Porchfest Franklin website goes live, sign up to host or play

Porchfest is coming to Franklin, MA!! It is an outdoor music event that will be held on Saturday, June 1st from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM with a rain date of June 2nd.

Come spend the day in Franklin’s beautiful Cultural District while listening to live music. Musicians and bands of all genres will be performing on porches and patios throughout the district. This walkable event is also the perfect opportunity to check out our local shops and restaurants. Public bathrooms will be available.

If you would like to host a band or performer on your Porch or if you have a band or are a performer and would be interested in performing at Franklin PorchFest, go to our website https://franklin.porchfest.info and register for the event. All the information you need to register is on our website. Also on our website you will find links so you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Porchfest is made possible with funds granted from the Mass Cultural Council through the Franklin Cultural District Committee. The Franklin PorchFest Committee is thankful for the support it has received from the Cultural Council, the Cultural District and the Town of Franklin.

Save the date! We look forward to seeing you June 1st!

Porchfest Franklin website goes live, sign up to host or play

13th Annual FBRTC 5K: Saturday May 18, 2024

Please join us for the 13th Annual FBRTC 5K Road Race Hosted by TVFR & FBRTC ​ Location: Grove Street SNETT Trailhead – Parking at Waters Corporation, 210 Grove St., Franklin, MA. 02038 Entry Info:  18 yrs & Under: $25.00 pre-registration / $30.00 day-of 19 yrs - 69 yrs: $30.00 pre-registration / $35.00 day-of 70 yrs and Above: Free Awards:  5K Awards will be First Place Overall M/F. Age Group Awards: Top 3 M/F: 14 & Under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+ Event Details: Race start time: 9:00 AM. Registration opens at 7:30 AM. Course Details: Out-and-back 5k on hard-packed dirt trail. Course map available soon! Amenities:  1. Plenty of water and refreshments. 2. Walkers welcome. 3. Post-race refreshments 4. Awards to top 3 in each age group 5. Post-race gathering for raffle door prizes 6. Commemorative Race Gift to registered participants prior to Midnight April 30, 2024. Additional gifts available until they run out! Additional Info Available at http://www.tri-valleyfrontrunners.com/fbrtc/FBRTC5K.php This race benefits the continuing efforts to develop the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) into a multiuse path for Franklin & Bellingham. The SNETT is an abandoned rail bed running from Franklin through Douglas to the CT boarder, sections of which have become fully developed multi-use paths linking communities across southern Central Massachusetts. For more info & to learn how else you can help visit:   https://www.franklinbellinghamrailtrail.org/ Register Here

Watch the Conservation Commission playlist on YouTube back to January 2022

Franklin TV broadcasts many Town and School meetings to multiple channels. 

• Verizon and Comcast
• Live stream via Zoom
• And to YouTube

You can find the Conservation Commission playlist on YouTube for meetings since January 2022 -> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNyv0AkVasITXFgK-hECCfOA6-bxLtjKn

Watch the Conservation Commission playlist on YouTube back to January 2022

Annual Report Of The Recreation Department: FY 2023 Report

The Recreation Department is located at 275 Beaver Street, Franklin MA 02038. 

The Recreation Department offers Franklin residents a variety of programs and activities for youth and adults, as well as coordination of youth sports organizations field use and facility rental. The department operates and schedules activities for Beaver Pond (beach and turf field), Fletcher Field (baseball fields and courts), Dennis Pisani Softball Field, Henry "Ski" Faenza Playground (Nason Street Tot Lot), King Street Memorial Park, Dacey Community Field, and Meadowlark Lane complex. The department is also responsible for scheduling the use of all school athletic fields for our youth sports organizations. Our department works closely with the various town youth sports organizations and the Athletic Director Karrah Ellis to schedule all youth sports activities around the high school team practices and games. 

