercial metallizing company in the world. Its metallized products are used in the production of some of the most exciting and functional, barrier, cosmetic, labeling and promotional packaging products for major brands across industries and around the world. Vacumet products and processes are representative of its ongoing commitment to sustainable packaging. For more information, please visit http://www.Vacumet.com.

Vacumet Corp. - Holography
is located at 24 Forge Park, Franklin, MA 02038 USA

"a profound sense of history"

GHS
Posted Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:08 PM

FRANKLIN —

It happens, sometimes, in the White House - or a ranch house in Franklin - that great minds come together and do something amazing.

In the name of promoting literacy, 108 renowned authors and illustrators joined forces and created the anthology: "Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out."

The star cast of contributors include a National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, four Pulitzer Prize winners, three National Book Award recipients (and eight finalists), two MacArthur "Genius Fellows," 13 Newbery Medal winners (and 15 finalists), eight Caldecott Medal recipients (and 20 honors) and 12 Coretta Scott King Award winners (and 22 honors).

The idea for the historical book arose nearly a decade ago in the Franklin home of Mary Brigid Barrett, the founder, president and executive director of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

The book's website is found here

National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance website


I love the quote attributed to Barbara Tuchman that is found on the NCBLA home page:

"Without books, history is silent, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill... They are the engines of change, windows on the world, and ... 'Lighthouses erected in the sea of time.' They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print."


What was the last book you read?

Have you read Dark Tide, Stephen Puleo's book on the Molasses Flood? The library has a number of copies available as part of the program this year "On the Same Page".


Friday, September 12, 2008

In the New - author in residence, senior residence assistance

FRANKLIN -

Jed Horne, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and former editor of the Times Picayune (New Orleans) will be the author in residence at Dean College.

Horne, author of the book "Breach of Faith," will read, present and sign copies of his book at a community event on Wednesday, Sept. 24, starting at 7 p.m., in the College’s Campus Center.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The event is sponsored by Dean College’s Student Government Association.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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

GHS
Posted Sep 11, 2008 @ 10:01 AM

FRANKLIN —

For the past two years, resident Ron Higginbottom and Town Councilor Joseph McGann have been making life at home safer for more than 100 Franklin seniors.

Every time the Senior Center's nurse inspects an elderly resident's home to prevent falls and finds a lack of grab bars in the bathroom, Higginbottom and McGann volunteer to install one there, said Senior Center Director Karen Alves.

As part of the center's Safe and Secure at Home program, the nurse visits seniors' homes and conducts risk assessments for falls, she said.

"Statistics say that for a lot of seniors, when they take a fall, it's usually a hospital visit or death (that results). Typically, they'll break a hip, which leads to a nursing home," Alves said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

For a picture of Ron Higgenbottom's Town Council Proclamation, look here