A Look at How Franklin Has Honored Its Heroes - Nov 4

The last full measure of devotion – A LOOK AT HOW FRANKLIN HAS HONORED ITS HEROES

A captured enemy ship, a time capsule, and the generosity of a Franklin-born Civil War veteran all figure in the story of how Franklin got its first two war memorials. 

Local historian, Alan Earls presents a slide show and tells the story of the town's monuments to its large contingent of Civil War soldiers as well as the related and far more tangled tale of the town's Spanish American War monument.

Saturday November 4. 10:30 AM 

Hours of Operation: Saturday 10-1, Sunday 1-4, Thursdays 5-8. Always Free and handicap accessible

A Look at How Franklin Has Honored Its Heroes - Nov 4

Find out more about the Franklin Historical Museum on the web at
http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/
 

Newcomers and Friends: Craft Fair - Tri-County on Saturday, Nov 4

Newcomers and Friends: Craft Fair - Tri-County on Saturday, Nov 4

YMCA Basketball and Cheerleading Teams Are Forming

Winter Leagues start Dec. 2 (for ages 3-11)

As winter approaches and kids anticipate shooting hoops and hustling on the courts, we’re reminded that the sport of basketball was invented by a YMCA institution – nearby in Springfield, MA. Moreover, the game’s first professional team came from a YMCA. Locally, the Hockomock Area YMCA is currently enrolling youth for an active winter of basketball and cheerleading leagues.

Millions of people have been introduced to sports at the Y, and whether your child is just starting, new to team sports, or a regular on the courts, YMCA Sports are worth checking out.

With an emphasis on skill development and sportsmanship, you’ll find an environment where everyone plays and develops. Enrollment for the 8-week season (running December 2-January 27) is now open. Details as follows:

YMCA Basketball and Cheerleading Teams Are Forming

YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUE (3–8 YRS)

Practices are developed to meet the needs of each group. The first 3 weeks are devoted to practice and the last 5 weeks to games. Runs for 1 hour, Saturdays @ The Foxboro Y: 4 YRS 10:00am; 5–6 YRS 11:15am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm; 7–8 YRS 1:45pm, 3:00pm. @ The Franklin Y: 3–4 YRS 10:15am; 5–6 YRS 11:30am; 7–8 YRS 12:45pm. And @ The North Attleboro Y: 4 YRS 10:00am; 5–6 YRS 11:00am; 7–8 YRS 12:00pm.

YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUE (9–11 YRS)

League play for youth ages 9-11 includes the option of signing up on a weekly basis if you cannot commit to all eight weeks. Runs for 1 hour, Saturdays @ The Franklin Y 1:45pm and @ The North Attleboro Y 1:00pm; runs Fridays @ The Foxboro Y 6:00pm.

Also offered for 3 year olds, Youth Basketball Prep. In this class setting, children will learn skills related to dribbling, passing, shooting, and defense. Includes games designed for that age group based on cognitive and social ability. Runs Saturdays in Foxboro and North Attleboro, 9:00-9:45am.

CHEERLEADING LEAGUE (6-9–YRS)

Learn fun routines and enjoy being part of a team. Girls will cheer at basketball games during the second half of YMCA leagues season. Beginning level, includes jumps and tumbling. Saturdays @ The North Attleboro YMCA 11:00am-12:00pm.
Also offered for younger girls, ages 4-5, at the same location is Cheerleading Prep. This program runs Saturdays 10:00-10:45am.

Team shirt and end of season award will be given to season participants. Cost is as follows. Youth Basketball League: $42 (family-type member), $84 (youth member), $126 (program member) - or – weekly drop in rate (ages 9-11): $11/day (member), $17/day (program member). Cheerleading cost: $57 (family-type member), $114 (youth member), $171 (program member) includes uniform. Prep classes cost: $71 (member), $107 (program member).

For more information, visit hockymca.org/winter-leagues. See you at the Y!

About Hockomock Area YMCA: Where Cause Meets Community. 