The Franklin Recreation Department had a great fiscal year and really expanded their program offerings and participation numbers. From July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 we enrolled 6,635 participants. We have seen larger participation in our summer camp, street hockey, field hockey and pee wee baseball programs.

Recreation Programs Summer Camp

An eight week summer camp was held at King Street Memorial Field from June 27-August 19, 2022. The program hours were Monday-Friday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm daily. Activities included: organized games, arts and crafts, water inflatables, sports, and weekly field trips. The 8 week camp featured camp shirt tie dye on Tuesdays, field trips on Wednesdays, a giant slip and slide/water slide every Tuesday and Thursday, and Pizza day Fridays. The Franklin Summer Camp Directors this year were Jonathan Geromini and Tim Shannon. The Franklin Summer Camp  staff  included:   Lily  DiGiacomo,  Ryan Angermeier, Jason D'Valentine, Sean Vinson, Derek Terwilliger, Alexis Halet, Benjamin Zia, Brendan Grace, Joey Simone, Tim O'Keefe, Katie Jones, Kendall Jones, Savannah Nosek, Kyle Palmieri, Norah MacCallum, and Jason D'Matteo.

Pre-Season Flag Football Camp led by flag football coordinator, Jack Geromini. The 3 day camp from 9:00 am-12:00 noon helped prepare players for the season with practice time and games.

Chilson Beach

Chilson Beach was open from June 18-August 20, 2022 with a swim at your own risk policy. No lifeguards were on duty. We did have gate guards on duty to check for residency as the beach remains Franklin residents only. The pond was tested weekly by RI Analytical for safe swimming. For information on Chilson Beach and our water testing results, please visit: http://www.franklinma.gov/recreation-department/pages/beaver-pond

At the above website, residents can check the water quality and E-coli levels as we run a water quality check every week to make sure it is safe for swimming.

On the turf field at Beaver Pond, we continue to host soccer, field hockey, flag football, and boy's lacrosse at the youth level. The turf field was used for the Franklin Recreation Department's NFL Flag football, Franklin Youth Soccer, and Franklin Youth Boys Lacrosse, as well as yoga for senior citizens, tai chi, boot camp, and many other recreational activities. At the High School level, we continue to host FHS girls field hockey and FHS Girls Soccer in the fall and FHS Boys Lacrosse in the spring. A portable recycled plastic walkway is on site for handicap accessibility to the water edge and playground area. The turf field was recently resurfaced in 2017.

Youth Basketball Program

The Youth Basketball program now involves over 1,000 children, 122 teams, 218 coaches, and utilizes every school gymnasium in town. The Recreation Department continued its basketball program to include High School aged kids in FY2023. The program has grown to offer this intramural basketball program for the Summer, and Winter seasons. This intramural program gives kids in grades 9-12 a chance to continue playing pick-up basketball on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday nights. The program utilizes school gyms at Horace Mann Middle School, Remington Elementary, J.F. Kennedy School, Keller Sullivan Middle School, Keller Sullivan School and Franklin High School gym. In FY 2023 the youth basketball program ran from November 12 -March 11 on Saturdays. The FYBL is divided into nine divisions: Kindergarten (co-ed), 1st & 2nd Grade Boys, 1st & 2nd Grade Girls, 3rd & 4th Grade Boys, 3rd-5th Grade Girls, 5th & 6th Grade Boys & 6th-8th Grade Girls, 7th & 8th Grade Boys, and High School

 

Intramural division. The K-4th grade leagues are non-competitive learning experiences for the children with the focus on fundamental basketball skills. Grades 5th-8th grade basketball leagues start to teach the kids different rules, zone defense, pressing, and traits of competitive basketball. Ten players are drafted to each team and games are played weekly on Saturdays.

