#LOVEfranklin // Emergency Shelter Humanitarian Aid Update as of Oct 27, 2023

The Emergency Shelter in Franklin is nearing compacity. As of Monday there were over 90 families, representing roughly 300 people, including approximately 100 children placed in the shelter here in Franklin. To view current numbers, view the dashboard setup by the Franklin Department of Public Health.

This past week has been busy as we updated our process for assessing needs and collecting donations. This new collaboration with the SAFE Coalition will help insure that we collect items that will be used in a timely manner by those who need them. All donations are being brought to the Franklin United Methodist Church to be sorted, stored, and then distributed. If you'd like to help sort, you can signup here. If you are part of a group/organization that would like to help sort, please email me to schedule a time to help.

The After-School Program is slated to begin next week! Thank you to all who have volunteered and gone through the necessary vetting. If you'd like to learn more about this program and volunteer to help, please reach out to Rev. Kathy McAdams.

The Franklin Interfaith Council has setup a new designated fund for "Local Humanitarian Aid." 100% of these funds will be used for local humanitarian efforts in the Franklin-area. In the near-term, these funds will be used to help meet the needs of the families placed in the Emergency Shelter. Donations can be made online here (designate the fund as "Local Humanitarian Aid Fund)."

Follow the link for the updated flyer. Please download and distribute as you see fit. ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b-UK2ENFVfq75ZG1VoAX7wh-qCivQr3a/view?usp=drive_link

Thank you for your generosity and commitment to #LOVEfranklin!

Peace.

Jacob

><O><O><O><O><O><O><O><

Rev. Dr. Jacob W. Juncker

Pastor, Franklin United Methodist Church

President, Franklin Interfaith Council

 

#LOVEfranklin // Emergency Shelter Humanitarian Aid Update as of Oct 27, 2023

Candidate Interview: Ted Cormier-Leger, incumbent candidate for Town Council (video)

Ted Cormier-Leger and I met via Zoom on Tuesday, Oct 24, 2023 to record this candidate interview. 

video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q40eu4F_PU

Candidate Interview: Ted Cormier-Leger, incumbent candidate for Town Council (video)

Ribbon cutting at Schmidt's Farm recognizes CPA funding for purchase of 200 acres of open space (photos & audio)

The ribbon cutting Friday at Schmidt's Farm acknowledged the purchase of over 200 acres of open space with Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds. A significant accomplishment for Franklin! 

Town Council Chair Tom Mercer opened the brief ceremony with a few remarks. (Most were caught on the audio recording):

"Good morning. Thank you for joining us on this beautiful day to recognize the Town of Franklin’s recently acquired land at Maple Hill and Schmidt Farm for the purpose of preserving open space!

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize John Schmidt of Schmidt’s Farm, who worked with the Town during the acquisition of the approximately 115 acres we are standing on today. 

I would also like to acknowledge Kathy Dalzell who is here representing the Dalzell family. The Dalzell family generously provided the Town with 15 acres of land connecting these two parcels - a gift we were extremely grateful for. Please express our gratitude to your family, Kathy. 

We are very excited to celebrate this marked occasion of the purchase of over 200 acres of public natural resources through the recently adopted Community Preservation Act."

a view from partway into the large open field

the ribbon cutting

the barn has hopes of being restored with CPA funds

(L-R) Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Councilor Melanie Hamblen, Council Chair Tom Mercer, State Rep Jeff Roy (minding Rosie Melanie's dog)

Photo album of the ceremony and of a brief walk across the open field

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wz79C3HCF4ZYXxsX7

Town of Franklin recognizes the 3 ribbon cuttings this year: https://twitter.com/FranklinMatters/status/171799700345026190

Audio link ->  https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1090-schmidts-farm-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-10-27-23

Milford tops FHS football on Friday night

Via Twitter and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the fall sports competition for Franklin High School on Friday, Oct 27, 2023. 

Football = Franklin, 0 @ Milford, 24 – Final

1st Quarter: (M) Nick Araujo 41-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good.

2nd Quarter: (M) Jack Buckley 1-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good; (M) N. Araujo 39-yard field goal.

3rd Quarter: (M) N. Araujo 2-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good.

4th Quarter: No scoring.

Ryan Lanigan, founder and Editor-in-Chief of HockomockSports.com, provides the game recap: 

"Milford senior Nick Araujo wears a lot of hats for the playoff-bound Scarlet Hawks.

Friday night, he shouldered the load offensively by leading a dominant ground game and found the end zone twice to lead Milford to a 24-0 shutout win over Franklin.