At the Hockomock Area YMCA, strengthening community is our cause. The Hockomock Area YMCA is an organization of men, women, and children sharing a commitment to nurture the potential of kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility. Our YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 15 communities we are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.

Veterans' Day Luncheon - Nov 10

Veterans' Day Luncheon being held next Friday, November 10 at 11:00 AM at the Franklin Elks Lodge at 1077 Pond Street.

All Franklin veterans are invited (at no charge). Those interested should contact the Senior Center at: (508) 520-4945 to register as seating is limited.

Dale Kurtz will discuss new veterans' programs and the new Veterans' Memorial Brick Walkway being constructed on the Franklin Town Common.

Veterans' Day Luncheon - Nov 10

In the News: time zone change considered; Lions victims of fraud

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

"Turning the clock back in the fall could become a thing of the past in Massachusetts. A special commission created by the state Legislature voted Wednesday to adopt a report recommending that moving the state into a different time zone could be a good idea under certain conditions, but only if other northeastern states are also onboard. 

As the matter moves to the full Legislature, here are some things to consider about what it would mean to change time zones. 

1. If Massachusetts moves to the Atlantic Time Zone, it would be an hour ahead of the rest of the East Coast for much of the year, joining Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the easternmost parts of Canada. The report recommends that any time zone move should only be done in coordination with other neighboring states, such as New York and the rest of New England. Similar proposals have been introduced elsewhere in New England."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171101/5-things-to-consider-about-mass-changing-time-zones

"The Franklin Lions Club has filed a formal fraud complaint with police against an undisclosed marketing company regarding the fraudulent sale of tickets on the Lions Club’s behalf. 

Club president Shawn Sherry did not to disclose the name of the company and police said it’s still too early in the investigation to confirm any details. As a result, they were unable to be contacted for their side of the story. 

Sherry said that the organization had hired the outside company to promote ticket sales for a Beach Boys tribute concert."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171101/franklin-lions-club-victims-of-alleged-fraud

The announcement from the Lions can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/10/announcement-from-franklin-lions-club.html

Announcement from Franklin Lions Club

Candidates Night video - available on demand

To help prepare to decide who to vote for in the contested elections for Town Council, School Committee, or Board of Health, the Candidates Night video is available for replay upon demand.


View video 
http://view.earthchannel.com/PlayerController.aspx?PGD=franknma&eID=497

Read more: http://www.franklinma.gov/node/146353

Election Collection - 2017

Beatlemania Stage Show - Nov 3 - Special Student Ticket Prices ($10 at the door)

The Franklin High School music students are preparing for their participation in the Beatlemania concert being held at Franklin High School November 3 at 7:30 PM.

The music students will be performing back up instrumentation on a few songs with the national touring production of Beatlemania Stage Show. Students will perform on the songs “Yesterday” with the school’s orchestra; “Sgt. Pepper” with the marching band and “Yellow Submarine” with the chorus.

The concert is a benefit to offset some of the expenses for the school’s music department’s trip to Washington DC in the spring for a music festival and competition.

The concert is titled “Help Keep Music Education Alive” which benefits music education programs throughout New England.

The concert is a full professional production with big venue sound and lighting brought in to facilitate the concert experience. Paul Lococo event organizer said “The Franklin High School has a brand new state of the art auditorium and will be a nice place to stage such a production.” 

The Beatlemania Stage Show is the complete Beatle’s experience with period costume changes and vintage Beatle’s instruments. The show will take you from the Beatle’s early years from the Ed Sullivan days to Sgt. Pepper’s Magical Mystery Tour and beyond.

Help Keep Music Education Alive - Nov 3

Diane Plouffe, the Franklin High School Music Director said “This is a unique community event supporting the music students and a fun event for both the students and the community.”

“The show is educational for our students as well as they learn the music of the Beatle’s and get to perform in a professional production right here at Franklin High.” Stated Plouffe.

Tickets for the show are on sale at Purplepass.com and Shaw’s Market in Franklin

Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant awarded to Tri-County

Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School is pleased to announce it has been awarded $119,326 from the Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant to expand the Advanced Manufacturing component of the Engineering program.

