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 *
Incident Report on Town Council (Dec 3) & ZBA (Dec 4) meetings
The following “incident report” was prepared by Steve Sherlock in coordination with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Franklin TV Executive Director Peter Fasciano.
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** The Dec 3, 2025 Town Council meeting issue:
Franklin TV equipment in Council Chambers took a power surge during the storm Tuesday night causing the loss of some critical equipment. Studio personnel worked Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Friday’s work seems to have brought the systems back to operational status. Additional testing will be done before the meetings next week
Action:
The Town Council Dec 3, 2025 meeting needs to be reconstructed from the Zoom recording and Council Chamber recording. This will take time but will be shared once ready.
Processing underway by Franklin TV
The studio equipment is Franklin TV responsibility; the studio location in Council Chambers is powered by the Town. Power management from the Town is optimal. A few years ago backup power was revised to distribute to 'mission critical' service points throughout the building in an emergency. It's referenced as red-socketing. You see red wall sockets in hospitals and anywhere that power must be maintained under all conditions. It answers the question: If power goes away, what points must we maintain? It divides the building into "must do, like to do". The Franklin TV control room is included. The implementation was smartly accomplished. The issue that arose in this case was a failure in the Franklin TV UPS - (uninterruptible power supply) the one thing that should have protected the system.
The UPS is effective and necessary, but not absolutely guaranteed. Franklin TV to replace the UPS
** Thursday’s Dec 4, 2025 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting issues:
The Thursday Zoning Board of Appeals meeting had less of a technical glitch and more of a resource issue to manage the meeting. The technical glitch occurred prior to the meeting start and the check to resolve was not completed before the meeting started. The meeting was recorded, and immediately upon conclusion, made available to YouTube.
All meetings scheduled for broadcast start on Zoom.
The Town manages the meeting or webinar format, setting time, permissions, and managing the attendees (admitting, muting/unmuting, etc.).
One of the key steps is for the Town to permission the Franklin TV account to record the meeting. This recording is then fed through the Franklin TV network to feed the Comcast and Verizon cable subscribers as well as to YouTube.
The technical glitch on Thursday was an update to the YouTube feed controller. Comcast and Verizon broadcast feeds were handled properly. The YouTube feed was fixed immediately after the meeting ended and the meeting was public at that time.
The management glitch was in Town administration of the meeting. A new person was at the controls and unaware of the lack of the feed to YouTube. Once made aware, then the general public were added to the session (beginning approx. 7:00 PM).
Action:
Franklin TV to confirm feed configurations are proper and operational before next week's meetings.
As noted in the Town Council issue, Franklin TV will be conducting additional testing to confirm both the Chamber studio and feed configurations are operational
There needs to be a backchannel for those conducting the meeting to communicate other than through the open meeting, especially when the open meeting itself is an issue. The backchannel process needs to be defined, process and communications confirmed to better manage future meeting issues. (Note: this backchannel is much more important for Remotely Only meetings, generally, folks are together in the Council Chambers or 3rd floor training room and can address the issues and determine a communication plan if needed)
Town Administrator Jamie Hellen acknowledges and will coordinate appropriate parties
The Franklin High School football team hosted the King Philip Regional team for the annual Thanksgiving game.
King Philip, 49 @ Franklin, 19 – Final
1st Quarter: (KP) Tallan King 14-yard rush, Nate Crowley XP good.
2nd Quarter: (KP) Ryan Greenwood 50-yard rush, N. Crowley XP good; (KP) Zach Gebhard 15-yard pass to T. King, N. Crowley XP good; (F) Alex Weber 2-yard rush, Owen Essam XP good; (KP) T. King 56-yard rush, N. Crowley XP good.
3rd Quarter: (KP) Keigan Canto-Osorio 47-yard rush, N. Crowley XP good; (F) Ethan Edmunds 6-yard pass to Stephon Reed, XP no good; (F) E. Edmunds 54-yard pass to S. Reed, Conversion failed; (KP) K. Canto-Osorio 50-yard rush, N. Crowley XP good; (KP) R. Greenwood 1-yard rush, N. Crowley XP good.
On Sunday, September 14, I'll be hosting a Congressional Update and Q&A in Franklin. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions and hear updates on how I'm working to represent the district.
Congressional Update and Q&A with Congressman Jake Auchincloss
On Sunday, September 14, I'll be hosting a Congressional Update and Q&A in Franklin. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions and hear updates on how I'm working to represent the district.
