Franklin Art Association schedule reception for Nov 9 from 6 to 8 PM

The Franklin Art Association will hold an opening reception of new artwork at the association gallery at Escape into Fiction Bookstore on November 9, 6-8 PM, 12 Main Street, Franklin.    

The event is free and open to the public.  

Please join us in support of local artists and their creative work!

www.franklinart.org, Facebook and Instagram.

Franklin Art Association gallery

Franklin (MA) Police Department Community Service Results & Action Plan

Community Survey Results and Action Plan                     October 11, 2023

The Franklin Police Department conducted a Community Survey from July 25, 2023 – September 3, 2023.  This survey was anonymous and it was looking for community feedback in order to gauge how the department was doing in several different areas including community involvement, safety, procedural justice, performance and satisfaction of officer contact.  This survey was posted on all of our social media platforms and our web site with the intent of reaching as many citizens as possible.

There were 315 responses to this survey.  The results of the survey are below and can also be found on our web site at: https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/pages/2023_community_survey_results_data.pdf

The command staff at the police department have looked at this data and have found the following:   

Franklin (MA) Police

Community Involvement

• Although most people feel we do a good job at interacting with the community, we feel we can do better at making it easy for community members to provide input to the department.  We are working on ways for people to be able to provide information and suggestions using social media platforms or other communication platforms.

Safety

• The top three issues identified by the public as the greatest problems in the community are the same, we, as a department, have also identified as top priorities.  They include:
  • Traffic Issues (49.2%)
  • Mental Health Issues (44.4%)
  • Drug Abuse (31.7%)
• Here are the things that the police department have been and will continue to do regarding these issues:
  • Traffic: 
    • We have hired three of the four additional officers that the town has appropriated and once filled will bring us to a total of 58 sworn officers.  These officers have been assigned to our operations division and will be assigned to uniformed patrol.  This will increase the ability to conduct traffic enforcement during times between calls for service.
    • Our patrol division has increased traffic stops in FY23 by approximately 79.4% (3,348 stops) from the year before (FY22 – 1,868 stops).  With the addition of the four new officers, we have directed our operations division to continue this trend and expect an additional 25% increase of traffic stops and directed patrols this year.
  • Mental Health:
    • The department has started its own Co-response Mental Health Program to continue its good work that began with Advocates.
    • We have hired a team of mental health clinician who works directly for the Town of Franklin.  We have hired a FPD Co-response Program Manager and we are in the process of hiring two additional clinicians.  These clinicians will ride with officers to calls for service where mental health issues are a factor.  These clinicians are trained to recognize the problems, they understand the challenges, and can assist officers in real time, while on scene, by getting the individual the services they need quickly.  The new clinicians will start in November of 2023.
  • Drug Abuse:
    • We have one detective that is assigned to narcotics investigations.  All other detectives are crossed trained in narcotics investigations and can assist when needed.
    • Our detectives and clinicians conduct follow up investigations after drug overdoses in order to provide information and support services.
    • Our department participates in a county overdose database in which information is shared between member departments.  This allows us to follow up and provide services to those who are Franklin residents but may have overdosed in another jurisdiction.
    • We have a working partnership with the SAFE coalition and other organizations to provide support services to individuals and families suffering from drug addiction.

Procedural Justice

• We are happy to see that a majority of respondents trust the police, find us respectful and find us fair.  We will continue to strive to meet those expectations the community deserves.

Performance

• Although most found the overall performance of our agency satisfactory, we can improve on proactivity and addressing community concerns.
• We will encourage officers to get out of their cars while on patrol and engage more with the community.
• We will continue to encourage more community engagement through use of special vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles and foot patrols of high pedestrian areas (i.e. Downtown, malls, etc.).

Conclusion

First of all, we would like to thank the community members who took the time to complete the survey.  Your feedback is extremely important to gauge what the community thinks of our performance.  We take all of this feedback extremely seriously and will do our best to improve.  Our goal is to provide the best possible service that we can, the level of service that our residents deserve. 

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/police-department-community-service-results-action-plan

Town Council Chair Tom Mercer condenses the Council Meeting of Oct 11 to about 25 minutes (audio)

 FM #1077 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1077 in the series. 

