In the Globe: "Familiarity has been key to the success of these dynamic passing duos"

In case you missed it, the Boston Globe has an article on football friendship for quarterback and receiver duos. One of the pairs in the article is Franklin's own Thomas Gasbarro and Jake Davis

"The same can be said for Franklin’s Thomas Gasbarro and Jake Davis, who began playing Pop Warner together in fifth grade.

As a junior, Davis caught five passes and two touchdowns from all-scholastic Nick Gordon, but this year, he’s leading D1 with seven touchdowns and has 387 yards on 23 receptions through four games.

While that spike in production can be attributed to increased opportunity, the fact that Davis is catching passes from old friend Thomas Gasbarro can’t be overlooked.

The best friends rode that momentum into a successful freshman campaign, then teamed up in the defensive secondary the past two years for the Panthers varsity squad."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/high-schools/2019/10/10/schfbprev/Ddh5IWvjtgbC9lOXyOBUEI/story.html?

Franklin’s passing duo of quarterback Tom Gasbarro (14) and receiver Jake Davis (23) have developed a rapport since they began playing Pop Warner together as fifth graders. Jen Papa

In the News: MBTA gets fare hike approved; bill to ban tackle football for youth filed

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

MBTA gets fare hike approved for commuter rail and subway

"Commuters will have to pay more to ride the commuter rail and subway in the Boston area. 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday voted to boost fares an average of about 6 percent. Subway fares would rise 15 cents to $2.40. Commuter rail prices would vary by region, but the maximum increase for a one-way fare would be 75 cents. 

The board opted to exempt bus fares from hikes. Student and senior fares would also be exempt from the hike. 

The fare hikes would take effect July 1. The T says they would raise about $29 million annually."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190311/mbta-control-board-votes-to-hike-fares

MBTA gets fare hike approved for commuter rail and subway

"The sun was bright and the temperature unseasonably warm last month when the New England Patriots once again climbed atop duck boats and rolled down Boylston Street to celebrate their latest Super Bowl win. 

But a few miles away on Beacon Hill, a shadow was looming over the future of youth football in Massachusetts. 

That’s because a bipartisan bill calling for a ban on tackling in football until after seventh grade had been filed in the state Legislature. 

The bill, titled An Act for No Organized Head Impacts to Children (nicknamed “No Hits Act”), would involve financial penalties – $2,000 for the first offense and $5,000 for the second offense – for any school league or other entity that does not comply with the rule."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190312/bill-to-ban-tackling-in-youth-football-gains-ground-on-beacon-hill

"The teamwork and dedication is unbelievable for these young boys"

From a proud Franklin mother:

"My son Jack Murphy, grade 6 Horace Mann Middle School, is playing for the MASS ELITE FOOTBALL TEAM 6th Grade team. This past weekend all three teams 6, 7, and 8th grade won the Northeast Region and are heading to Naples, Florida on Dec 15 to play against teams from each region across the country for the National Title. Jack will be representing Franklin. 

He currently plays for our youth program here in town and has since he was 7. MASS ELITE had tryouts in November and for the 6th grade level they had close to 100 kids tryout out and only 32 made it. 

The kids that make up the MASS ELITE team are the best of the best in our state and are not just athletes but great students as well. Their practice schedule is weekly on school nights and these kids still manage to maintain their grades. 

I thought with all the negative that surrounds tackle football and the fact that our numbers are dwindling fast here in Franklin, maybe a article to show all the positives that come out of football as well. 

Many of these boys that play for MASS ELITE go off to D1 schools with full scholarships, these boys are from all over and none of them knew one another, but yet have meshed, bonded, and played as a team from the start. The teamwork and dedication is unbelievable for these young boys."

The 7th grade photo was tagged as such, the 8th graders are the older youth, so by process of elimination, this should be the 6th grade team

"The teamwork and dedication is unbelievable for these young boys"

Goodbye Chargers, hello Panthers!

The Franklin Chargers recently made the decision to leave the Hockomock Pop Warner Association and join the American Youth Football organization. The Franklin Chargers have been a part of Pop Warner (The Hock) for many years but unfortunately the direction of the league (increased weight schematic for older/lighters, etc) does not line up with the direction in which The Chargers wanted to go, particularly when it comes to player safety.

So effective immediately, they are joining the Bay State Conference (a division of AYF) along with several of their current opponents. In addition to switching leagues, the board of directors have elected to change the name of the organization to be more in line with the Town of Franklin. Like our high school, they will now be known as the Franklin Panthers.