After finishing one phase of the engineering technology plant expansion, Tri-County is now remodeling a third shop area to further broaden its Advanced Manufacturing program. This expansion will also enhance adult manufacturing courses offered through a partnership with Wentworth Institute of Technology.

The Skills Capital Grant Program awards grants to support vocational/technical training, upgrades and expansion of career technical education, and training of high-quality career pathway programs that are aligned with regional economic and workforce development priorities for in-demand industries.

Tri-County was among 35 educational institutions in Massachusetts that were recently awarded workforce skills capital grants. The competitive grants are awarded to educational institutions that demonstrate partnerships with industry, as well as align curriculum and credentials with businesses’ demand, in order to maximize hiring opportunities in each region of the state.

“Manufacturing is the fourth largest economic sector in this region today,” said Superintendent Stephen Dockray. “We are extremely thankful and proud to have been awarded this grant. It will allow us to train our students using the latest equipment and technology so they have the best possible training and knowledge to be successful in the job market.”

Tri-County RVTHS, located at 147 Pond Street in Franklin, is a recipient of the High Schools That Work Gold Achievement Award and serves the communities of Franklin, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Seekonk, Sherborn, Walpole, and Wrentham.

Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant awarded to Tri-County

Charles River Meadowlands hike recap

The Oct. 28 Charles River Meadowlands hike attracted a total of 20 people. The group made it through the rugged, wet, and overgrown terrain south of Oak Street Extension, eventually emerging in beautiful upland fields and tall stands of evergreens, ultimately exiting via White Avenue. 

Two town council candidates attended the event: Eamon McCarthy Earls and Andy Bissanti. 

“It was great to have so many people exploring this area,” said Meadowlands organizer, Alan Earls. “We got to see the challenges for trail development in the wetter areas as well as the enormous potential in the extensive field and forest sections,” he added.

Charles River Meadowlands hike recap

In the News: Board of Health Candidate Profiles

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

"The Franklin town election will take place on Nov. 7.
Here are profiles for the two candidates running for a position on the board of health. 

Bridget Sweet 

What do you think makes a good Board of Health member? 

One who can be subjective and listen to both sides of issues always having the best interest of the community first. Commitment to the health department staff. 

What makes you want to be in this position? 

I am passionate about public service and giving back to the community, as well as passionate about public health and education. As science and technology advance, various state regulations are in the process of being updated. I would love to be a part of an educational board that helps residents and business comply with these updates to promote and protect public and environmental health."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171031/franklin-board-of-health-candidate-profiles

This post will serve as the collection point for all the posts related to the Franklin biennial election scheduled for Nov 7, 2017. Every two years, Franklin voters select who will run our community government.

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/08/election-collection-2017.html

Election Collection - 2017

In the News: Dacey retires; election campaigns in final days

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

"An hour before his official retirement began Tuesday afternoon, long-time treasurer-collector, Jim Dacey, reflected on his 18-year career in municipal government. 

He spent his day doing the usual work, but with cohorts of citizens and co-workers alike coming to wish him a happy retirement, it was hard for Dacey to see things being business as usual. 

Dacey’s successor and previous assistant treasurer-collector, Kerri Bertone, has officially started in the position full-time."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171031/franklin-treasurer-collector-looks-back-on-his-career

"With a large turnout expected, the town election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 7. Franklin High School. Polls for all precincts at Franklin High School are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

There are nine seats open on the Town council with 12 candidates. For the School Committee, there are seven open seats with eight candidates. In the race for the Board of Health, two candidates are running for one slot. 

