Norfolk County Sheriff: Coat Drive December 29th - January 7th

Sheriff Patrick McDermott and the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office are hosting a winter coat drive in partnership with Coats for Kids & Families to support families who may not have access to warm winter gear as the cold of the season settles in. Donations will be accepted Monday, December 29, through Wednesday, January 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Members of the public are invited to drop off new or gently used winter coats of all sizes at either of the following locations M-F: Norfolk County Sheriff's Quincy Civil Process Office, 1255 Hancock Street, Quincy Norfolk County Sheriff's Braintree Public Safety Complex, 2015 Washington Street, Braintree There is a particular need for winter coats in sizes XL and infant/pre-K. All donated coats will be professionally cleaned by Anton's Cleaners and then distributed to local nonprofits, social service agencies, and schools throughout Norfolk County and beyond.

Norfolk County Sheriff's Office | 200 West St | Dedham, MA 02027 US

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday, January 3, 2026

 Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a brand new schedule for the locally produced shows that fill our air waves. 

It is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm or in the local Franklin, MA area at 102.9 on the FM dial.

Tune in to listen to the following:

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Saturday

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Friday, January 2, 2026 ???

Friday, January 2

10:00am Knitting Group (Franklin Public Library)

10:30am K-Pop Demon Hunters Party (Franklin Public Library)

6:00pm Ken Barney (live music) (Lafayette House)

Library & Senior Center events

For additional details on Library events -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/942/Calendar-of-Events

For additional details on Senior Center events ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar.aspx?CID=37,24&showPastEvents=false

** NO Town Meetings today   **

------------

Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

First performers announced for "A Starry Night" scheduled Jan 9 at THE BLACK BOX

Introducing our first few singers for A Starry Night next Friday, January 9 at 8:00 PM! 

• Anthony Pires, Jr.
• Dan Callaway
• Olivia Buckley
• Jack Cappadona
• Cameron Clements

Anthony Pires, Jr.

Hosted by Ali Funkhouser, the cabaret will feature singers from the stages of Boston, Providence, and beyond! FPAC, Franklin’s own Actors’ Equity Professional Theater, is thrilled to welcome talented singers from the area’s robust theater scene to THE BLACK BOX stage for an evening of great music! 

🎟️ Tickets are available at FPAConline.com or by calling the box office at 508-528-3370!

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/1DmaAexor2/

Photo Album of the first performers announced ->    https://photos.app.goo.gl/z6ecEH8BMv8AL1Cr7

5th Annual Beaver Pond Plunge opens the New Year

It was a smaller group to participate likely due to the weather and ice. The pond ice needed to be broken to allow for the plunge of a couple of folks at a time.

The snow did stop and sun did come out from the clouds before the plunge competed.

Photo album of the plunging at Beaver Pond on Thursday, Jan 1, 2026

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2ASAi9d7rdb1eVXj9

If you missed this one and would like to help the Special Olympics, there is another Polar Plunge scheduled for March 7, 2026 -> 

https://fundraise.specialolympicsma.org/events/957

selfie to record the moment

DPW's Cantoreggi provides update on storm and plowing efforts for New Year's Day

From DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi, via Councilor Morrongiello:

Happy New Year,

Just want to give you all an update on the snow and ice removal operations.

We pretreated the Town yesterday, the 31st, with brine (the squiggly lines stuff).

DPW personnel reported to work this morning at 1AM because of an anticipated snow event.

It was anticipated that we would get less than two inches as reported by our weather folks and local media stations.

Of 35 employees, all folks reported to work unless they had scheduled a day off.

Pretty much started snowing around 2pm, so we commenced treating the whole town at that time.

Extremely cold, temp was 18 degrees.

At 7AM the Town looked great, there was about 1.5 inches of snow on the ground.

Around 8AM, a "snow squall" hit the town. Snow was very heavy and dropped another 2 inches within an hour.

After driving the Town, the decision was made to call the contractors in.

downtown Franklin in snow, Jan 1, 2026

I was hoping not to call the contractors to save funds, and not have to plow and just use salt, but due to the amount of snow, very low temperatures (less than 32) predicted as a "high temperature" throughout the weekend, and not wanting too much snow and ice on the the roads causing slippery conditions.

We called the contractors at 9AM.

Of the 60 pieces of contractor equipment we have on contract (we would like to have around 80), only were able to get around 40. The contractors some of their staff away for holidays also

The number of vehicles parked on the roads continues to truly affect our response rate and keep us working longer because we have to go back and clean up those areas when the vehicles are finally moved.

As of right now, the Town is looking pretty good. We started plowing sidewalks about an hour ago. We have a lot of bare wet pavement out there (the low temp salt is working well).