Pee Wee Baseball

The Pee Wee Baseball program is an introductory baseball program for children ages 4-6 years old. It was created in 1999 by Recreation Director, Ryan Jette. Since then, the program has grown to over 280 kids in the spring and summer tee ball program. Taking his lifelong baseball coaching experience coupled with past employment with Major League Baseball International, Ryan created a beginners baseball program that teaches kids the proper techniques of hitting, fielding, base running and throwing. This year, our Pee Wee Baseball program was run by Program Coordinator, Sean Fitzpatrick. We also ran a summer pee wee league for 6 year olds that was popular.

Track and Field

The Recreation Department's track and field program numbers have increased drastically. On top of offering our annual Winter Track and field program to over 100 athletes ranging from Kindergarten to Eighth grade, we are now offering Spring, Fall and Winter track programs. These running programs are coached by Stacey Federico and she also receives help from High School track athletes.

NFL Flag Football

The Recreation Department teamed up with the NFL to bring this non-contact flag football league to kids aged 6-14 years old. 383 kids signed up to play each Tuesday & Thursday evening at the Beaver Pond Turf Field. Reversible NFL game jerseys, playbooks, belt/flag setup and access to the NFL Kids website gives kids the opportunity to follow their favorite player or team. Players learned the fundamentals of throwing, catching, running and teamwork. This program continues to be one of the best programs the Recreation Department runs and it is because of our wonderful program coordinator, Jack Geromini who has been supervising this program for 20 years.

 

Girls Lacrosse

In FY 2023, our 8 teams participated in the Founders League. This league provided excellent competition for our growing players. There were 2 teams at the 1st-2nd grade division. There were 2 teams at the 3rd & 4th Grade division. There were 2 teams at the 5th & 6th Grade level. And there were 2 teams at the 7th & 8th Grade level. All levels play in 8 regular season games. Franklin Girls Lacrosse is one of the largest girls' lacrosse programs in the area.

NHL Street Hockey

This summer, our street hockey program was very popular with over 125 kids and 12 NHL teams represented. We hold a skills clinic for the first four sessions to evaluate the player skills. Then, we break them up into equal teams so that games will be fair and fun for all. Teams play twice a week, Monday and Wednesday 5:00pm-8:00pm. Jack Geromini is the program coordinator with the help of FHS hockey team players. Our Street Hockey program participated at the beautiful Fletcher Field rink located at 51 Peck Street.

Girls Field Hockey

Franklin Recreation offers girls youth field hockey in many formats throughout the year. The fall season runs from the end of August-end of October.. Our Recreation Department actually runs the Commonwealth Field Hockey League with just under 100 teams from all over Massachusetts. Kim Carney, our Program Coordinator organizes the entire league and spends countless hours formulating schedules, rosters, website and coordinating officials for the games. The Kindergarten developmental division is an in-house program featuring practice sessions and some in-house small-sided games. The1st & 2nd grade, 3rd & 4th grade, 5th & 6th and the 7th & 8th grade teams will play in the Commonwealth League with 8 games vs. surrounding towns. 147 girls comprise nine teams from Franklin in the fall. Franklin Recreation also runs the entire league for over 28 towns and 110 teams from around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We manage the website, create the schedule, organize officials and oversee all the entire league.

The full Recreation Department report can be found in one PDF ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t1fuocQeWiZED08xPG7pQBus__pmY2HO/view?usp=drive_link

The full Town of Franklin FY 2023 Annual Report can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/annual_report_2023_0.pdf

Annual Report Of The Recreation Department: FY 2023 Report

Annual Report Of The Human Resources Department: FY 2023 Report

The Human Resources Department had another very busy year! We are excited to announce the addition of a new staff member, Diane Montanez. Diane joined the Town in June 2023 and will serve as the Benefits Coordinator. This is a new position that will work with both the Town and the Schools to coordinate employee benefits like health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and many more. Diane has only been with us for a short time, but has already brought some great ideas. Diane will take over the daily administration of benefits, which will open up staff time to focus on recruitment, retention and other important priorities.

