All are welcome to join us as we honor our departed veterans.
Please note: There will not be a Memorial Day Breakfast or Parade
this year due to COVID-19.
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| Memorial Day Ceremony - May 31, noon |
We have missed you and look forward to resuming our services!
FM #521 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 521 in the series.
This shares my wonderful conversation with Franklin resident Marilyn Sutcliffe. We learn of Marilyn’s Franklin story and discuss the reasons behind her financial contributions for the Franklin Food Pantry.
Our conversation runs about 18 minutes, so let’s listen in to my conversation with Marilyn.
Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/480cbcf5-e462-4efa-b8c8-188449507b02
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Franklin Food Pantry https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/
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| Marilyn Sutcliffe - Franklin Food Pantry donor |
The Rotary Club of Franklin MA, whose motto is “Service above self”, is proud to donate 2000 masks to the Franklin Fire Department, for them to use as they see fit. “Rotary Club has been weaved into the Franklin fabric for more than 90 years, providing services like this and many others too.” said John Power, pictured here with Capt. William Blanchard of the Franklin Fire Department.
An International group, the club’s primarily focuses on finding local needs and completing service projects that serve Franklin’s elderly, underserved & High School students by providing annual Scholastic Scholarships & Youth Leadership Awards.
If you would like to find out more about Rotary Club of Franklin MA, you are invited to join them for a meeting on the first and/or third Tuesday of each month, 5:30pm – 7:30pm or visit their website: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/3689.
John Power (left) pictured here with Capt. William Blanchard (right) of the Franklin Fire Department
Neighbor Brigade has been a part of the Franklin community since 2012! We are grateful to work along side many of the great resources in Franklin in helping our neighbors.
To sponsor, make an auction donation or learn more about Neighbor Brigade in its 10th year, you can go to www.neighborbrigade.org or email the Franklin chapter- Franklinma@neighborbrigade.org.
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The MBTA Community Engagement team is reaching out to provide an update on the Forging Ahead initiative.
More information about the Forging Ahead process can be found at https://t.co/6aCrIUpXQS. @MBTA_CR https://t.co/BmYqqNtDef
Shared via Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1359211228179144716
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| MBTA Community Engagement - Update on Forging Ahead |
From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:
"Most T cuts will stand even with new fed money"
"THE MBTA will receive at least $250 million in federal funding under the latest COVID-19 stimulus package, but agency officials plan to move forward with most of their planned service cuts and direct most of the new money toward the capital budget.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Monday that the T expects to get somewhere roughly between $250 million and $300 million in additional support, up to $17 million of which will go toward bumping service back up on high-ridership bus routes and maintaining evening commuter rail service.
Despite calls from activists and lawmakers to change course with the federal aid — plus a $52 million upgrade in the T’s state sales tax revenue outlook — the agency plans otherwise to “proceed with a majority of service changes” that the Fiscal and Management Control Board approved in December, Poftak said."
"IN THE WEALTHY towns of Dover, Sudbury, and Carlisle, more than 90 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the November election.
In the poorer cities of Springfield, Lawrence, and New Bedford, 55 percent of voters or fewer turned out.
While the presidential election drew record turnout in Massachusetts, voter turnout statistics highlight yet another measure of a tale of two commonwealths, according to a report released Monday by MassVOTE, a nonprofit that seeks to increase voter participation.
Communities that were educated, white, and wealthy saw the largest voter turnout. Communities that were poor, minority, and less educated saw the lowest number of voters. Initiatives like no-excuse voting by mail that were meant to make it easier to vote did not help those disparities, and may have even exacerbated them, since state statistics show that voters in wealthier communities were more likely to take advantage of mail-in voting. "
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| MassVOTE is a Non-Partisan Voting Rights & Issue Advocacy Organization |
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| Participate in the National Day of Service - Jan 18, 2021 |
On New Year's Day, Friday January 1, the Commuter Rail will operate on a regular Sunday schedule. The Rockport Line disruption will be the only disruption in effect.
Affected routes:
Last Updated: Dec 30 2020 06:57 PM
Commuter Rail notice - New Year's Day service
On New Year's Eve, the Commuter Rail will run on the reduced weekday schedule. There will be no adjustments made to the schedule.
Affected routes:
Last Updated: Dec 30 2020 03:31 PM
Commuter Rail notice - New Year's Eve service
"The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will curtail service next year after the agency’s oversight board finalized a plan Monday to reduce subway frequencies and eliminate weekend commuter rail trains on several lines in response to low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.The package, approved 3-2 by the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, is more limited in scope than a plan the agency had presented in November that frustrated advocates and political leaders, but still represents a considerable reduction in service.The MBTA described the budget cuts as a short- to medium-term measure to take advantage of unprecedented declines in ridership, with most changes taking effect between January and March. But with ridership forecasts murky at best, officials said they have not developed plans for service levels during the fiscal year that begins in July, when coronavirus vaccines may be widely available."