Joining them in this exciting new adventure will be Attleboro, North Attleboro, King Philip, Foxboro, Mansfield, Easton, and Canton. AYF is a grade based system rather the age/weight based. This means in place of Unlimited, B, C, D and mites there will be an 8th grade, 7th grade, 6th grade, 5th grade, 4th grade and a 2nd/3rd grade team. This change also eliminates weight restrictions which means regardless of weight (light or heavy) anyone can play in their particular grade. Players will now play with their grade each season, grow in the sport together and enter high school still playing on the same team. 

Cheerleading will also be making the switch to AYC which is age based with more flexibility for teams as they tend to be smaller in size.

The Baystate league is a very strong and well run organization that better aligns with the Panthers vision of safety and competition for both football and cheer. Please feel free to view their website at www.bsyfcc.com

A “town hall” meeting was held on April 12th at Franklin High School with the directors and coaches from the Panthers, along with Coach Bain from FHS Football and Coach Tirrell from Dean College Football to go into as much detail as was needed to help educate everyone on the move that was made. 

Recording of the meeting can be seen here: 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFiQeGDQGY

To register for Franklin Panthers Youth Football, click here: http://franklinchargers.org

Pat Patriot Surprises Franklin Recreation at Flag Football Finale

Youth flag football players in Franklin were greeted by a special guest on Tuesday, Nov. 8, as they took the field for the final time this season during Franklin Recreation’s annual Flag Football Finale.

New England Patriots mascot, Pat Patriot

New England Patriots mascot, Pat Patriot, surprised the youth players, ranging in age from 6-14 years old, on the field at Beaver Pond Recreation Area. Pat supported the youth flag football teams as they played their final games of the year and joined in on the action – playing catch with the players and posing for photos with the teams.

Pat Patriot posing for photos

“It was great to see the smiles on the children’s faces when they saw Pat Patriot walk through the gate and onto the field,” said Ryan Jette, director of Franklin Recreation. “He was full of energy and very engaging with all of our players. He even threw passes and ran plays with the teams. I especially enjoyed when he sat in the equipment cart and let the kids wheel him around the field. A huge thank you to the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group for their support. Pat was a wonderful addition to this year’s NFL Flag Football Finale.”

The Franklin NFL Flag Football program was established by Franklin Recreation in 1999 and has grown from 24 children in its first year to 498 children registered in 2016. The league includes six 6-year-old teams, six 7-year-old teams, ten 8 and 9-year-old teams, twelve 10 and 11-year-old teams and six 12 to 14-year-old teams. The 14-week season wrapped up on Nov. 8.

To find out more about programs that the Recreation Department offers, visit their webpage
http://www.franklinma.gov/recreation-department

Franklin Recreation - 275 Beaver St

Franklin Chargers - registration begins March 1

Registration for football and cheer opens on March 1st.

Time to schedule those physicals!

The forms for 2016 can be downloaded on our registration page.

Franklin Chargers registration - Mar 1

Franklin Chargers B&D squads make the Super Bowl - Nov 15

Please join us in Foxboro for 2 Super Bowl games featuring the Franklin Chargers.

Games will be played at Ernie George Field – 201 Payson Rd, Foxboro MA, Sunday, Nov 15

Franklin Chargers - Super Bowl Sunday, Nov 15

9:00am D Squad v. North Attleboro

12:30pm B Squad v. North Attleboro

This is a big accomplishment for the players and coaches. The kids have worked hard all year and are fired up to play in the big game. Let’s get a big crowd to cheer them on!

Go Chargers !


This info was shared from
http://franklinchargers.org/2015/11/10/super-bowl-sunday-november-15th/

Franklin Chargers: 5th Annual Food Drive

From the Franklin Chargers:

Sunday October 12th, 2014 the Franklin Chargers Football and Cheer Squads will be holding our 5th Annual Food Drive to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. We will have collection sites on 10/12 at Beaver Street Field for our E Squad and at Franklin High School (near concessions) for our Unlimited, B, C & D Squads. Both collection sites will be active for our first teams arriving at 8am and remain open for all games at each site.

5th Annual Food Drive to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry

You can find out more information on the Franklin Chargers on their webpage
http://franklinchargers.net/

Your neighborhood may also have received a flyer for a collection by one of the team members.

How much do you want to play football?

Nine year old Kyle Florio has been deaf since birth. He was born with the love of football. Kyle's parents are also deaf and they wanted their son to be able to play sports just like all the other kids. So they supported his decision when he wanted to join the Pop Warner league. 

"I feel like it's a little different. Most of the time, feels just normal," says Kyle through an interpreter. 

This year mark the third year Kyle has been drafted by the Charger's as a defensive back. And thanks to his team's generosity, they have raised thousands of dollars every year to make sure Kyle has an interpreter right there on the field with him, putting Kyle on a level playing field with everyone else. 

"It's really nice to have an interpreter there. Have full communication access, full enjoyment. It's almost like a sense of equity among the players, says Steve Florio, Kyle's father, through an interpreter.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/23233829/team-raises-funds-for-child#ixzz2cqHBKTky

The fund raiser was held this past Friday night at Cole's. If anyone knows if the team is still accepting donations and where to send them, please let me know. We can update this posting to share the info.

The team needed to raise $3,600 to pay for an interpreter this season. If you'd still like to help the team, visit: http://www.gofundme.com/Communication-Access-Fund 

Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/23247306/2013/08/24/franklin-football-players-raise-10k-to-help-deaf-teammate#ixzz2d0ya5QA3

New York News

Recreation Department

Continuing to explore the 2008 Annual Report I find information on the Recreation Department.

Within the Franklin Recreation Department's website, you will find information regarding:

• Programs and activities (PDF)
  
• Parks and playgrounds
  
• Department policies
• Chilson Beach
• Franklin youth sports organization links

Mission/Function

The Recreation Department is committed to provide quality recreational programs and facilities to the residents of Franklin. By providing consistency, dependability and an obligation to our residents and the programs they partake, we strive to elevate the quality of life for our community.

Objectives

The Recreation Department is a service-based department. We work interactively with local sports associations, school departments, individual Town residents, private groups, church and civic groups, as well as other Town departments. In the course of a given year, over 8,000 people are affected by Recreation operations. Our clientele continues to increase each year. Recreation is responsible for scheduling all fields, playgrounds, and courts. The Recreation Department continues to serve the residents in the area of recreation and leisure services. Our department handles everything from sporting activities for children, to families in need.

• Coordinate recreational activities with the youth sports organizations, school department, and other citizens groups.
• Better utilize and renovate parks, ball fields, and conservation land within the Town of Franklin.
• Improve the quality of life and involve residents in recreational programs.
• Establish new programs as self-supporting and explore ways of generating additional revenue through grants, donations and fundraising.
• Recreation activities are coordinated through our office, which is comprised of one full time director and one full time clerical staff person.
• The Recreation Advisory Board is looking for additional volunteers who are interested in promoting the planning of programs for Franklin residents.

If you have not picked up your hard copy of the report at Town Hall, you can try to view it online here: http://www.town.franklin.ma.us/pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/2008arpt.pdf

In the news - field lights campaign, Police union contract

GateHouse News Service

Posted Oct 31, 2008 @ 04:21 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

To help raise money for field lights for youth football, Franklin Chargers Football Organization has announced NorthEast-Eagle Electrical Distributors, in conjunction with WEEI, has begun "New Friday Night Lights 2008 Sweepstakes.''

Cities and towns all over New England have the chance to enter into the sweepstakes with hopes to win a brand new installed sports lighting system for their youth football league field.

For over 5 years, Franklin's Recreation Department and the Franklin Chargers Football Organization have used the Remington Jefferson School fields to house their football programs. The facility is used six days a week by more than 400 football players. The facility does not currently have lights, so the use of portable lights has been very costly for both organizations. Between rental, gas to run the lights and set up break down, it is estimated that this expense around $3,000 per month.

You can help the kids of Franklin obtain lights for their football teams, by voting today.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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After sometimes "frustrating" negotiations, the town and its police union signed a three-year contract this week, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting and Police Association President John Maloney.

"Overall, once we worked certain issues out - we definitely weren't happy with the process or sequence of events - but at the end, it's a pretty fair contract," said Maloney.

Nutting also called the contract (currently in memorandum of understanding form only) "fair" and in line with agreements other unions have with the town.

"I think it was a fair deal for everybody involved," said Nutting, adding that part of his aim was to ensure equality among public employees.

The deal is retroactive to June 2007, when the last one expired.

The new contract, which expires in June 2010, gives officers a 2 percent raise retroactive to October 2007, a 2.5 percent raise as of October 2008 and a 3 percent raise in October 2009, Nutting said.

Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here