During Fiscal Year 2023, we were able to work closely with GovHR, department heads and employees to finalize our new Compensation and Classification plan. This project started in FY22, but continued into the fall and was wrapped up in December 2022. We created a new Compensation and Classification plan in December 2022 which we believe puts us on the right path towards paying our non-union employees competitively. We will continue to review the plans each July (or more often, if needed) and ensure that our salaries are in line with other municipalities and that we can continue to recruit and retain our wonderful employees.

Fiscal Year 2023 was our first year with a new health insurance arrangement with the Massachusetts Strategic Health Group (MSHG). MSHG is a health insurance purchasing coalition made up of about 17 different towns, school districts and other public entities designed to increase access to care while maintaining an affordable and predictable cost to its members and communities. We pay for all claims through a self-funded trust, but have access to the Harvard Pilgrim and United Healthcare networks.

As with any health insurance transition, there were a few hiccups during the first month or two as our employees switched coverage. Since that time, everything has been running smoothly and we were able to offer several new cost saving members to our employees and retirees. The MSHG offers cost saving programs like a diabetes management program, brand name prescriptions at no cost through a mail order program, mental health counseling for children under 18, and a number of other programs. Now that Diane has joined the team as our Benefits Coordinator, she can start spreading the word about these wonderful programs and increase our engagement and participation.

Once we finished our transition to the MSHG in the fall of 2022, we moved on to a similar transition for our Medicare eligible retirees in January 2023. We switched from a Medicare Supplement plan with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to a Medicare Advantage Plan with Aetna. One of the biggest perks of this change was our new partnership with a company called "Retirees First" which serves as a concierge service for our Medicare eligible retirees. Franklin retirees can call Retirees First and advocates will help navigate their health insurance benefits and help troubleshoot issues with the carrier, providers, or pharmacy. Retirees First also helped the Town with a "Medicare Migration." They worked closely with us to help 12 retirees who were not initially eligible for Medicare enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. These retirees were able to end coverage on their EPO and PPO health plans and join the Medicare Advantage plan. This move will save the employees and Town quite a bit on annual premiums and also lowers the out of pocket costs for our retirees! An individual went from having a $2,000 deductible and copays on all services to a Medicare Advantage plan with no deductibles and only copays on prescriptions. The Massachusetts Strategic Health Group even paid the late enrollment penalty for these retirees, which was a wonderful bonus.

We were very pleased to commit to staying with the Massachusetts Strategic Health Group for another year and will continue our coverage with them for Fiscal Year 2024. We went into the process expecting an 8% increase and were pleased to end up with a 6% increase on the EPO and PPO plans and only a 4.25% increase on the high deductible plan.

It continued to be a very busy year in terms of hiring! Many of our long term employees have retired in the last few years and, like in other industries, we are finding that people do not stay with jobs as long as they used to! This has resulted in fairly steady hiring over the last few years. Between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the Town of Franklin hired 27 full-time employees and a number of part-time employees. 

The new full-time employees include:

• Payroll Administrator Debra Broe (Finance)

• Benefits Coordinator Diane Montanez (HR)

• 10 new employees at the DPW including Staff Engineer Elijah Gerrior, Water Operations Person Richard Costello, Mechanic Sean Roddy, and the following Heavy Motor Equipment Operators: Glen Camire, Joseph Clinton, Andrew Hatch, Corey Lambert, Steve Nasuti, Thomas Ruth and Christian Vidal. The DPW management team also worked closely with the Town Administrator, Human Resources and the union to add several new union titles, which will help create a career ladder and growth for our union employees.

• 4 Police Officers - Christopher Gulla, Michael LaCure, Kevin Quinn and Marciano Silva

• 4 Firefighters - Nicholas Brosseau, Victor DaCosta, Kristin Krauss and Jack Lennon

• Administrative Assistant for the Health Department Maureen Canesi

• Several positions at the Senior Center including Deputy Director Sarah Amaral and Social Services Coordinator Raeleen Gallivan. In addition, Ariel Doggett moved from her position as Supportive Day Program Coordinator to the Program Coordinator position (internal transfer, rather than a new hire) and Kathleen Laughran moved from her part-time assistant role to the full-time Supportive Day Program Coordinator position.