This shares my conversation with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer. This is one of a series of conversations meant to provide a recap of the prior Council meeting. Akin to one of the many sports post-game analysis broadcasts we are familiar with in New England,  this would be a discussion focused on the Franklin Town Council meeting of October 11, 2023: 

• ok, what just happened? 

• What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?

We cover the following key topics

Discussion: A Bylaw to Amend the Code of the Town of Franklin by Inserting Chapter 147, Snow and Ice, Removal Of  

Migrant update – nothing major is new

Joint Budget Subcmte Mtg

• Brief update on FY 24, change in new growth coming, reduction of $250K, implications remain TBD

• Schools updated some of their numbers, planning for FY 25, to include the 4 years after, due approx.. Mar/Apr; looking into comparable communities (i.e. Hockomock League)

• Next Joint session in Jan 2024

Our conversation runs about 27 minutes. Let’s listen to this session of Town Council Quarterbacking recorded Oct 12, 2023. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1077-town-council-quarterbacking-10-12-23

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The Franklin TV video is available for replay ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7gfH__gYXk

Town Council agenda doc -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_-_oct_11_2023.pdf

My full set of notes captured via Twitter during the meeting are collected in a single PDF for easier reading  -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SZ4uXFaq0j33jI4XaFIjXCcU7S_f6b3S/view?usp=drive_link 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

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

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Town Council Chair Tom Mercer condenses the Council Meeting of Oct 11 to about 25 minutes (audio)

FHS girls & boys soccer, volleyball, and golf teams all post wins on Friday

Via Twitter and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the fall sports competition for Franklin High School on Friday, Oct 13, 2023. 

Football = Franklin, 0 vs. Central Catholic, 28

Franklin, 2 @ King Philip, 0 – Final 

– A pair of second half goals handed Franklin a season sweep of rival King Philip. The Panthers pounced for two goals within a 10-minute span just after the midway point of the second half. Junior Garrett Scagliarini opened the scoring off of an assist from Bradley Herndon, and minutes later, Rex Cinelli got on the end of a corner kick from Noah Cain to double the advantage. “It was very, very well played game,” said Franklin head coach Fran Bositis. “Mike O’Neill has done a great job with King Philip, they played very well.”

King Philip, 1 @ Franklin, 3 – Final 

– Franklin rallied from a goal down, scoring three times in the final 25 minutes to secure a season split against the Warriors and move into a first-place tie atop the Kelley-Rex division. Anya Zub scored all three of Franklin’s goals, with KP coach Gary Pichel labeling all three “incredible.” Morgan Lovell, Kelly O’Connor, and Selene Hammad picked up the assists for the Panthers. Franklin coach Jodi Klein called it an “incredible team win.”

Field Hockey = Canton, 0 @ Franklin, 6 – Final 

– Franklin continued its long unbeaten run in league play with a comfortable win against Canton. Raena Crandall scored three goals and assisted on two other to power the Panthers attack. Haley Wernig added a pair of goals and an assist, while Emily Carney scored once and assisted on two. Shaelyn Murphy was huge in goal for the Bulldogs, making 18 saves in the loss. Carney got Franklin on the board first with a blast off a corner midway through the first quarter. With just about a second left in the first, Wernig got free on the right wing and played a cross to Crandall, who had her first tip saved but stuck with the rebound. Franklin added a third early in the second when Carney’s reverse shot was saved and Crandall again pounced on the rebound. In the fourth, Franklin had a nice interchange of passes to add another goal. Carney started it at the top of the circle, feeding Crandall right on the edge of the crease, and she hot Wernig crashing on the right post for the tap in. After a long spell of Canton pressure, Crandall turned on the jets to break away and run clean on goal. She rounded Murphy and finished into the empty net to complete her hat trick. With two minutes to go, Carney made her way to the end line on the left wing, crossing it through the crease to Wernig for her second of the day.