Congressional Update and Q&A with Congressman Jake Auchincloss
Via Twitter, Franklin TV, and our subscription to HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the Spring sports competition for Franklin High School on Monday, May 19, 2025
Baseball = Franklin, 15 @ Milford, 2 – Final
– Franklin’s offense had its second big game in a row, this time scoring a season-high 15 runs in a big win at Fino Field over Milford. The Panthers belted out 15 hits, scoring runs in each of the first four innings and then tacking on seven more in the final two frames, including a five-run seventh inning. Freshman Patrick Luizzi had a big day at the dish, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, Zach Winer added two hits, including a double, and scored four runs from the leadoff spot, and both Cole Sidwell (RBI, two runs) and Owen Pennini (double, two RBI) each had two hits. Senior Justin Tremblay earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks, striking out three in a complete game effort. Derek Marcolini had three hits, including a double, and Ryan Flis picked up two hits for the Hawks.
Softball = Milford, 3 @ Franklin, 2 – Final
– Milford got a big double play in the bottom of the seventh inning to cancel out the potential tying run, securing a 3-2 win over Franklin for its third win in as many days. It was a tight game throughout with the host Panthers taking the first lead of the game in the bottom of the second on a two-out single from Brooke Bonetti. Milford answered right back with two runs in the top of the third to take its first lead when both Cae Pellegrini (single) and Brooke Stokes (single) scored after Isabella Loscerbo doubled to center field. Olivia Baglione had a leadoff single in the fifth and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 but the Panthers pulled one back in the bottom half on an RBI single from Sophia Sacramone. The Panthers got the tying run to third but Milford freshman Lauren Williams (4.1 IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 7K) got a grounder back to the circle to end the threat. Franklin had a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh to put the tying run on but a line drive out turned into a double play, and Stokes (2.2 IP, 3H, 0R, 1BB, 1K) got a fly ball into foul territory for the final out. Ciara O’Brien struck out 10 in five innings, allowing three runs (none earned) on three hits and three walks. Abby Souza tossed two scoreless innings in relief for Franklin with two strikeouts.
– Milford used a doubles sweep plus a three-set win from singles action to beat Franklin for the second time this season. Senior Connor Wong won a marathon match at third singles, prevailing 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0 for Milford’s lone singles win. Both doubles matches were incredibly tight. The team of senior Todd Ostertog and junior Drew Cahill dropped a tight first set in a tiebreak but bounced back to win the second and then the third in a tiebreak (6-7 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (3)) for a crucial point. At second doubles, the all-senior tandem of Luke Fabry and Lokesh Addagiri emerged with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6 (6) victory. Franklin senior Danny Reis rolled 6-4, 6-1 at first singles while senior Gabe Terry grabbed a 6-4, 6-4 win at third singles for the Panthers.
Girls Tennis = Franklin, 5 @ Milford, 0 – Final
– Franklin rolled on the road with a 5-0 sweep over Milford. Izzy Trull (first singles, 8-3), Isabelle Simino (second singles, 8-5), and Anna Powers (8-3) completed the singles sweep for the Panthers. Franklin didn’t drop a game in either of the doubles matches as Brooke Daniels and Katie Yelle were victorious (8-0) at first doubles and the team of freshman Genevieve Camire and senior Ashmita Boopathy took the win (8-0) at second doubles.
Boys Lacrosse = Franklin, 4 @ King Philip, 11 – Final
"All season, Franklin has been a second half team. The Panthers rallied for league wins at both Sharon and Mansfield when trailing by multiple goals at halftime, so going into the break down three goals in Monday afternoon’s Kelley-Rex showdown at Macktaz Field was not an uncommon situation.
Franklin, which entered Monday with a 59-game league win streak and having already clinched a share of a 12th straight Hock title, scored twice and cut the lead to two midway through the third quarter. It felt like the tide had turned to the visitors. The Panthers seemed poised for yet another comeback.
King Philip answered the punch and regained control. The Warriors scored a pair of goals before the end of the third quarter, locked down on defense again, closed the game with a 6-1 run, and pulled away for an 11-4 win.
It was the first time anyone in the Hock had beaten Franklin since 2018 (59 straight games) and the first win for KP against its rival since April 2014, which was also the last time the two shared the Kelley-Rex crown."
Continue reading the game recap (subscription required) ->
"The Hockomock League keeps lining them up, and Franklin keeps knocking ‘em down.
The Panthers completed another undefeated league campaign — their 12th in a row — following a comfortable 13-6 win over King Philip, which entered the game with a chance to earn a share of the title with just one league loss to its name.
Franklin’s undefeated league streak will continue into next season, now at 133 straight Hock wins dating back to the 2012 season.
Six different Panthers found the back of the net with freshman Clara Blongastainer leading the way with a game-high five goals. "
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