• Mitzi Gousie at the Library moved from a part- time Youth Services Librarian to the full-time Programming and Outreach Librarian. Human Resources will continue to work with the Library to convert part-time employees into full-time opportunities as vacancies become available in the future. Our goal is to eventually have all full- time employees at the Library.

• Custodian Michael Giorgio (Facilities)

• Deputy Director for Facilities, Engineering Kevin Harn (Facilities)

• Steve O'Neill, who worked closely with Gus Brown as a Building Inspector for about 10.5 years, moved to a new position as the Deputy Director for Maintenance and Trades in the Facilities Department. We are excited to have both Steve and Kevin join as new members of the Facilities management team.

As we enter Fiscal Year 2024, we will continue to focus on the procurement of additional Human Resources software to help us organize and streamline our work. We are researching different vendors for an electronic personnel file system as well as an applicant tracking system for online applications and electronic onboarding. We are hoping that now that our health insurance changes are complete, we will have more time to focus on these important priorities.

We look forward to continuing to work with our employees and our retirees to have a great fiscal year 2024!

Respectfully submitted,

Karen M. Bratt 

Director of Human Resources

The Human Resources Dept report can be found in one PDF ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ssQvUD2bOgti2SyQXvmqdkKNOTb-3JUX/view?usp=drive_link

The full Town of Franklin FY 2023 Annual Report can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/annual_report_2023_0.pdf

Annual Report Of The Human Resources Department: FY 2023 Report

Listen to SAFE Radio - WFPR

SAFE Radio - WFPR

Substance Use Disorder; Hope, Health and Healing

SAFE Radio (a product of the SAFE Coalition) will examine the disease of Substance Use Disorder. Each week the program will feature guests that are subject matter experts covering topics such as treatment options, coping strategies and recovery.

The SAFE Coalition exists to provide pathways for support, education, coping mechanisms and treatment options for Substance use Disorder

Find all the episodes online (or on your favorite podcast app)  https://safe-coalition.captivate.fm/

You can also listen to wfpr.fm or 102.9 on Tuesday's 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM

Listen to SAFE Radio - WFPR

Town of Franklin: On-Call Plumbing Services for Town and School Buildings

On-Call Plumbing Services for Town and School Buildings

In accordance with MGL c. 149, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of a plumbing firm for a multi-year contract, subject to annual appropriation, providing on-call plumbing services at various town and school buildings within the Town of Franklin.

Additional Information:  On-Call Plumbing Services for Town and School Buildings

Read more

Town of Franklin: Hot Mix Asphalt to be Picked Up by Town

Hot Mix Asphalt to be Picked Up by Town

In accordance with MGL c. 30 section 39m, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of a Hot Mix Asphalt producer to provide materials for use within the Town of Franklin.

Additional Information:  Hot Mix Asphalt To Be Picked Up By The Town

Read more

FTC Proposes New Protections to Combat AI Impersonation of Individuals

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that would prohibit the impersonation of individuals. The proposed rule changes would extend protections of the new rule on government and business impersonation that is being finalized by the Commission today.

The agency is taking this action in light of surging complaints around impersonation fraud, as well as public outcry about the harms caused to consumers and to impersonated individuals. Emerging technology – including AI-generated deepfakes – threatens to turbocharge this scourge, and the FTC is committed to using all of its tools to detect, deter, and halt impersonation fraud.

The Commission is also seeking comment on whether the revised rule should declare it unlawful for a firm, such as an AI platform that creates images, video, or text, to provide goods or services that they know or have reason to know is being used to harm consumers through impersonation.

“Fraudsters are using AI tools to impersonate individuals with eerie precision and at a much wider scale. With voice cloning and other AI-driven scams on the rise, protecting Americans from impersonator fraud is more critical than ever,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “Our proposed expansions to the final impersonation rule would do just that, strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to address AI-enabled scams impersonating individuals.”

