Showing posts with label James Johnston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Johnston. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In the News - Fire dept, James Johnston

Additional info on the just announced stimulus grant received by the Franklin Fire Dept

Franklin firefighters appreciate grant

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS 

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And the biweekly essay from James Johnston

JAMES JOHNSTON: There is much to be thankful for

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS 



Friday, May 1, 2009

"a community treasure"

FRANKLIN -

The Franklin public school system is one of the best in the nation. It has always stood high in national and state testing. All of this has not been an accident. It is the solid result of some damned good teaching over the last five decades.

I joined the Franklin school system as a teacher some 43 years ago when I graduated from college. For the next 34 years, I observed some truly dynamic growth both intellectually and in the physical school environment.

The students of Franklin have always been special. They have always had a wonderful sense of community and have always, in my experience, responded to any problem with kindness and understanding. As time passed, I saw each new generation growing in toleration and understanding. It is my considered opinion that the young people of Franklin are very special.

I have seen hundreds of gifted and dedicated people serving as faculty over the past five decades giving of themselves and to their students unselfishly.

Read the remainder of James Johnston's essay here


Thursday, January 29, 2009

"if Obama fails, we all fail"

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

FRANKLIN —

In 1992, Rush Limbaugh was a supporter of Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican Party's nomination for president of the United States. Buchanan was taking on sitting president George Herbert Walker Bush, and did a number on him in the voting booth in the New Hampshire primary election that winter.

Bush saw that Limbaugh's influence with the Republican Party's base was quite strong and had to be neutralized. To that end, President Bush invited Limbaugh to the White House for a nice little dinner and a sleep-over in the Lincoln Bedroom.

After his night in the White House, Rush dropped Buchanan and climbed aboard the doomed Bush presidential bandwagon and rode it to defeat in the election.

Bill Clinton won, and this really upset poor old Rush for the next eight years. This may likely be why he took all of those drugs. In October 2003, he started his five weeks of drug rehabilitation, and then he returned to the airways in November proclaiming himself "cured." The state of Florida wasn't quite sure or convinced that this was the case. Authorities in Florida engaged in a three-year investigation of Limbaugh, and in 2006, Rush was arrested for his abuse of prescription drugs.

Read James Johnston's full article about Rush Limbaugh in the Milford Daily News here


Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In the News - Principal, July 4th, James Johnston

GHS
Posted Jan 14, 2009 @ 12:15 AM

FRANKLIN —

Superintendent Wayne Ogden and Superintendent-in-waiting Maureen Sabolinski officially named Peter J. Light permanent principal of Franklin High School last night, a decision which delighted School Committee members.

Ogden had appointed Light, currently one of four assistant principals at the high school, as interim principal following Pamela Gould's announcement last week she is resigning her post for a new role as assistant superintendent of human resources for the Plymouth School Department.

Gould leaves Jan. 23, and Light takes the helm Monday, Jan. 26.

"When we were dealing with the surprising news of Pam's leaving ... Maureen and I spent a lot of painful hours figuring out how to move forward," said Ogden, who is also leaving his job at the end of June.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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GHS
Posted Jan 13, 2009 @ 10:27 PM

FRANKLIN —

The Fourth of July Coalition is planning to keep the town's honored five-day celebration, and this year, they're determined to bring back the parade, said Warren Revell, the group's secretary.

"Personally, I think a parade before fireworks, because it keeps more people around," said Revell, noting that Franklin doesn't benefit from non-residents who come to see the fireworks for a half-hour and immediately leave.

A parade, on the other hand, draws people to the common and keeps them entertained longer, he said. And with a parade, he said, "They're more apt to spend money there."

The group hasn't made any major decisions yet, and tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the municipal building they will discuss ideas for how to celebrate Independence Day this year.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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GHS
Posted Jan 13, 2009 @ 09:17 PM

FRANKLIN —

Among the many things wrong with the Republicans in Congress today is that they hate unions and that they hate American labor. I think that they would like to go back to 1900 when you could hire a "girl" to work for you as a "maid of all work" for about two dollars a week.

This point is well illustrated by Ronald Reagan's breaking of the Air Traffic Controller's Union back in the early '80s. That union has never recovered, and air traffic controllers are not paid much more today than they were in 1981 nor are their working conditions much improved.

Union jobs have been driven out of the country, and trade union membership nationally is made up of only about nine percent of all white and blue collar workers today. The Republican conservatives look at this as a victory.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Thursday, December 18, 2008

"the time of year to extract the joy of life"

James Johnston writes in his bi-weekly column:

FRANKLIN —

This is the week before the sixty-fifth Christmas of my life time. My first Christmas was celebrated on Dec. 25, in the year 1944. Hitler was taking a licking from the Russians in the east and the Americans and British and their allies in the west. 1944 was to be Hitler's last Christmas. I don't think anybody was too sad about that.

My father was in the Philippines. My mother posed me in all of my tubby cuteness under the Christmas tree in my little Christmas outfit with a very large stuffed Panda Bear, that was to be my boon companion for many years to come, for a photograph to be sent off to my dad in the far Pacific in that last year of the war. There were other things under that tree to be sure, and years later I would dig them up from the earth around the outside of the house.

Continue reading about the items he buried around his house in the Milford Daily News here


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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

"Everybody today must get a prize"

GHS
Posted Dec 03, 2008 @ 12:17 AM

FRANKLIN —

What are we teaching kids about life?

There are a few things that must be clearly understood today. The rise and fall of our economic system depends on what we teach our children.

If we do not assume our roles as adults, teachers and mentors and teach a few absolutes, we are setting ourselves up for generations of failure on the world stage. First, greed is bad. Second, the inability to defer gratification is bad. Third, in life, somebody wins and somebody loses at different times. Fourth, to win with grace is good. Fifth, to lose with grace may be better. Sixth, laziness is bad. Seventh, there is a social contract to care for all members of society and to respect their equality as members of the human race.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here