4th Annual Casino Night - Nov 20th

On Friday, November 20, 2009, the Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) will hold its 4th Annual Casino Night at the Franklin Elks from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The event will feature Black Jack, Roulette and Money Wheel as well as raffles, a Silent Auction, cash bar and FREE hors d’oeuvres. The event is well known as a fun evening out with friends and neighbors, all while contributing to a worthwhile cause.

In addition to having fun at the gaming tables, attendees can bid on a variety of great Silent Auction items. Included will be autographed Red Sox and Patriots memorabilia, handcrafted jewelry, original art, and gift certificates from 3 Restaurant, Panera Bread, Stop & Shop and Arbonne Skin Care. Preliminary sponsors for the event include DCU (Digital Federal Credit Union), Rockland Trust, Doherty Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, PC and ZeptoMetrix Corporation. If you have an item to donate or if your company is interested in sponsoring, contact FEF. It’s a great way to show your commitment to education in Franklin.

Admission is $25. To avoid waiting in line at the door, advance ticket purchase is recommended. For ticket purchase, auction donation or sponsorship information, please contact Peter Minor at (508) 541-6700 or peter@peterminor.com. Cash only accepted for chip purchase. Checks and Visa/MC accepted for Silent Auction items. For more information visit www.franklined.org.

Since 1997, The Franklin Education Foundation events have raised well over $170,000 which has been distributed to Franklin public schools in the form of special grants. All Franklin Public School staff members are eligible to submit creative, innovative ideas for programs or activities that would not traditionally be funded by tax dollars. To see a list of programs FEF have funded over the years, visit www.franklined.org.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

H1N1 VACCINE UPDATE - November 12, 2009

The Health Department has been inundated with hundreds of calls and emails regarding the availability of the H1N1 vaccine for Franklin Residents.  At the present time we do not have enough vaccine to hold a public flu clinic.  Vaccine production issues have significantly delayed the delivery of the H1N1 vaccine to all health departments and medical providers across the country.  As a result, we can not state with any certainty when Franklin’s first H1N1 flu clinic will be held.

Once we have a sufficient supply of vaccine on hand, we stand ready to implement our clinic plan and to begin the vaccination process.  The Franklin Health Department has the personnel and the infrastructure in place to begin large-scale vaccinations of the target group, once the vaccine is delivered in sufficient quantities.

The initial allocation of vaccine will be directed toward children aged 6 months to 9 years of age.  Again, this age group will require two doses of vaccine so it is important to have the first doses administered as soon as the vaccine is made available.  It is possible that we may, due to limited supply of vaccine, narrow the age group significantly during our first clinic.  This will prevent parents and children waiting unnecessarily when the vaccine is in short supply.

It is important to note that the Franklin Health Department does not expect to receive any thimerosal free vaccine.  This has implications for women who are pregnant and wish to receive preservative free vaccine.  Pregnant women are urged to contact their obstetrician regarding thimerosal free flu vaccine.

The Franklin Health Department fully understands the frustration and concern the residents of Franklin are experiencing regarding H1N1 vaccine availability.  I can assure you the Health Department staff and the Board of Health shares your concerns.  We will do everything in our power to expedite the vaccination process once our supply of vaccine is received.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

David E. McKearney, R.S.
Public Health Director
Franklin Health Department

Franklin Board of Health
Bruce Hunchard, Chair
Paul Cheli
Donald Ranieri, Jr.

Happy Birthday, Franklin Matters!

I was busy this week and almost forgot to celebrate a birthday. Two years ago this past Monday, the first post was generated here at Franklin Matters. The archives for Nov 9, 2007 contain:

• How not to spend Community Preservation Act dollar...
• Amesbury rejects "under" ride
• Franklin: Grand Opening
• Franklin: Holiday Bazaar
• Franklin: Center Commons building brickwork
• Local Scenes from Steve's 2 Cents
• Where in Franklin?
• Franklin Election 2007
• Franklin Override 2007
• Where in Franklin? Summary  

Two Candles in the Dark by photos8.com, originally uploaded by Photos8.com.