The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking is being issued in response to comments received during the public comment period on the government and business impersonation rule that pointed to the additional threats and harms posed by impersonation of individuals. As scammers find new ways to defraud consumers, including through AI-generated deepfakes, this proposal will help the agency deter fraud and secure redress for harmed consumers.

Final Rule on Government and Business Impersonation

In addition to the supplemental notice, the FTC has finalized the Government and Business Impersonation Rule, which gives the agency stronger tools to combat scammers who impersonate businesses or government agencies, enabling the FTC to directly file federal court cases aimed at forcing scammers to return the money they made from government or business impersonation scams. This is particularly important given the Supreme Court’s April 2021 ruling in AMG Capital Management LLC v. FTC, which significantly limited the agency’s ability to require defendants to return money to injured consumers.

Government and business impersonation scams have cost consumers billions of dollars in recent years, and both categories saw significant increases in reports to the FTC in 2023. The rule authorizes the agency to fight these scams more effectively.

For example, the rule would enable the FTC to directly seek monetary relief in federal court from scammers that:

Use government seals or business logos when communicating with consumers by mail or online.

Spoof government and business emails and web addresses, including spoofing “.gov” email addresses or using lookalike email addresses or websites that rely on misspellings of a company’s name.

Falsely imply government or business affiliation by using terms that are known to be affiliated with a government agency or business (e.g., stating “I’m calling from the Clerk’s Office” to falsely imply affiliation with a court of law).  

The publication of the final rule comes after the two rounds of public comment in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking issued in December 2021, a notice of proposed rulemaking issued in September 2022, and an informal hearing in May 2023.

The Commission vote to issue the final rule and the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking and to publish them in the Federal Register was 3-0. Chair Lina M. Khan issued a separate statement that was joined by Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya.

Both items will appear in the Federal Register shortly. The final rule on government and business impersonation will become effective 30 days from the date it is published in the Federal Register. The public comment period for the SNPRM will be open for 60 days following the date it is published in the Federal Register, and instructions for how to comment will be included in the notice.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

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Franklin's Event Outlook: February 16, 2023 to February 22, 2024

Why have multiple calendars?

There is a Cultural events calendar upon which other community events are layered to create the Community calendar. The Library and Senior Center calendars are too full of events to include all their events so we tend to focus on the major events. Town and School meetings are also kept separate. Links for all the calendars are shared here:

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

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

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 Library calendar of events ->    calendar link

The Senior Center calendar of events ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/node/39/events/month/39/2023-12

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: February 16, 2023 to February 22, 2024

Franklin Public Schools Announce Upcoming Musical Performances, Highlights Music Program