The race for a seat on the Board of Assessors is uncontested, as well as three available seats on the Planning Board."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171031/full-slate-for-franklin-town-election

Election Collection - 2017

IR-2017-182: 10 Million Taxpayers Face an Estimated Tax Penalty Each Year; Act Now to Reduce or Avoid it for 2017; New Web Page Can Help

IRS Newswire October 31, 2017

News Essentials What's Hot News Releases IRS - The Basics IRS Guidance Media Contacts Facts and Figures Around The Nation e-News Subscriptions The Newsroom Topics Multimedia Center Noticias en Español Radio PSAs Tax Scams The Tax Gap Fact Sheets IRS Tax Tips Armed Forces Latest News Home IRS Resources Compliance and Enforcement Contact My Local Office Filing Options Forms and Instructions Frequently Asked Questions News Taxpayer Advocate Where to File IRS Social Media

Issue Number:    IR-2017-182 Inside This Issue 10 Million Taxpayers Face an Estimated Tax Penalty Each Year; Act Now to Reduce or Avoid it for 2017; New Web Page Can Help WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers assessed an estimated tax penalty for tax year 2016 that they still have time to take steps to reduce or eliminate the penalty for 2017 and future years. To help raise awareness about the growing number of estimated tax penalties, the IRS has launched a new "Pay as You Go, So You Don't Owe" web page. The IRS.gov page has tips and resources designed to help taxpayers, including those involved in the sharing economy, better understand tax withholding, making estimated tax payments and avoiding an unexpected penalty. Each year, about 10 million taxpayers are assessed the estimated tax penalty. The average penalty was about $130 in 2015, but the IRS has seen the number of taxpayers assessed this penalty increase in recent years. The number jumped about 40 percent from 7.2 million in 2010 to 10 million in 2015. Most of those affected taxpayers can easily reduce or, in some cases, eliminate the penalty by increasing their withholding or adjusting estimated tax payments for the rest of the year. With a little planning, taxpayers can avoid the penalty altogether. By law, the estimated tax penalty usually applies when a taxpayer pays too little of their total tax during the year. The penalty is calculated based on the interest rate charged by the IRS on unpaid tax. How to Avoid the Penalty For most people, avoiding the penalty means ensuring that at least 90 percent of their total tax liability is paid in during the year, either through income-tax withholding or by making quarterly estimated tax payments. Keep in mind exceptions to the penalty and special rules apply to some groups of taxpayers, such as farmers, fishers, casualty and disaster victims, those who recently became disabled, recent retirees, those who base their payments on last year's tax and those who receive income unevenly during the year. For details, see Form 2210 and its instructions. Taxpayers may want to consider increasing their tax withholding in 2017, especially if they had a large balance due when they filed their 2016 return earlier this year. Employees can do this by filling out a new Form W-4 and giving it to their employer. Similarly, recipients of pensions and annuities can make this change by filling out Form W-4P  and giving it to their payer. In either case, taxpayers can typically increase their withholding by claiming fewer allowances on their withholding form. If that's not enough, they can also ask employers or payers to withhold an additional flat dollar amount each pay period. For help determining the right amount to withhold, check out the Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov. Taxpayers who receive Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation and certain other government payments can also choose to have federal tax taken out by filling out Form W-4V and giving it to their payer. But some restrictions apply. See the form and its instructions for details. For taxpayers whose income is normally not subject to withholding, starting or increasing withholding is not an option. Instead, they can avoid the estimated tax penalty by making quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS. In general, this includes investment income —such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties and capital gains —alimony and self-employment income. Those involved in the sharing economy may also need to make these payments. Tips to Make Estimated Tax Payments Estimated tax payments are normally due on April 15, June 15, Sept. 15 and Jan. 15 of the following year. Any time one of these deadlines falls on a weekend or holiday, taxpayers have until the next business day to make the payment. Thus, the next estimated tax payment for the fourth quarter of 2017 is due Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The fastest and easiest way to make estimated tax payments is to do so electronically using IRS Direct Pay  or the Treasury Department's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). For information on other payment options, visit IRS.gov/payments. Taxpayers may also use Form 1040-ES to figure these payments. IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, is a resource on withholding and estimated payments. Back to Top   Thank you for subscribing to the IRS Newswire, an IRS e-mail service. If you know someone who might want to subscribe to this mailing list, please forward this message to them so they can subscribe. This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list IRS Newswire. Please Do Not Reply To This Message.

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Franklin Candidate for School Committee: Virginia (Gigi) Zub

Virginia (Gigi) Zub (GZ) and I sat down at Rhapsody’s Victorian Coffee House to talk about her campaign for School Committee for the Franklin Biennial election scheduled for Nov 7, 2017.