Araujo rushed for 168 yards on 17 carries, almost entirely in the first half, and added a 39-yard field goal in the second quarter to account for nearly all of Milford’s scoring.

“I think we rebounded perfectly this game,” Araujo said as the Hawks bounced back from their first loss of the season. “We put up a massive goose egg going into the first round of the playoffs next week. We had a lot of dudes step up. We have a sophomore [Joey McGee] starting and he had a huge pick to turn things around for us in the third. I just want to do everything I can for my team, whatever puts a ‘W’ on the board.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/araujo-defense-lift-milford-football-to-shutout-win-over-franklin/

For a photo gallery from this game (subscription required)  https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2023-2024/Fall-2023/Milford-Franklin-Football-10-27-23/

For other results around the league (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/fridays-schedule-scoreboard-10-27-23/

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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

Join the Conservation Commission for Cider & Stroll at DelCarte Nov 12 at 10 AM

Hi Franklin! 

Cider & Stroll at DelCarte Nov 12

Mark your calendars! 

Join the Franklin Conservation Commission at DelCarte Conservation Area on Sunday, November 12 at 10 AM for apple cider, donuts, and a guided nature walk!

Parking is available onsite at the playground, with overflow parking across the road on Greystone Road, and at the additional DelCarte parking lot down Pleasant Street. 

All are welcome for this FREE event! We hope to see you there!

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551606135109407/permalink/3546493242287343/

Reminder: In person voting, Saturday, Oct 28 from 9 AM to 4 PM for the Town Biennial Election

Reminder:

Saturday (10/28) from 9 AM to 4 PM come down to the Municipal Building, 355 East Central St., Town Clerk’s Office to in person early vote for the Nov. 7th Biennial Town Election. 

Saturday is also the last day to Register to Vote for this election from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Listen to Town Clerk Nancy Danello as she walks us through the details of this election season ->
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/10/franklin-town-clerk-nancy-danello-walks.html

Sample ballot for Nov 7 election  

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/news/local-biennial-town-election-11-7-2023-sample-ballot

Shared from ->   https://www.facebook.com/groups/460474210785489/posts/2648932551939633/

Reminder: In person voting, Saturday, Oct 28 from 9 AM to 4 PM for the Town Biennial Election

48th Annual Franklin Newcomers & Friends Craft Fair is scheduled for Saturday, November 18

The 48th Annual Franklin Newcomers & Friends Craft Fair is set for Sat. November 18, 2023 from 9 AM to 3 PM.

Craft Fair

It will be held at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, 147 Pond St., Franklin at the school’s main lunchroom / community space.

This popular and well-established event features hand-crafted items from artists throughout New England. You’ll find a great selection of items for your home, for gift-giving, specialty foods, and more.

The club accepts donations for the Franklin Food Pantry when you enter. The entry fee is $3 for people 12 years of age and older.

Find us on Facebook for club information and activities: Franklin Newcomers & Friends Club -> https://www.facebook.com/FranklinNewcomersFriendsClub

For craft fair details: Franklin Newcomers Craft Fair

Email: franklincraftfair@gmail.com

Franklin's Event Outlook: October 27, 2023 to November 3, 2023

It is a sad day when the end of the Farmers Market season rolls in. It is such a festive gathering each Friday on the Town Common. We can look forward to the Winter Market at the Fairmount Fruit Farm.  In the meantime, we can also look to the full weekend of activities in this weekend before Halloween.

Wow!

How many can you make it too?

Friday, October 27

11:00am - Open Space Ribbon Cutting (Schmidt’s Farm)

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

2:00pm - Ladder 3 Trio (live music) (Town Common)

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

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

5:30pm - Interactive Halloween Story Walk (Universalist Society of Franklin)

6:00pm - Elastic Five (live music) (67 Degrees)

6:30pm - Second Chance Band (live music) (Raillery Pubic House)

7:00pm - The Play that goes Wrong (ticketed event) (Dean College)

Saturday, October 28

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

10:00am - Fire Dept Open House (downtown fire station)

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

10:00am - RISE Up - social gathering (Franklin TV Studio)

10:30am - Trunk or Treat (Franklin Public Library)

1:00pm - Halloween Costume Party (La Cantina Winery)

2:00pm - Police Dept Halloween Party (911 Panther Way)

4:00pm - Annual Trunk or Treat  (Franklin High School) 

5:00pm - Trunk or Treat (Franklin United Methodist Church)

5:00pm - Horror Movie (for teens 13+) (Franklin Public Library)

7:00pm - The Play that goes Wrong (ticketed event) (Dean College)

7:00pm - Jamie Barrett (live music) (Raillery Pubic House)