As long as readership continues to grow, and I continue to learn and have fun doing this, you can count on more years of Franklin Matters!

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sending emails. All your feedback is greatly appreciated.


Photo credit: Two Candles in the Dark by photos8.com

In the News - fire, school money

Homeowner puts out deck fire

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

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As I read this, it would seem this money will go to pay off some of the existing debt incurred on the building.

Franklin gets money for school building

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Staff reports

In the News - double duty

Parents of two Marine sons nervous but proud

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Let's honor our veterans today

On this Veterans Day, let's thank them for their service. Their service allows us to live the life we have here in Franklin.

In the News - lock cars

Not for the first time, nor likely for this last time, common sense should say why take a chance, lock it up.

Area police warn residents to lock cars

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

FM #48 - Election 2009

This is #48 in the series of internet radio or podcasts for Franklin Matters. In this session we review the results of the Town Election and go inside the high school field house to hear Town Clerk Debbie Pellegri announce the results.

Time: 7 minutes, 37 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

Music intro 

My intro 

This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 48 in the series.

The Franklin election of 2009 has come and gone.

We have a new Town Council with 6 incumbents (Whalen, Mason, Vallee, Pfeffer, McGann and Zollo) and three newcomers (Powderly, Jones and Kelly).

The School Committee has five incumbents (Cafasso, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach and Trahan) along with two new members (Douglas and Glynn).

Bruce Hunchard returns on the Board of Health.

Padula, Halligan and Carroll were elected to the Planning Board.

Chris Feeley easily took his write-in campaign for the Board of Assessors and saved the Town Council from having to appoint someone.

Only 16.4% of the registered voters bothered to cast their ballots. This is less than the prior two town elections and continues the trend in the wrong direction.

I will have more to share on the totals and what I read into them. For this session, we'll take you into the Franklin High School field house to hear Town Clerk, Debbie Pellegri announce the results for the election.

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This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

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 East of Shirley. The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with permission.  

In the News - regionalization, Vietnam, Faithful Nine

Franklin looks at regionalizing services

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Despite financial benefits, both Nutting and Whalen agree the only foreseeable drawback is a loss of control over town services.

"We, as residents of our community, can control the level of town services we enjoy," Whalen said, citing the controlled number of town workers. "With regionalization, by definition, we as residents of Franklin would have less of a say in what goes on right in our town on these matters because we would be part of a larger group of people who would collectively make these decisions."

"You have to be willing to give up control, " said Nutting. "But that's (for) the people in the government, not the residents."

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Honoring the Faithful Nine in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Jake Jacobson

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Franklin honors Vietnam War fallen

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Melissa Ostrow

Walgreens continues to make progress

Walgreens has its sign up now. The exterior of the building is being finished. Landscaping is underway. Not to long now before it opens for business.

Sign up for the RMV driver license renewal reminders

One could quibble about the RMV's driver's license renewal reminder program in that you have to sign up to make it effect. But then technically that is following a good "opt in" practice.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles offers an online service that will remind drivers 30 days before their driver’s license is due to expire.

Residents who sign up for the service can choose a reminder by phone, email or text and there is no additional cost to the public. 

The new service replaces the mail reminder program that was discontinued earlier this year as a cost-saving measure.

The new reminder service is provided by the RMV in collaboration with Sendza, Inc. and is sponsored by local businesses.  Any information you provide is protected by a strict privacy policy.

Drivers are encouraged to sign up for the program. For more information visit www.mass.gov/rmv.

Fall in Franklin

something about the redness

of the leaves, the white fence 

and the morning sunlight

Fall in Franklin: something about the redness the white fence and the sunlight m, originally uploaded by shersteve.

What is a sherku? 