FM: Tell me a bit about yourself, your family, and your life here in Franklin? What is your Franklin story?

GZ: We have been in Franklin for 16 years. My husband had bought the house as a starter home, little did he know that when he met me and we got married, that I would fall in love with it and the area. Franklin has a really good reputation for its school system. It is not perfect; everybody has their issues. My brother (Mike Caple) had been teaching here and helped start the Franklin Arts Academy, so we knew something about it. We got married at St Mary’s, reception at the Franklin Country Club, and have been here ever since. We have no desire to go elsewhere, it is a great community.

Our kids went to Parmenter and are now at Remington Middle School. I made a brief appearance in the Opening Dance of School Principal Dancing video. You know this is all important serious stuff but we also need to have fun and create an environment where all can thrive. Principal Brian Wildeman does a really good job at that.

My husband and I were both born overseas. I was born in Naples, Italy and then raised in Bridgewater, going through the school system there. My husband was born in the United Kingdom and went to the American School in London. He didn’t come here until he went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). We have this sort of international worldview outlook, not just Franklin, MA and I think that is important.

We had gone back to visit the school in London. They had the American curriculum there but what they did was amazing. We still have furniture in the house that my husband made when he was in school. They had a proper shop. They made stuff. Kids could come in collaborate and work together. So I have this world view on education and I think that it is important to be involved in my kids’ education.

FM: What experience or background will help you to serve in this role? What do you bring to the table that helps to set you apart from the others?

GZ: This unique background combination as a parent, which I think is an important qualification, being in the corporate education, and the things I can bring from that world. I think this is a plus to bring to the School Committee. The company I work for just built a new learning center, using groups that are more learner centric. I manage the team that creates the curriculum. We have some staff that does the teaching or we bring in subject matter experts from the business to lead the class. We use smart boards just like the schools do. That corporate experience, and managing a large budget, while it is not my favorite thing to do, it is an important one. How do you spend your dollars? You can talk about priorities but until you put dollars to the item, it is not likely to happen.

So, we were just at a presentation at Remington. They used a smart board and were hesitant to advance to the next item because they weren’t sure it would work. Now that is training, that is support. Are we providing the right amount? Money doesn’t solve all the problems. Are we using it wisely? Are we being creative? This is one of the things I like about Dr. Ahern. She is asking what are we doing with corporations? What are we doing with grants? How are we doing other things to help supplement the budget?

FM: What do you see as your role’s biggest challenge and do you have any suggestions on how we can resolve it?

GZ: I know a 2 ½ override is a hot button. I am not sure it is the answer but I do think that everything should be on the table. We should have a conversation about our goal. What is our goal? Is our goal to give our children the best education? Which includes really good teachers, really good classrooms, support from the community whether you have kids or you don’t have kids. We need to create an environment where our children can thrive. That is my mantra. Creating an environment where every child, every person, has an opportunity to thrive, our teachers, our administrators, so that we can be successful. At the end of the day, they are going out into society to do something. We’d rather the something be good.

We live less than 2 miles from Remington and we don’t get the free bus. So I as a parent am I going to pay about $700 for the two to ride? Okay, no. It took me a few extra minutes to get here today as I got stuck in the traffic. What are we doing? We have one of the highest bus fees around. Even the $50 fee per kid to do the activities. For some families that is a challenge, that is a big expense.

One other challenge is how to involve more of the community? When I started thinking about running for this, I went to a couple of the Community Relations coffee hours, and to a couple of the School Committee meetings. One I went to was the budget reading. Not sure why I picked that one. I was the only citizen in the meeting full of principals and other teachers and school personnel. I was really surprised at how little the community was involved. They were all there and then when the budget was finished, they left and I was alone. It is interesting that we don’t have much engagement. So how do we improve that? I would say that Denise Schultz, Vanessa Bilello and Anne Bergen have done a fabulous job with community outreach. I’d like to see us not only continue but increase our engagement.