HockomockSports also has a photo gallery of the field hockey game ((subscription required)  https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2023-2024/Fall-2023/Franklin-Canton-Field-Hockey-10-13-23/

Golf = Sharon, 174 @ Franklin, 157

– Franklin senior CJ Steel carded a medalist round to help the Panthers notch a win over visiting Sharon. Steel had a match-low round of 36 while Ben Paterson added a 39 in the win. Tyler O’Brien (40), Tyler Olivo (42), and Zach Langevin (42) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers. James Spoto led Sharon by shooting a 41.

Panthers with the big win on senior night over Sharon!!

All 8 seniors played well

Cj Steel 36

Ben Paterson 39

Tyler O'Brien 40

Tyler Olivo 42

Zach Langevin  42

Anthony Lampasona 43

Brayden Trask 43

Matt Miller 44

Congrats boys!!

Franklin is now 13-4

https://twitter.com/FHSGolfTeam/status/1712966795303211235

For other results around the league (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/fridays-schedule-scoreboard-10-13-23/

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Reminder that HockomockSports.com changed to a subscription model in July. I have a subscription to view and share the FHS results that they provide. If you want to view all the worth Hockomock League reporting they do, subscribing is a good thing. It is quite reasonable. The subscription link is provided below.

To subscribe to HockomockSports.com ->

https://hockomocksports.com/sign-up/#utm_source=HockomockSports&utm_medium=HomepageDesktop&utm_campaign=20232024

FHS Panther sports results shared via subscription to HockomockSports.com

Joint Budget Subcmte hears of shortfall in new growth, hears update on School Budget, plans next session (video)

The Joint Budget Subcommittee met on Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023 as scheduled. The first ten minutes of the meeting were shared via Zoom, then there was an approx. 10 minute break and the meeting resumed also being broadcast via cable and live streamed to YouTube. 

The 'missing' video was recorded via Zoom and likely will be available later. The audio was captured by Franklin Matters includes the complete meeting and will be shared in a day or so.

Quick recap:

• Town Administrator Jamie Hellen provided a brief update on FY 24, change in new growth coming, reduction of $250K, implications remain TBD
• Schools updated some of their numbers, starting to plan for FY 25, to include the 4 years after, due approx.. Mar/Apr; looking into comparable communities (i.e. Hockomock League)
• Finance Committee meeting Nov 8, Town Council meeting Nov 15, Tax rate hearing set for Tuesday, Nov 21 (Yes, note it is a Tuesday!)
• Next Joint Budget Subcmte session in Jan 2024 (TBD)

video link ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3sqZhpIT9Q

Meeting agenda -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/joint_budget_subcommitee_agenda_-_oct_11_2023.pdf

Photo album capturing some of the School presentation

https://photos.app.goo.gl/v1qW8nmPYUQTcLgm8

My notes captured via Twitter and collected in one PDF

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YHP7KFAXd6DDwtAKGLIUwnEFOX_qFte7/view?usp=drive_link

one of the FPS slides used for the budget update

Brick School Ribbon Cutting - Oct 13, 2023 (photo essay)

Friday the 13th was a good day for the brief outdoor ceremony to acknowledge completion of the Brick School exterior renovations. The renovations were funded by the Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds approved by the Franklin voters in 2020.

This is the first of the historical preservation projects to be completed with this funding. The Historical Museum cupola is also scheduled to be funded with CPA. Much has also been made of the 200 acres of open space purchased through the CPA funds.

the front view as newly renovated

the original sign was restored by "Signs by Cam

banner of the Alarm Robotics group renting the facility

sign acknowledging the use of CPA funding

Councilor Debbie Pellegri & Chair Tom Mercer share a laugh

the ribbon cutting moment

Additional photos can be found in the album online ->

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rNo6sntFN2TFSZTcA

Sierras Pizza & Pub schedules Greek Night on Tuesday

Franklin's Most Favorite Pizza & Pub 370 King St. Franklin, MA 02038 | Phone : (508) 488-9900  Catering : (781) 479-9440 | info@sierrasfranklin.com So Here Is The Bottom Line GREEK NIGHT is Here ! As Always  Best Regards It is Our Pleasure Serving You & thank you for allowing us to do so. This Is Mike Da Greek & I Approve This Message Sierras Pizza & Pub Online :mysierras.com Site :sierrasfranklin.com Contact Us 370 King St Franklin, MA 02038 ( 508 ) 530 - 0868  CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION AND LEGAL NOTICE: The information in this message may be proprietary and/or confidential, and protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify CardConnect Boston immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer.   © Copyright 2023 Sierras Pizza & Pub. Rights Reserved.