Franklin Public Schools Superintendent Lucas Giguere, 355 East Central St. Franklin, MA 02038 Franklin Public Schools Announce Upcoming Musical Performances, Highlights Music Program FHS orchestra students. (Photo courtesy Franklin Public Schools) FRANKLIN — Superintendent Lucas Giguere and K-12 Music Director Diane Plouffe are pleased to share information about the Franklin Public Schools Performing Arts program and upcoming musical performances. The FHS music program provides a variety of musical and theatrical opportunities to all students in grades K-12. Students gain a strong foundation through singing and playing recorders and ukuleles beginning in fourth and fifth grade. Beginning in the sixth grade, all students are offered the opportunity to learn to play a band or orchestra instrument, or sing in the chorus. Students participating in a school ensemble have three performance cycles per year: December, March and May/June. Students are currently preparing for the upcoming Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) State Music Festival.   "The MICCA Concert Festival encourages the improvement of an ensemble's musical standards by providing musical adjudication by highly qualified judges," said Plouffe. "Attendance at a festival also affords organizations an opportunity to hear performances by other groups and experience the presentation of a wide variety of musical literature." Prior to the festival, on Tuesday, March 12, 200 students will perform in the upcoming All Town Chorus and Orchestra concert. On the following Wednesday, March 13, the All Town Band concert will take place, featuring over 250 students. Both concerts begin at 6 p.m. at the FHS Auditorium. Admission for both shows is $5 at the door and all proceeds will go to Franklin Music Boosters. FHS students also recently auditioned for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA). There were 17 FHS students in the music program who were accepted into the Central District Honor Ensembles and 21 middle school students accepted into the Junior Festival. Music students attend one state festival per year, consistently earning silver and gold medals. Additionally, students who are looking for more performance opportunities may elect to perform in chamber music recitals, jazz band concerts, community service performances, musical theatre performances or audition for honor ensembles such as the Central District and All State Music Festivals. In addition to in-school classes, the tuition based Lifelong Music Academy is an after school music program offering private lessons and jazz band at each middle school and the "Footlighters," which is a middle school musical theater club. FHS has a full schedule of performance and non-performance musical opportunities for students throughout the year. Non-performance classes include: Music Production I, II, III, Podcasting, Music Theory I, AP Music Theory, Guitar, Piano, History of Rock and Rock Band. All students who elect to participate in the wind ensemble, concert band, orchestra or chorus perform in three main concert cycles; one in December, March and May.  "Our schools' music program is a journey of exploration and expression for our students." Plouffe said. "Through engaging lessons, ensemble rehearsals, and community performances, we are fostering a love for music and nurturing the next generation of musicians."  FHS students performing in a jazz combo at a recent concert. (Photo courtesy Franklin Public Schools) A message from Franklin Public Schools John Guilfoil Public Relations, P.O. Box 22, Georgetown, MA 01833, United States, (617) 993-0003

Annual Report Of The Franklin Historical Commission: FY 2023 Report

It was a good year for the Franklin Historical Commission and the Franklin Historical Museum as we dusted off the cobwebs of COVID and went head on into a full program of events, exhibits and speakers.

The museum's goal is to provide community events and programs that encourage and invite people to visit and learn about the town's history.

Second Sunday Speaker Series

A strong and varied list of speakers filled the schedule this past year, from a presentation on Senator Edward W. Brooke by commission member and local historian Alan Earls as well as his presentation on Massachusetts, the Library State; to former Town Administrator Wolfgang Bauer talking about his childhood in the wartime ruins of Hamburg Germany; to TV personality Ted Reinstein's book presentation 'Before Brooklyn'; to the History of the Wrentham State School by Ingrid Grenon; We also saw a history of the Union Street Cemetery and the Life of Horace Mann, both by commission chair Mary Olsson; Historian Joe Landry did a popular talk on Trains; and Local Historian Jim Johnston did a presentation on the Madness of Collecting; The Second Sunday Speaker Series is supported with funding from the Friends of the Franklin Historical Museum.

Community

The museum is proud to participate in all community events hosted by the Franklin Downtown Partnership, The Franklin Cultural Council and the Franklin Cultural District. This past year we all enjoyed the annual Harvest Festival and Strawberry Stroll. In September we participated in the 2nd Annual Cultural Festival on the Common. We were also happy to host the Fifth Annual History Exhibition & Reception for the Dean College History Majors as part of Dean's Humanities in Action program.

Demolition Requests

The Historical Commission reviewed the following properties presented in accordance with the town's Demolition Delay Bylaw:

94 East Central Street 

803 Washington Street

201 Main Street - the Carriage House at the former Hayward Estate.

Two requests were approved for demolition; the request for demolition of 201 Main Street was denied. Demolition is prohibited for at least 12 months from the hearing date and the Commission is hopeful a preservation option will be considered.

Special Projects & Exhibits

December brought a very popular exhibit to the museum, one that will be expanded each year. TRAIN TOWN FRANKLIN. Commission member Scott Mason shared his remarkable skills in creating an exact scale model of the Franklin Train Station area circa 1932. The scene will be expanded for the upcoming exhibit in December 2023.

