It's Donate Life Month. You truly can be a lifesaver!
Register as an organ donor and make sure your family knows.
Learn about organ donation: organdonor.govHow does organ donation work? -> https://youtu.be/K4bS7YZjqhY
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
It's Donate Life Month. You truly can be a lifesaver!
Register as an organ donor and make sure your family knows.
Learn about organ donation: organdonor.govHow does organ donation work? -> https://youtu.be/K4bS7YZjqhY
It was Business as Usual – Almost.
Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 9/4/2022
If you say, “Who wants to attend a board meeting – ?” (Crickets chirping – )
If you say, “ Who wants to come to our Block Party?” (That’s more like it. )
Great food, music and weather. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
a view of the participants |
Ben Gardner's Boat provided musical entertainment |
And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.
And, thank you for watching.
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
Franklin Recreation is finally getting around to having an official opening of the new hockey/basketball court at Fletcher Field in Franklin, MA.
The court was constructed using $200,000 of town capital funding and a $75,000 donation from the Boston Bruins Foundation. "Blades," the Bruins mascot will be there for the opener on Monday, June 6 at 5 PM for the puck drop.
The Town of Franklin will present the Bruins with a plaque thanking them for their generous donation.
Mylec Hockey, our official supplier of street hockey equipment, will be on site.
Franklin Recreation schedules the Official Opening of the hockey/basketball court at Fletcher Field |
"Who wants incredABLE Day swag? From now until May 18th, you can purchase one of these incredABLE day hoodies in sizes YL-XXXL.
We also have t-shirts and long sleeve shirts available. You’ll be super comfy while supporting HMEA’s programs at the same time! https://buff.ly/3KsKjf8"
#FranklinCANBeincredABLE ! Help Support HMEA with a t-shirt or hoodie (or donation)! |
Note: I have long supported HMEA, they are a most worthy cause based here in Franklin that provides support across the whole life of an individual. See how with this informative graphic -> https://www.hmea.org/whole-life-support/
Find out more about HMEA at https://www.hmea.org/
*HMEA is an abbreviation for Horace Mann Educational Associates
After a two-year absence, Stamp Out Hunger has returned to Franklin. On Saturday, May 14, Franklin letter carriers will pick up donated goods from town residents at their mailboxes and deliver them to the Franklin Food Pantry. The Franklin Food Pantry is appealing to the community for some very specific items in this year's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive:
"In our current building, we have very limited space to store a surplus of items," said Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry. "That's why we are asking the community for these very specific items, as well as no expired food. We are so appreciative of all the donations we receive, but given our space constraints, we hope to focus donations on items currently in highest need."
The Pantry is emphasizing its request to please check expiration dates on every item donated. Processing expired items is resource intensive. Volunteers must check every donated item's expiration dates. The expired food must be sorted separately and then disposed of, which costs the Pantry time and money. According to Powderly, "We plan for 10,000 pounds of food during Stamp Out Hunger. Even with the 100 volunteers we hope to have over the entire day, each volunteer will need to handle one item each minute to keep up. It's an incredible amount of work, and expired items slow down the process, create waste, and lead to volunteer burnout. Checking donated food for expired items would be a huge help to us, and much appreciated by our hard-working volunteers."
Volunteers are still needed for the event. If anyone is interested, they can sign up online here.
Franklin residents can donate to the food drive by leaving a bag of non-perishable food and hygiene items where their letter carrier normally delivers their mail on Saturday, May 14. Letter carriers will pick up the bags during their normal mail rounds and will deliver the food to the Franklin Food Pantry.
"We are so thankful to the letter carriers, and a supportive community, for helping us acquire the items that are most needed," said Powderly. "We have almost 1,100 individuals who count on us for food and supplies on a regular basis. We could not provide for them without the support of such a generous community."
In lieu of donating goods, individuals who want to support the Pantry can donate online.
"Monetary donations give us the flexibility to purchase what we need, when we need it," said Powderly. "We can also purchase fresh food such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products to supplement the canned and boxed food donations. We count on both types of donations to provide a wholesome and balanced inventory of products for our neighbors."
For more information on the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, visit https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive . The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a nationwide effort organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) that provides food to local food banks and pantries that would otherwise be faced with depleted stocks during the summer months.
About the Franklin Food Pantry
The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities to almost 1,100 individuals per year. The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Other programs include home delivery, Weekend Backpack Program for Franklin school children in need, mobile pantry, emergency food bags and holiday meal packages. The Pantry is located at 43 W. Central St. in Franklin on Route 140 across from the Franklin Fire Station.
Visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.
Franklin Food Pantry: Stamp Out Hunger on May 14 |
2022 Annual Appeal | ||||
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FM #664 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 664 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 November 17, 2021:
ok, what just happened?
What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?
We cover the following key topics
Housing Authority presentation/discussion
Elk riders donation
FY 2022 budget adjustments
Host community agreements
Future items
o Town council subcommittees
o Tax rate hearing
o Community Preservation Committee
The recording runs about 27 minutes:
Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. The link to my notes taken during the meeting is also provided.
Let’s listen to this recording of Town Council Quarterbacking Nov 22, 2021
Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e43cb65b-1e9d-4c68-a13a-4acf16a1d23d
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Town Council Agenda document ->
My notes from the meeting ->
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/recap-town-council-hears-about-waiting.html
SAFE Coalition presentation as mentioned in the discussion (Town Council meeting of 9/15/21) ->
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/09/franklin-ma-town-council-meeting.html
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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 iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Town Council Quarterbacking with Chair Tom Mercer - 11/22/21 (audio) |
For the young and young at heart, Santa arrives on the Town Common, Sunday, Nov 28, 2021 at 4 PM. He is reported to be arriving via a special Franklin fire truck. Will Mrs. Claus be with him too?
Sponsored by Concerts on the Common. Donations to help with this and the Town Common decorations are appreciated. Checks can be mailed to
"Concerts on the Common"
PO Box 92
Franklin, MA 02038
Quick Recap:
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As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter while I attended the meeting in the Council Chambers.
The Twitter hashtag #TC1117 can be found online The thread begins with
https://twitter.com/FranklinMatters/status/1461118335224008712
Photos from the event can be found in one album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NoqWaRJWAjg2R8qb7getting ready for the Town Council meeting #tc1117 Full agenda doc (with remote connection info) https://franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/town_council_meeting_agenda_nov_17_2021.pdf
Legislation For Action
Audio recording of meeting to be available in couple of days
Veterans Services Officer Shannon Nisbett and members of the Elks Riders