How to avoid Medicare Open Enrollment scams

How to avoid Medicare Open Enrollment scams By Bridget Small October is time for cooler days, warmer drinks, and the start of Medicare Open Enrollment Period.  If you have Medicare, October 15 – December 7 is when you can make changes to your Medicare health and Part D prescription drug plans.  About now, you'll probably be seeing ads from plans by mail, email, phone, and on TV. You might hear from scammers, too — but how will you know? Read more ->  https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/10/how-avoid-medicare-open-enrollment-scams

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

"Rick from Maryland is among the many readers who expressed bewilderment about becoming infected despite vaccination. “My wife and I are both in our 80s with diabetes," he wrote. "We got the new vaccine as soon as it became available. Not even two weeks later, we both tested positive. We are fine other than for a stuffy nose, but we are wondering what happened. Some of our family members are against vaccines, and they are using our experience to explain why they are not getting vaccinated.”

Rick brings up an important point: We need to be clear about what the coronavirus vaccines do and what they don’t. As with every medical intervention, health-care providers must set expectations so that people don’t view anticipated outcomes — in this case, testing positive — as failures.

The most important reason to stay up-to-date on coronavirus vaccines (and the flu vaccine and RSV vaccine, for that matter) is to reduce your risk of hospitalization and death. On this front, the coronavirus vaccine has delivered consistently strong results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the bivalent vaccine reduced the chance of critical illness by 69 percent in the week to 59 days following the shot. The protection remained three to four months later, though it diminished to 46 percent."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/12/covid-vaccine-booster-benefits-limitations-protection/

Vaccines and what they do "reduce your risk of hospitalization and death"

Franklin's Event Outlook: October 13, 2023 to October 19, 2023

Friday, October 13

2:00pm - Franklin Farmers Market (Town Common)

2:00pm - Thrift Threads thrift shop (Franklin Federated Church)

4:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale (St John’s Episcopal Church)

6:00pm - Ayla Brown & Rob Bellamy (live music) (ticketed event) (La Cantina Winery)

7:30pm - Disney’s The Little Mermaid (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

Saturday, October 14

10:00am - Pumpkin Patch & Sale (St John’s Episcopal Church)

10:00am - Archaeology at Franklin State Forest (near Beaver & Grove St intersection)

10:00am - Touch a Truck (DPW yard on Fisher St)

10:00am - Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

11:00am - Putting for Patient (FHS Gymnasium)

12:00pm - Public Square Rosary Rally (St Mary's Church)

2:00pm - Red Apron Charcuterie (food selection) (La Cantina Winery)

2:00pm - Disney’s The Little Mermaid (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

3:00pm - Michael McArthur (live music) (La Cantina Winery)

7:30pm - Disney’s The Little Mermaid (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

Sunday, October 15

7:30am - All you can eat Breakfast (Franklin Rod & Gun Club)

12:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale (St John’s Episcopal Church)

1:00pm - Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

2:00pm - Disney’s The Little Mermaid (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

3:00pm - Leslie Amper - live in concert plays Schumann (LIVEArts, 262 Chestnut St)

Monday, October 16

4:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale (St John’s Episcopal Church)

6:00pm - Town Hall hosted by Senator Rausch (Franklin Senior Center)

Tuesday, October 17

4:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale (St John’s Episcopal Church)

6:00pm - Conversation with the Candidates (Franklin Elks Lodge)

Wednesday, October 18

11:00am - Franklin Q&A

1:00pm - Senior Scribblers (writing group)

4:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale

Thursday, October 19

8:30am - Town Council Office Hours

4:00pm - Pumpkin Patch & Sale

6:00pm - Open Mic Night

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The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Find the full Community event calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

The Cultural calendar displays only the cultural events      https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/pages/calendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

Franklin's Event Outlook: October 13, 2023 to October 19, 2023