For the first year the museum hosted Silent Saturdays featuring Silent Movies on either end of the February School Vacation Week. We welcomed visits by the Senior Center's Sunshine Club for movies while the Senior Center was closed for repair. Two Cub Scout pack meetings were hosted at the museum which helped Scouts earn a badge.

Archivist Update

After more than a year with the position vacant, we welcomed our new archivist, Rowan Lowell in December. Rowan has picked up the reins and is working diligently at organizing the museums collections of photos, documents, artifacts, books, ephemera, etc. As of July, Rowan is now a full-time employee of the town which will serve the archiving goals of the museum and the town well.

New Members

We welcomed two new commission members, Jan Prentice and Scott Mason and a new associate commission member William Lee. A warm welcome to all.

Historical Commission Board Members

Mary Olsson Chairperson

Phyllis Malcolm Treasurer & CPC Rep Paul Pisani

Randy LaRosa 

Alan Earls

Jan Prentice 

Scott Mason

Associate Members

Kai Olsson 

William Lee

For current information follow us on Facebook and visit our website at Franklinmuseum1778.com where you will find event postings, research resources and much more.

The Historical Commission report can be found in one PDF ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sfWw2J5SVzZG0X8LI91tgx7AzWRjLz-M/view?usp=drive_link

The full Town of Franklin FY 2023 Annual Report can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/annual_report_2023_0.pdf

Annual Report Of The Franklin Historical Commission: FY 2023 Report

Franklin Dept of Health: #GreatAmericanSpitOut

The #GreatAmericanSpitOut occurs every February. Smokeless tobacco, like chew and dip, has over 28 cancer causing substances that can typically lead to cancer of the mouth, esophagus, & pancreas. 

For more information on the effects of smokeless tobacco and how to quit today, visit: www.cdc.gov/tobacco 

Town of Franklin: On-Call Roofing Services for Town and School Buildings

On-Call Roofing Services for Town and School Buildings

In accordance with MGL c. 149, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of a roofing firm for a multi-year contract, subject to annual appropriation, providing on-call roofing services at various town and school buildings within the Town of Franklin.

Additional Information:  On-Call Roofing Services for Town and School Buildings

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Town of Franklin: On-Call Electrician - Maintenance and Repair Services at Town and School Buildings

On-Call Electrician - Maintenance and Repair Services at Town and School Buildings

In accordance with MGL c. 149, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of an electrical firm for a multi-year contract, subject to annual appropriation, providing on-call electrical services at various town and school buildings within the Town of Franklin.

Additional Information:  On-Call Electrician Services for Town and School Buildings

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Autumn Hill development proposed for Summer St

With the scheduled public hearing before the Planning Board for the proposed 44 unit senior and inclusionary housing condominium on Summer St, it is good to go deep in the archives to be aware of the prior development for the same property.

A special report collected the history of the Residential VII zoning proposed for rezoning the property at the time which failed to gain approval.

The new proposal comes forward without a zoning change required only a couple of special permits (per public hearing notice  https://www.franklinma.gov/legal-notices/agenda/488-496-summer-street-autumn-hill-senior-village-planning-board)

The 5 post series can be found 

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/01/part-5-full-residential-vii-timeline.html

The Autum Hill plans as submitted can be found 

https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/autumn-hill-senior-village-488-and-496-summer-street-02022024

Autumn Hill development proposed for Summer St

Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) schedule for Friday, Feb 16, 2024

• wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Friday

9:00a/12:00p /6:00p Chapters – Jim Derick  Insightful, life-affirming stories and interviews

10:00a/1:00p/7:00p Music to Lift the Spirit - Jim Derick & Frank Falvey

11:00a/2:00p/8:00pm Senior Story Hour – Senior Center Scribblers Group

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel         (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = FRIDAY

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) =  FRIDAY

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

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