We have used a lot of salt over the last couple of storms, we are replenishing our salt supply now, but we do have enough.

On a side note, mutual aid was done, we were good neighbor and supplied Milford with some salt as they ran out. They were very appreciative, and they will reimburse us for the salt next week!

Besides the cold, the long range weather forecast looks pretty good.

I am sure there will be some icy spots tonight and some drifting snow.

Please remember, that it is not our goal to have all side streets completely bare, there may be some snow on the side streets but it will be less than an inch. Folks just need to slow down a bit in the subdivisions

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DQsbkjo36/

Trash pickup Friday will pickup that delayed from Wednesday with an extra truck

Update from Waste Management 1/1/26:

"Due to increased volume, Wednesday's trash collection remains incomplete. Due to the holiday, streets that were not collected on Wednesday 12/31/25 will be collected on Friday 1/2/26.  

An extra truck will be active on Friday, in order to attain completion. See maps below; affected areas are in BLUE and RED.

We apologize for this inconvenience to the residents of Franklin.

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/1ALbPJcWXx/

red streets affected

blue streets affected

Franklin Art Association meeting Wednesday, January 7, 2026 = Guest Artist — Katie Kindilien

The Franklin Art Association's First Meeting of the New Year!

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 = Guest Artist — Katie Kindilien

Guest Artist — Katie Kindilien

The Franklin Art Association warmly welcomes the public to our first public meeting of the new year, at 6:30 PM on January 7, 2026 at the Franklin Senior Center. Our artist demonstrator will be Katie Kindilien.  

Katie is a landscape and still life painter who currently lives in New Haven, CT.   She received her undergraduate degree in painting from Tyler School in Philadelphia. A year studying in Rome opened her eyes to fresco and oil painting.  She taught art in public school, as she painted and took classes to develop her own skills. 

Katie's work is inspired by the everyday moments of beauty that surround us. She hopes her paintings and demonstrations will bring light and joy to others, and she says of her approach:

"My work is inspired by the everyday moments of beauty that surround us. Whether I’m painting a still life in the studio or a landscape outdoors, I hope to capture the fleeting sense of light and space, as well as infusing the work with feeling and authenticity. The process of putting paint to canvas and creating something that’s never been made before continues to excite me and fill me with anticipation!"

Why not make it a your New Year's resolution to join us on Wednesday, January 7 and all our monthly meetings for art instruction, the camaraderie of art conversation and refreshments at intermission. 

The Franklin Art Association takes pride in offering a student scholarship yearly to a local art student wishing to continue their art career in art instruction after high school graduation.

Franklin Downtown Partnership schedules first member meeting Feb 5, 2026

Franklin Downtown Partnership schedules
first member meeting Feb 5

via the Franklin Downtown Partnership:

"Our first member business meeting of 2026 with be February 5th! We encourage all new members to attend!"

Not a member? Check out the membership options

https://franklindowntownpartnership.org/

Shared from ->   https://www.instagram.com/p/DS6UEFMjrRe/

Reminder Thrifty Threads Shop closed until Jan 9

Reminder Thrifty Threads
Shop closed until Jan 9

Reminder that the Thrifty Threads Shop at 171 Main St. Franklin is closed Jan. 2 and 3.

We will reopen on Friday, January 9, 1-4 and Saturday, January 10, 9-1.

There will be a $1 jeans sale for the month of Jan. plus 3 weeks of new donations for all ages. Check us out whether your first time or your 20th!

Shared from -> https://www.facebook.com/share/1ATn5wFAkT/

Brownsville ME deer feed trough (video)

You can watch deer feeding any time of day.

Video link -> https://www.youtube.com/live/XwLug9jR7lA

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Friday, January 2, 2026

Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a brand new schedule for the locally produced shows that fill our air waves. 

It is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm or in the local Franklin, MA area at 102.9 on the FM dial.

Tune in to listen to the following:

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Friday

8:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 6:00 PM - Franklin Matters Radio – Steve Sherlock covering Franklin, its local government, services, and events 

• This shares the segment  from the Town Council meeting 12/17/25 covering the full discussion on the charter change process -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/audio-of-121725-town-council-in-3.html

9:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 7:00 PM

10:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 8:00 PM - Talkin’ the Blues – Jim Derick & Nick Remissong. 2 hours of awesome blues music, info, interviews  Showcasing the "Blues" as a basis for and influence of Country, Jazz and Rock and Roll, here and worldwide.

11:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 9:00 PM - “The Vibe” show plays music for everyone searching for some enjoyment, some dance, a happy or thinking mood, and most importantly, having fun.  Tune in to wfpr.fm and listen to “DJ Vibe” spin music across many genres and join this new vibing experience

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin TV schedule for Friday, January 2, 2026 (Your local Public, Education & Government "PEG" station)

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY

7:00 am  The Black Box: Tappy Christmas 2019

8:30 am  Frank Presents: Jim Derick

10:00 am  Aging Boldfully: Jenn Goebel

11:00 am  Senior Connection: Traditions

12:00 pm  Brooke'n'Cookin: Mac'n'Cheese

12:30 pm  Cooking with Linda: Quiche

1:30 pm      Pizzapalooza: Healthy Pizza Crusts

2:00 pm  New England Candlepins: Summer '19 Show 2

3:00 pm  Candlepin New Generation: Show 7

3:30 pm  FPAC: Humbug

8:00 pm  Sons & Daughters of Italy: Italian Immigrants

9:30 pm  Winning Ways with the MIAA: Student Athletes Pt 1

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = FRIDAY

7:00 am MiddleSchool_Band_121625

8:30 am FHS Sports: Mike Masto

9:30 am FHS Winter Music: Chorus and Orchestra

11:00 am FHS Theater Company: Lord of the Flies

2:00 pm FHS Winter Music: Band and Wind Ensemble

3:00 pm FHS Boys Varsity Basketball v King Philip 12-22-25

7:30 pm FHS Varsity Wrestling v Milford 01-08-25

9:00 pm Critical Conversations: Student Wellbeing

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = FRIDAY

8:00 am  Zoning Board of Appeals 12-23-25

2:00 pm  Zoning Board of Appeals 12-23-25

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Thursday, January 1, 2026 ???

Thursday, January 1 = New Year's Day

All Town and School facilities closed January 1

The trash/recycle curbside pick up is one day offset due to New Year’s

• Those scheduled for Thursday will get picked up Friday

• Those scheduled for Friday will get picked up Saturday

10:00am 5th Annual Beaver Pond Plunge (Beaver Pond)

** NO Town Meetings today   **

------------

Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Franklin Ridge Begins Construction

After 11 years of groundwork, the affordable senior housing project moves toward construction with an eye toward opening in late 2027

Through the Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, the Town of Franklin is proud to announce that the Franklin Ridge Senior Housing project has secured all necessary funding and construction-related approvals to commence the construction of this three-story, 60-unit affordable senior housing complex in November.  

Franklin Ridge Begins Construction

Over the past eleven years, the Town of Franklin and Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust have worked closely with JNJUHL & Associates, a local, affordable housing developer, to provide much needed affordable housing for Franklin’s senior community 62 years of age or older.  Located adjacent to the Eaton Place senior housing complex, the Franklin Ridge housing development will consist of (54) One-Bedroom Units and (6) Two-Bedroom Units, in addition to community space that includes a community room with a kitchenette, library, a multi-purpose room and offices for management and social service staff.

"With the senior population in Franklin growing exponentially, the Town continues to be committed to providing high quality affordable senior housing which keeps our Franklin seniors within the community for the long-term” stated Town Administrator Jamie Hellen. “Seniors are an essential and valued component of this community, providing not only an important link to our past, but a viable element that continues to make a significant contribution through volunteering as well as supporting town activities and organizations. This project will allow income eligible seniors to right-size their living situation and stay in the community they love”. 

With 70% local preference, which is the maximum percentage allowed under state regulation, the Town is focused on getting as many local eligible seniors as possible into the Franklin Ridge Senior Housing project upon its completion in 2027.  

Jon Juhl, President of JNJUHL & Associates, continues “this project was truly a community effort:  the Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is providing the land, as well as a significant financial contribution of $500,000 toward the project. The Town is also using over $320,000 in Community Preservation Act funding to leverage millions of dollars in federal and state funding from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. "

"This affordable housing project could not have been accomplished without the hard work and support of many Town Departments and Committees including the Town Administrator’s Office, Department of Planning & Community Development, Building Department, Conservation Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals; all with one goal in mind: to meet the supportive housing needs of seniors while building a green and sustainable project.  Franklin Ridge will be just that: housing which has adaptive, accessible apartments, is 100% electric, and has solar back-up. It is a project that will benefit Franklin seniors –and our community—for many years to come.”

Franklin Ridge Senior Housing Project has been designed for seniors, age 62 and older, who meet income eligibility requirements.   Construction will start this winter and occupancy is expected by mid-late 2027.  Rental applications will be managed by The Community Builders, a Boston-based non-profit housing development and management company, starting in early 2027. Outreach sessions to the senior center and broader community will begin in 2026.