"THE MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a series of scaled-back service cuts on Monday and then, in an apparent swipe at Beacon Hill, voted not to raise fares on bus and subway riders until service hours and ridership on those transportation modes return to pre-COVID levels.Brian Lang, a member of the control board, proposed the fare amendment after expressing frustration about lawmakers who tell him and his colleagues not to cut service but then do nothing to provide the revenues needed to maintain service.“Taxes have turned into a dirty word,” Lang said. “The Legislature is afraid of it.”
"MASSACHUSETTS FINDS ITSELF in the eye of a storm. As municipal leaders, we have grown increasingly concerned as we see COVID-19 cases spiking across the state. In some communities we are already seeing the rising prevalence of this virus cause week-long turnaround times for COVID tests as contact tracers are unable to keep up with the sheer volume of new cases.
We have been warned by medical and epidemiological experts for months that a winter surge is coming. Now our public health infrastructure is starting to show signs of strain and will be overwhelmed if we continue on the same trajectory. There is no mystery what follows these record case numbers: a severe rise in hospitalizations for people who require intensive care and a frightening number of lives lost.
There is expert consensus that we are entering the most dangerous phase of the pandemic. But why accept the worst–case scenario as inevitable? In March, faced with an existential test as a society, we banded together and rose to the occasion. We found that with collective sacrifice and government action led by Gov. Baker, we were able to avoid the worst of what the catastrophe might have been.
We face another defining moment today, and we know that we can once again rise to the occasion and do what is necessary to meet this extraordinary challenge. If we act now to reverse the trend of community transmission, we can minimize the toll of human suffering ahead of us. This will require targeted, temporary rollbacks of the state’s reopening plan, with a focus on reducing activities that are sources of transmission, especially those that allow for gatherings of people from outside our households. "
63 MBTA employees infected with COVID-19
"MBTA GENERAL MANAGER Steve Poftak said on Monday that 63 of the agency’s employees currently have COVID-19, up from 50 last Wednesday.
Poftak said for every worker with COVID-19 there are usually two others affected, mostly because they came in contact with the infected individual and have to quarantine while they await the results of a test. “This begins to have workforce impact,” he said.
Jeffrey Gonneville, the deputy general manager of the T, said the last time the T had 63 infections was during the first COVID-19 surge in April. The peak number then was about 108.
To deal with the vacancies caused by the disease, Gonneville said the agency is slightly adjusting travel times on the T’s subway lines to free up employees who can be used to substitute for workers out because of COVID-19."
The MBTA is facing budget problems and looking to reduce services. They are also looking for feedback on the proposed reductions and possible restorations as the funding and economy recovers.
Last public meeting scheduled for:
Forging Ahead Virtual Public Meeting: System-Wide Service
Date: December 2, 2020 at 6 PM - 8 PM
Location: Virtual • Zoom • Boston, MA
Attendees: General Public
Commuter Rail:
Commuter Rail Capital Projects placed “On Pause:”
Learn more about Commuter Rail changes
RIDE: - Starting in summer 2021:
Buses: Starting in summer 2021, MBTA plans to:
Ferry: Starting as early as March 2021, MBTA plans to:
Learn more about ferry changes
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| You can (and should) provide feedback to the MBTA if you use the Franklin Line |
FM #400 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 400 in the series.
This shares my interview and discussion with Franklin Rotary Club members Dan Genitle and Bill Koplin. Our discussion was conducted via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Dan Gentile is Co-Treasurer and Foundation Chair for the Franklin chapter of Rotary. Bill has had several titles over his years of service and is now a regular and active member.
We talk about the Franklin Interact Club, the nature of the Rotary itself as a service organization (service above self) and some examples of what they have done over the years. Some of the visible marks they have made are the annual Memorial Day parade, the benches in the Town Common, and the bronze plaques on the light poles along the Common walkways to name just a few
The recording runs about 22 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Dan and Bill and find out more about what the Rotary does for Franklin.
Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/57aeba14-e035-4e4b-8695-457e68f42b01
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Franklin Rotary Club page http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/Home.aspx?accountid=3689
Franklin Interact Club page https://franklinmainteract.weebly.com/
Franklin Interact interview https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/franklin-interact-delivers-100-masks-to.html
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| FM #400 Franklin (MA) Rotary Club - 11/17/20 (audio) |
Several community members and I have been raising awareness to seek participation towards establishing an initiative surrounding the goal of keeping Franklin beautiful. Through our collective efforts, we as a community intend to maintain cleanliness throughout the town of Franklin during the Spring, Summer and Fall seasons. We intend to meet during the first Saturday of each month during these seasons and will work together to clean up public areas of our community. Due to the pandemic, we are currently working with a limited number of volunteers for general safety of our community.
The net impact brought upon by this initiative is heavily reliant on the collective effort of volunteers and the active participation of our residents. If interested in joining us in our mission to keep our community clean, please reach out via email at keepfranklinbeautiful@gmail.com, https://facebook.com/keepfranklinbeautiful, those who are interested will be periodically updated with the list of volunteers, progress and milestones accomplished during the cleaning process and the opportunity to reflect and develop our general shared goals and ideas. Join us and help us keep our community clean!!!
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| Keep Franklin Beautiful |
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