In the News - train death, Nutcracker

Man hit by commuter train in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

Another person hit, killed by a commuter-rail train

from Universal Hub - All Boston, all the time by adamg

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Nutcracker returns to Franklin

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

In the News - Gov Patrick visits Franklin, casino night

Gov Patrick visited Jefferson Elementary School yesterday

Patrick visits Franklin school, says he supports local aid

by Melanie Graham/Daily News staff

and the Senior Center

Franklin honors 90-year-old vets

by Melanie Graham/Daily News staff

and hold the date for the FEF Casino Night, Nov 20th

Franklin Education Foundation plans Casino Night

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

In the News - event canceled

This was posted to the Milford Daily News website on Friday and refers to the event Saturday.

Franklin resident Steve Sherlock announced the Laid Off Camp he helped organize for tomorrow is canceled.

Designed to help unemployed people from Massachusetts and Rhode Island brush up on interview techniques, making contacts and using the Internet to find jobs, the camp was canceled due to slow registration.

"We only achieved one third of the required registrations for this non-profit, all-volunteer event to break even," Sherlock wrote in an email late last night. Anyone who already registered will have their money refunded, he added.

He and the four other co-organizers will likely establish a similar camp next year. The event was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at the Living Waters Church in North Attleborough.

For more information, visit http://laidoffcampprovidence.blogspot.com/.

Tomorrow's Laid Off Camp canceled

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Staff reports

H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Update

At the time of this writing it is probable that many reading this update will have had a family member with influenza-like illness or knows someone who has.  As predicted at the end of last summer, the H1N1 has returned with a vengeance.  Although this illness for the most part has remained relatively mild, a larger segment of the population has become ill, with a recent spike in school absenteeism noted throughout the Commonwealth.

It was hoped that by now we would have been well on our way toward achieving our goal of vaccinating a large percentage of our community with the H1N1 vaccine.  Due to the unprecedented demand for the seasonal flu vaccine, coupled with the simultaneous production of the H1N1 vaccine, the vaccine manufacturers have simply not been able to distribute the H1N1 vaccine as quickly as expected.  

The Franklin Health Department and the Board of Health remain committed to providing the H1N1 influenza vaccine to all Franklin residents who wish to receive it.  As previously stated, the Health Department in conjunction with our medical volunteers will hold public H1N1 clinics as soon as enough vaccine is made available to do so.  At the present time the Health Department has received only a small fraction of our requested doses.  

In accordance with the guidelines mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, our initial allocation of vaccine will be provided to healthcare workers with direct patient contact such as nurses and paramedics, pregnant women and children 6 months to 9 years of age.  As more vaccine is made available, we will begin vaccinating children aged 10 to 25.  Our focus on young children  is important because two doses of vaccine spaced approximately three weeks apart is required for children 9 and under.  

All public flu clinics will be advertised in the Milford Daily News and will be posted on the Town of Franklin Website.  Clinic information will also be broadcast on Franklin’s local cable television station and will be posted on the MassPro Flu website as well.  

These are certainly difficult and frightening times for parents of young children, for those who may have a compromised immune system for one reason or another and for couples starting a family.  Your concern and frustration is understandable and fully acknowledged.  We ask for your patience and your understanding as we prepare to institute our vaccination plan in the coming weeks.  

We encourage anyone with questions to contact the Health Department or members of the Board of Health at 508-520-4905, or via our dedicated influenza email at H1N1flu@franklin.ma.us

Respectfully,

David E. McKearney, R.S.

Public Health Director

Franklin Health Department

Franklin Board of Health

This can be found on the Franklin website

2009 Fall Curbside Yard Waste Collection

2009 Fall Curbside Yard Waste Collection will occur the following Saturdays:

• November 7
• November 21
  
• December 5

How to Prepare:

• Yard waste: Place in paper bags, trash barrels or other container.
• Brush shall not be more than 4 feet in length and 6-inches in diameter and bundled.
• DO NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS.
• Place at curbside before 7:00 AM in the morning.

This was posted on the Town website here

In the News - event canceled, rings come home

The article is a good one but came too late to help us drive attendance for the event. The event has been canceled. The team will re-group and likely try something early in 2010.

Local resident helps sponsor Laid Off Camp tomorrow

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

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Rings come full circle

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff