Santa's Magical Mailbox - highlights the goodness of our Franklin community

"Santa's Magical mailbox 

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Ann Marie Donovan was trying to raise money for the Food pantry asking kids to drop a letter to Santa and a small donation for the food pantry at her personal mailbox last year. I contacted her and asked if she would like to have a mailbox at my light show because I get a decent amount of traffic and figured we could raise more money that way. She thought is was a good idea and so that's how it all began. 

Ann is in charge of writing letters along with some really great elves. Thankfully we also have some generous people donating stamps because less than 20% of the letters we get come with a donation and each letter returned to the kids cost us around $1. We understand that not everyone can afford a donation and all kids will get a return letter no matter what. 

The mailbox is taken in and out every night to keep it in as good shape as possible. It should be out by 5:30 every day. We have received letters from many towns in MA including some that are not very close. The elves are working hard and hopefully the first batch of letters will go out soon. 

I named it Santa's Magical Mailbox because I feel like it was magical how members of the community help donate their time, material and skills to make it come to fruition. Scott Firestine made the mailbox and donated it which was absolutely amazing. After just a day or two the paint got ruined so Power Painting Plus ( Rick and John Power) came and picked up the mailbox, repainted it at no cost, then took it to "Signs by Cam" where they redid all of the lettering, which was also at no cost. 

This mailbox belongs to Franklin. I just store it and try my best to keep it in good shape. I hope to pass it on to someone else in Franklin one day. 

Thank you everyone for your support. We hope its a great year for the Franklin Food Pantry and that your kids enjoy their letters from Santa. "

Laura McCarthy

To send a donation, please find the info on the Facebook post 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551606135109407/permalink/3052436671693005/

Santa's Magical Mailbox - highlights the goodness of our Franklin community

Franklin Residents: A Message from the Town Clerk's Office

A Message from the Town Clerk's Office

Hello Franklin, 

Please know that we are processing ballot requests as quickly as possible. Our office is currently processing 1,000's of requests each day; be assured that you will receive your ballot. 

We will be returning phone calls to citizens who have left messages after the workday. Also, we are requesting our residents to return their ballots to the 24-hour white mailbox located on the left side of the Municipal Building  This is the best place to return your ballot for guaranteed on-time delivery. 

We appreciate your patience and understanding!

Thank you and have a great day!

Franklin Residents: A Message from the Town Clerk's Office

2020 Census Invitations Arrive March 12-20

"Ninety-five percent or about 143 million households in the country will receive an initial invitation to respond to the 2020 Census in their mailboxes between March 12 and 20. The U.S. Census Bureau released informational copies today of the invitations, the enclosed materials, and the subsequent reminders households will receive. These materials can help the public know what to expect and avoid potential scams.

Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone (about 112 million households), or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire (about 31 million households).

All invitations will include a short phrase in English and 12 additional languages inviting people to respond online or by phone in their language. In areas where 20 percent or more of the households need Spanish assistance, the invitations will be in both English and Spanish.

All households receiving an invitation in the mail will receive a second letter in the mail shortly after reminding them to respond. Then, households that still haven’t responded will receive a series of additional reminders, including a paper questionnaire in mid-April. Census takers will follow up with households that don’t respond to collect responses in person."

This was shared from the 2020 Census page
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/2020-invitations-arrive.html

A sample of the English/Spanish letter coming in the mail

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g4CSkYK1fXOrOHCp_etDJX7qb6bcNmiM/view?usp=sharing

2020 Census Invitations Arrive March 12-20

In the News: computer chips need patching; Medway increases mailbox reimbursement

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

"Technology companies are scrambling to fix serious security flaws affecting computer processors built by Intel and other chipmakers and found in many of the world’s personal computers and smartphones. 

The two hardware bugs discovered can be exploited to allow the memory content of a computer to be leaked. Such a leak could potentially expose stored passwords and other sensitive data, including personal photos, emails and instant messages. 

Researchers at Google’s Project Zero and academic institutions including the Graz University of Technology in Austria discovered the problem last year and disclosed it Wednesday."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20180104/computer-chip-flaw-revealed-and-what-you-should-do-about-it

"Residents who have their mailboxes taken out by a plow during storms may see an increase in their reimbursement by the town. 

The Board of Selectmen this week voted to increase the amount the town offers to $50, up from $25. 

Town Administrator Michael Boynton raised the matter at the board’s Tuesday meeting, saying he felt $25 was on the low side. 

“I’m beginning to think $25 is from a day gone by,”′ he said, noting that the standard mailbox likely costs closer to $50."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180104/medway-increases-mailbox-damage-reimbursement

Franklin's mailbox policy provides for reimbursement of $45

"The reimbursement amount for damaged mailboxes is $45.00. For a resident to receive a reimbursement, they are required to provide a paid receipt or invoice. The DPW will not pay more than $45.00 per incident per household per year. 

The Franklin DPW does not provide replacement mailboxes and will not perform any repairs to mailboxes. All receipts and invoices are due no later than May 15th of the current fiscal year."

http://www.franklinma.gov/public-works/news/updated-mailbox-policy-new-reimbursement

or here

http://www.franklinma.gov/snow-ice-removal/pages/mailbox-policy

The reimbursement amount for damaged mailboxes is $45

Giving the Gift of Less

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Giving the Gift of Less

via Catalog Choice - MailStop Blog by Jill on 12/1/11

Looking for a meaningful gift that everyone can use? Our new MailStop Envelopes save trees and reduce clutter by stopping unwanted mail. Prepaid MailStop Envelopes make perfect, practical gifts for your friends, family and co-workers. Everyone will appreciate this easy way to eliminate the waste of unwanted mail.


MailStop Envelopes are great for people who are too busy to use our online service, not Internet-savvy, or just have not gotten around to stopping unwanted mail. With the postage-paid MailStop Envelope, you simply collect and send in mailing labels, saving trees and time with minimal effort. Give envelopes to anyone who wants to make a difference this holiday season and beyond.

At $6.75 each, a MailStop Envelope is the perfect stocking stuffer or gift. Give the gift of less – less paper waste, less clutter, less time managing unwanted mail – and celebrate a meaningful holiday season.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Catalog Choice - MailStop Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Thanks to Abbe for pointing this tip out for us!

In the News - mailboxes, Dean dance showcase

Mailboxes getting smacked by snow from plows

by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Dean College dancers critiqued by well-known choreographers

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin, MA

How's your mailbox?

Mailboxes take a beating in winter storms

By Michael Morton/Daily News staff

FRANKLIN - Before the latest storm, Pond Street resident Cindy Martinez had already lost half a dozen mailboxes to town snowplows over the course of three winters.

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