You see it in a corporate environment too. I can’t tell you how many emails get sent out that no one pays any attention to. You should send the message in multiple channels, multiple times, to get it across. Until it catches their attention, maybe speaks to them, addresses the “what’s in it for me?”, the message is lost. Long term we are getting to a point where we are going to have a budget crisis. We can’t address that if we only have the seven-member School Committee in the conversation. We should think about what that story is and get that message out.

So, it is the budget, and how do we get the community involved, those are the two major challenges. A bunch of stuff falls underneath those two. Inclusion, what do we do about start times and end times for school? If our objective is to have the best effective, valuable educational experience we can have for our kids, how do we do that when the science is telling us that what we are doing goes against what they need?

At Parmenter, the PCC bought the school supplies for each student. I never had to do so. We (the parents) did the fundraising of course, the PCC did the work. At Remington, I got a list of supplies needed. I was surprised. So how can we do that better? Can we get the PCC’s together to make a more equitable experience across the schools versus one school doing better fundraising than another?

I don’t think challenges like this are insurmountable but it does take a significant amount of work. I think involvement of the community beyond the seven members of the School Committee is the key to getting anything. So how are we going to do that?

So, I bring my experience as a parent, in corporate education, having an elementary education background, a different perspective, and the world view we discussed earlier. I do think it is important for us to think about the goal of providing our kids an education so that our kids can contribute to society in a global way. I am not just a Franklin, MA citizen. I am a citizen of the United States and of the globe. I think we should look at all of that and not just our little piece.

How do we make sure we have a consistent educational experience across the district? I think standards are important. I don’t particularly think we need to worry about the standardized testing and whether their kid can test properly or not, I think we need to assess. How do we assess versus test?

Learning has always been a passion for me. It is not that I have lots of free time (not that anybody does really) but it is something I am passionate about so I want to see that my own children and the children in the community have a really good educational experience. I think it is important to get new people involved with what we do as a school committee. I think if we tend to have the same people over and over again, that’s not good. It is good to have continuity but I also think it is even better to have new ideas.

Additional information on Gigi and her campaign including how to contact her

• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/zubschool17/
• Web Page: http://schoolcommittee.thezubs.com/
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8RvFcBcc4Y
• Candidate Profiles: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171013/franklin-school-committee-profiles
• Email: gigi@thezubs.com

Noteworthy: This information is intended to help the Franklin voters when we all head to the ballot box on November 7. The interview candidates have had an opportunity to review the text before publishing to ensure the accuracy of our discussion. 

Offer to Candidates 2017
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/08/offer-to-candidates-for-franklin.html 

Election Collection - 2017

Book Signing: "Run. Think. Repeat.: Funny, Thought-Provoking, and Totally Random Thoughts" - Nov 9

Franklin’s Kim Rezendes celebrates the release of her first book, Run. Think. Repeat.: Funny, Thought-Provoking, and Totally Random Thoughts from a Mom on the Run, with a special signing at THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin on Thursday, November 9 from 7-10 p.m. A compilation of short stories about life, food, family, and small town roots, the book grew out of thoughts and observations Kim had while running. Each story comprises a chapter in the book, with some being poignant, others inspirational, and most funny and fun.

Franklin’s Kim Rezendes celebrates the release of her first book

The book morphed out of Kim’s blog and Facebook posts, with encouragement from friends and family who enjoyed her humorous writing style and related to her stories. Kim spent a year compiling the pieces while continuing to write new material. Written in conversational style, often as a stream of consciousness, the book’s chapters fall into four sections: FamiLove, “Her”story, Think. Thank. Thunk., and Randumbs.

Born and raised in Franklin, Kim still lives in her hometown surrounded by family and childhood friends. Her writing reflects Kim’s appreciation for small-town community and old-school perspective. The stories are highly relatable and honest, with a real-life view. Local readers may well recognize familiar people and places, while others will find in Kim’s anecdotes much that reminds them of their own lives, family, and experience.