8:00pm - Antje Duvekot (ticketed event) (Circle of Friends Coffeehouse)

8:00pm - Street Survivors (ticketed event) (THE BLACK BOX)

Sunday, October 29

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

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

4:00pm - Franklin Lions Trunk or Treat (Franklin High School) 

7:00pm - The Play that goes Wrong (ticketed event) (Dean College)

Monday, October 30

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

Tuesday, October 31 - Halloween

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

Wednesday, November 1

10:00am - Veterans Coffee Social

1:00pm - Senior Scribblers (writing group) (CANCELED or this week)

6:30pm - Franklin Art Association

Thursday, November 2

8:30am - Franklin Downtown Partnership General Mtg

6:30pm - Franklin LGBTQ Alliance - monthly meeting

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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 27, 2023 to November 3, 2023

ALARM Robotics hosts a Hackathon at the Franklin Public Library

39 kids in the age group of 3rd to 8th grade gathered together in the huge community room to program projects in Scratch on a rainy afternoon. The theme of the event was Halloween. Participants were grouped in teams of 3. 

Participants showed up with their laptops and settled down on the rug with their planning sheets. Teams designed video games, animations and interactive projects using Scratch 3.0, a block based programming language developed by MIT Media Labs. There were 8 middle school teams and 5 elementary school teams. Volunteer judges judged the projects after 3 hours of project time. 

ALARM Robotics hosts a Hackathon at the Franklin Public Library

There were projects with ghost jump-scares, games where you had to avoid skeletons, trick or treat candy games, Jack-o-lantern animations and many such creative projects. For many students this was their very first Hackathon experience. All hands went up when asked if they had fun and learned something new!

The ALARM Robotics team organized and hosted the event with help from the Franklin Public Library. 4H ALARM Robotics, is a community FRC team (FRC stands for FIRST Robotics Competition) from Franklin. ALARM Robotics is a non-profit robotics education club set up at the historic Brick School. ALARM Participation medals were given to all participants and Awards were given to 1st-2nd-3rd place teams in both elementary and middle school divisions.

Food was donated by the local Piezoni's and Dunkin Donuts (West Central St).

Ms. Felicia Oti, the Director of Franklin Public Library, addressed the young programmers and urged them to keep learning technology and programming and give back to the community by volunteering.

ALARM Robotics has been conducting community robotics events at the Franklin Public Library, they conducted the Robo-Racer Workshop in September, where participants challenged themselves to build racers without wheels. 

Up next they will be coaching 2 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams beginning Wednesday, Oct 25th. The session is 12 weeks and for kids in 2nd to 4th grade. 

Photos from the event can be found in one album ->   https://photos.app.goo.gl/EJr3gHwF5fqVyCG69

Master Plan Update Cmte Spends time on survey details, pros/cons (video)

The Master Plan Update Committee met as scheduled Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023. They used the 3rd floor conference room with at least 3 members remote. The Franklin TV video link can be found below. 

These are my notes captured via Twitter during the meeting.

Master Plan Update Cmte meeting underway, Zoom link provided an opportunity, the link wasn't automatic, needed to manually enter the id to enter. Follow along with agenda here 

Some members remote so roll call vote to approve prior meeting minutes   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/master_plan_agenda_-_october_25_2023.pdf

Subcmte reports: skipping some subcmte updates for those leaders who are remote as the room can't hear them, although they are audible to the Zoom room. Those in the room providing updates. Cobi's group planning a set of 6 meetings to seek public input. Schedule coming.

Cobi's group on Nov 5 will meet at Horace Mann and visit a bunch of facilities via bike ride. Open space met last night awaiting approval of OSRP by State, tree planting discussed, historic goals and updates also covered via Vicki Earls.

Sustainable subcmte reviewed survey draft

Working through the audio issues, now the zoom folks can be heard in the room and the Chair will begin to use his mic properly

Land use update working thru items have dates thru the end of the year. Soon to be posted to the calendar.

Next item in agenda drawing for the Harvest Festival winner. Lynn O'Brian won a $100 gift card!

Moving on to finalize the survey. All edits to survey updated to drive location, looking to launch soon and include a 30 deadline, can be extended if Cmte desires. To use a Google form for the survey. Discussion on map oriented input, fun for user to do, compliments the results

May not be in scope of the Cmte budget, not in the scope for the consultants, some folks don't get the impact of the survey, issue of the map based is difficult via a piece of paper. Example to be shared with Chair & group for further review

Amy comments (rightly) that the entire community needs to be considered and not just the digital enabled folks.

Cobi comments that many of the questions are phrased in such a way to not really get at the gaps or issues that could be raised

Map based survey likely would be better separate not to duplicate this survey. Discussion on alternative ways to get access to the non digital folks. Getting out to the public, takes time and resources to reach them where they are.

Discussion round and round on the survey, question on value of questions for action for the Cmte vs. the demographics being captured to help do the deep diving analysis. Question on

 

some of the specifics, left out north end of town, left out Crossing section.

Survey moving out to Nov 8 meeting, typos and edits being processed, Amy to send final draft out to Cmte, need final changes done before the meeting. Any comments after Fri, Nov 3, may not be included.

Discussion on use of a story map to help tell about the master plan and update process. More about info sharing rather than info gathering. "A marketing outreach tool"

Motion to adjourn passes via roll call That's all for tonight, catch you next time!

screen grab of meeting in progress

Franklin TV video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSHQzrmXdVk

FHS girls & boys soccer teams and field hockey team post wins on Thursday

Via Twitter and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the fall sports competition for Franklin High School on Thursday, Oct 26, 2023. 

Boys Soccer = Milford, 0 @ Franklin, 3 – Final

– Franklin scored twice in the opening 20 minutes and added one more in the second half to secure the win and its second straight Kelley-Rex division title. Senior Rex Cinelli opened the scoring in the 8th minute when he headed in a corner from classmate Noah Cain. The Panthers doubled the lead just eight minutes later as junior Garrett Scagliarini buried a low free kick at the near post to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Scagliarini got his second in the 66th minute when sophomore Josh Rappa, who just subbed on, launched a long throw into the area and Scagliarini flicked in a header to the back post to make it 3-0.

For a photo gallery of this game -> https://hockomocksports.smugmug.com/2023-2024/Fall-2023/Franklin-Milford-Boys-Soccer-10-26-23/

Girls Soccer = Franklin, 13 @ Milford, 0 – Final 

– Franklin closed league play with an emphatic road win that clinches a fourth straight Kelley-Rex title, as the Panthers finished in a first-place tie with KP. Anya Zub and Gwen Holland each scored hat tricks for the Panthers. Selene Hammad (two assists) and Kelley O’Connor (one assist) each had two goals and Morgan Lovell scored once but set up four. Olivia Costa had one goal and one assist, and Liz Hopkins found the back of the net once. Cassidy Carmignani had a pair of helpers, while Alli Powderly, Ava Workman, and Alex Pond each set up one goal.

Field Hockey = North Attleboro, 1 @ Franklin, 9 – Final

– A big four-goal second quarter helped Franklin pull away and earn its 16th league win of the season. Haley Wernig recorded a goal and three assists to eclipse 100-career points in the win while Raena Crandall netted four goals. Emily Carney and Chloe Essam each scored twice, Maeve Rolston added an assist, and Devon Barry (six saves) earned her 100th career save in the win. Francesca Spencer scored for North on an assist from Kelsey Thompson. Rachel Copley had a strong game defensively for the Rocketeers with two defensive saves, Eman Farid made nine saves, and Gracie Leary added seven saves.

For other results around the league (subscription required)

https://hockomocksports.com/thursdays-schedule-scoreboard-10-26-23/

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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

Panther TV's spooktacular version of News for Today

"Panther News: 2023 Halloween Spooktacular!! 

@FHSPantherbook @FranklinHS" 

https://t.co/HJSfN8KrDf via @YouTube

Shared from -> https://twitter.com/fhspanthertv/status/1717579670097408181

Franklin Senior Center: Senior Connection Newsletter November 2023

Our November 2023 Senior Connection Newsletter is out! Take a look at all the awesome programs and events at the Franklin Senior Center.

Take a look at the November 2023 Senior Connection Newsletter here!

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/november_2023_newsletter_to_post.pdf

Sign Up NOW for the Senior Players Fall Performance (11/7 and 11/14) and Eat Around the World: Vietnam (Nov 3). You can call or drop by to sign up for November programs starting November 1st!

Reminder the Franklin Senior Center will be closed on Friday, November 10th for Veterans Day as well as Thursday and Friday November 23rd and 24th for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Happy November!

Your Franklin Senior Center Team

Franklin Senior Center: Senior Connection Newsletter November 2023

Paint & Sip scheduled for Nov 9 at 67 Degrees Brewery

Franklin artist, Amy Adams, has scheduled a "Paint & Sip" at 67 Degrees Brewery for Thursday, Nov 9. You can register for this here -> https://www.paintingvenus.art/event-details/mingle-and-paint

Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy3GmM7sNz2/

Paint & Sip scheduled for Nov 9 at 67 Degrees Brewery