Director of the Little Music School at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA), Kim is also one of FSPA’s earliest alums. She notes that Run. Think. Repeat. celebrates longtime relationships with teachers and fellow students who remain some of her closest friends. Working with FSPA’s youngest learners, Kim draws a connection between her own powers of observation and those of the children she teaches: “Children notice things that others don’t and they verbalize things that others might not. Parts of my writing are musings on common situations and circumstances. I pay attention to everyday things that we’re surrounded by and I’m inspired by them.”

Kim finds her writing to be a relaxing process that helps clear her head and put things in perspective. “In the classroom, I do the same thing,” she says of her shift in outlook. “If something is not going as planned, I try to focus on what is going well and not sweat the small stuff.”

The feedback from readers has been what Kim hoped it would be. “It’s an easy read,” Kim says. “There’s so much heavy in this world, the book allows people to stop thinking about all the craziness.”

Released by MindStir Media, Run. Think. Repeat. is available for purchase at THE BLACK BOX book signing or via online retailers Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. The $14.99 paperback is also sold locally at The Spotlight Shop, 34 Main Street, in Franklin. 

THE BLACK BOX is located at 15 West Central Street in downtown Franklin; visit www.THEBLACKBOXonline.com to learn more. 

For more information about Run.Think. Repeat., visit www.runthinkrepeat.com. 

New England Irish Harp Orchestra - Dec 10

New England Irish Harp Orchestra will share a wonderful medley of Holiday music that will put you in the perfect mood for the season!

Sunday, December 10 - 7:00 pm

St. John’s Episcopal Church 
237 Pleasant Street Franklin, MA 

Tickets $10 (payable at the door) 

FREE  With Dean College ID 

Transportation provided call (781) 708-1327 

New England Irish Harp Orchestra - Dec 10

FHS field hockey playoff scheduled for Thu; McDermott starting at Salve Regina

From Hockomock Sports we share the field hockey playoff info and an article on a Franklin High School football alumni.


D1 South - Field Hockey Playoffs
#18 Franklin (9-7-2) will travel to #15 Westwood (9-6-3) on Thursday, 11/2 at 3:30.

For all the field hockey playoffs currently scheduled
https://hockomocksports.com/hockomock-field-hockey-playoff-seeds-matchups-2017/

"On Saturday afternoon, the Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.) football team lost its second game of the season, 35-26 to Commonwealth Coast Conference rival Western New England. Even with that defeat, the Seahawks are an impressive 5-2 this fall and just a game back of the league leaders. 

One reason for Salve’s success on the gridiron this season has been the play of senior quarterback Danny McDermott. The Franklin High alum has waited three years for his chance at the starting job and he is making good use of the opportunity, completing more than 54 percent of his passes, throwing for more than 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns in the first seven games of the season. 

Last week, against rival Endicott, McDermott set a career-high with 321 passing yards and also tossed three touchdowns in a big win. In an interview in the days following the Endicott win, McDermott passed most of the credit onto the play of his teammates."

Continue reading the article online
https://hockomocksports.com/mcdermott-taking-his-chance-as-senior-at-salve/

Franklin High alum Danny McDermott (17) was a back-up for three years, but this fall, as a senior, he earned the starting spot and has led the Seahawks to a 5-2 start. (Zan Carver/Salve Regina Athletics)

Absentee Ballots Are Now Available At The Town Clerk’s Office

ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT THE

TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE

BIENNIAL TOWN ELECTION NOTICE

DATE: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

TIME: 6:00a.m. – 8:00p.m.

PLACE: FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL ON OAK STREET

*ALL PRECINCTS*

Absentee Ballot Information: Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on Election Day due to the following reasons may vote absentee in the Town Clerk’s Office up to 12:00 noon Monday, November 6, 2017

1. absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
2. physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
3. Religious belief

To request an Absentee Ballot:

1. Email: (tburr@franklinma.gov)
2. Visit the Town Clerk’s website at (franklinma.gov) to print out an Absentee Ballot request form and either email or fax (508)520-4913.

If you have any questions, please contact Teresa M. Burr, Town Clerk at (508)520-4900 or  Email (tburr@franklinma.gov)

Franklin Election Collection - 2017