Franklin Matters

Friday, April 16, 2021

Panther News, Friday, April 16, 2021 (video)

Panther News, Friday, April 16, 2021

Produced by Franklin High School's TV Production classes

Edited by Brian Cottman

Video link = https://youtu.be/1eaqIYNQwNs

COVID-19 cases for Franklin mapped with the State

The latest COVID-19 cases for Franklin mapped along with the State

Map your own comparisons here https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/4817758/

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ahlgren_lab/status/1382855372441014275

COVID-19 cases for Franklin mapped with the State

VETERANS, SPOUSES, CAREGIVERS - COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC AT FRANKLIN SENIOR CENTER - April 17

VETERANS, SPOUSES, CAREGIVERS - COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC AT FRANKLIN SENIOR CENTER

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

- 10:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Veterans should bring their DD214 or Military ID

For questions, call Kyle Toto, VA Boston Public Affairs at: (617) 435-4372

Shared from Town of Franklin page: http://www.franklinma.gov/node/315936

COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC AT FRANKLIN SENIOR CENTER - April 17

Reminder: 2020 Franklin Police Response to COVID-19

2020 Franklin Police Response to COVID-19

March 13, 2020 (Updated 6/12/2020)

Dear Residents, Businesses, and Visitors to the Town of Franklin,

As Chief of Police I have enacted several new policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While many of these are internal and deal with how officers will continue to work and provide public safety, there are a few which the public should be aware of. These are effective immediately and will continue until further notice.

Effective March 10, 2020, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency and has urged other agencies to take action to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. As a police department, it is impossible for our employees to cut off all contact with the public, and because our role in the community is so vital, we must respond to this situation with some changes. In response to the state of emergency, and to protect the members of the Department and the public, the Franklin Police Department will implement the following changes until further notice.

· Food - Food brought to the station by members of the community shall not be accepted. Eating from a large common tray of food is an effective way to spread an illness; therefore we shall not take these trays in until further notice.

· Firearms Licensing – Please see the Firearms Licensing page for more detailed information. (Updated 6/12/2020)

· Tours of Station / Ride Along – All tours of the station, and Ride Along requests are suspended until further notice.

· Solicitor Permits – Please see the Solicitor Information Page for more information.

We understand that some of these changes may be an inconvenience to the public. We ask for your consideration as we concentrate our efforts on being prepared to respond to emergency calls for service and continuing to maintain our mission of providing a safe community for all who live, work, and visit the Town of Franklin. These changes outlined above are in place to limit potential exposure of our staff to the virus and keep them healthy and able to respond to emergencies.

Thank you for your understanding, and continued support,

Thomas J. Lynch

Chief of Police

Shared from Town of Franklin page: https://www.franklinma.gov/police-department/news/2020-franklin-police-response-covid-1

Post from June 2020 https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/06/2020-franklin-police-response-to-covid.html

2020 Franklin Police Response to COVID-19 - Updated 6/12/20

Pantherbook: Profile - Olivia Quinn, Franklin Nutrition, and Spring softball

A round up of three articles from Pantherbook:

" Student Spotlight: Olivia Quinn"

"Introducing…Olivia Quinn!

Olivia is a junior at Franklin High School in Franklin MA, and is the Hockomock League (Kelly Rex division) MVP! She’s also been named a Boston Herald AND Boston Globe All Scholastic! Congratulations Olivia!"

Continue reading the article online: https://franklinpanthers.us/top-stories/2021/04/15/student-spotlight-olivia-quinn/

"Restaurant Review: Franklin Nutrition is the Latest Up-and-Coming Café "

"Have you heard about Franklin’s newest café destination? Look no further than Franklin Nutrition.

Franklin Nutrition is run by a family business with Josh Zicherman, Yianna Zicherman, Josh and Yianna’s daughter, Tatyianna Zicherman, and Tatyianna’s husband, Frank Ansah."

Continue reading the article online: https://franklinpanthers.us/top-stories/2021/04/14/restaurant-review-franklin-nutrition-is-the-latest-up-and-coming-cafe/

"Spring Softball Season – A Return to Normal"

"Girls softball tryouts for Franklin High School are right around the corner! With the pandemic still in place, there will be some modifications made to assure a successful and healthy season.

As of right now, softball is considered a moderate risk sport. Players are expected to wear face masks and social distance as much as possible."

Continue reading the article online: https://franklinpanthers.us/sports/2021/04/14/spring-softball-season/

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Viral A cappella Sensation T.3 at THE BLACK BOX Outdoors Under the Tent - Apr 24

THE BLACK BOX will welcome back viral a cappella sensation T.3 as part of their Spring Arts Awakening Series on April 24. T.3 is a New York based vocal group composed of Liam Fennecken (School of Rock), Jim Hogan (Waitress), and Brendan Jacob Smith (The Simon & Garfunkel Story). They gained popularity on social media platforms with covers of Disney, Broadway, and Pop hits. Both in-person and virtual tickets will be available. Masks and social distancing required for the in-person concert.

Jim Hogan is a New York City based actor, singer, and musician. His Broadway National Touring credits include Waitress, The Phantom of the Opera, and Spring Awakening. Hogan has performed as a soloist with Symphony Orchestras across the US and Canada.

Liam Fennecken is a proud graduate of the Penn State BA Theatre program. He is an actor, musician, and songwriter living in NYC. He recently toured the US and South Korea in School of Rock, and has toured North America with Once, American Idiot, and Peter Pan 360.

Brendan Jacob Smith is an actor, singer and songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY. A recent graduate of Ithaca College, Brendan will be playing Art Garfunkel in the US/Canada Company of The Simon and Garfunkel Story. He recently finished up his time as a member of Hyannis Sound, Cape Cod’s professional A capella group, and was seen as Frankie Epps in Parade at The Rev Theatre Company.

In-person and virtual tickets are available at www.THEBLACKBOXonline.com or by calling the box office at 508-528-3370. Follow THE BLACK BOX on social media to stay updated on the venue’s offerings.

Viral A cappella Sensation T.3 at THE BLACK BOX Outdoors Under the Tent - Apr 24

Franklin Downtown Partnership Coordinating the 2021 Harvest Festival - Oct 2, 2021

The Franklin Downtown Partnership (FDP) is forging ahead with planning the 2021 Harvest Festival based on the decrease in COVID-19 cases and the planned widespread vaccination by the fall. The FDP is optimistic that the town can resume its Harvest Festival this year on Saturday, Oct. 2 with a rain date of Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021.

Held every autumn, with the exception of last year, the Harvest Festival draws thousands of people to the closed-off streets of downtown Franklin to enjoy community, entertainment, food, art, kids activities, and more.

“With recent developments with increased vaccine accessibility, a number of FDP members and people throughout the community are seeing some light ahead,” said Scott Martin, president of the Franklin Downtown Partnership Executive Board. “Knowing how we all want to be together again, and how much people want to return to the kind of events that bring our community together, our FDP will move forward with planning our Harvest Festival for the first Saturday in October.”

The Strawberry Stroll, normally held in June, has been canceled for 2021 but the FDP is looking forward to hosting it again in 2022!

The Franklin Downtown Partnership is a nonprofit, 501©3 organization made up of more than 350 business owners, community leaders and residents working to stimulate economic development downtown and create a positive impact throughout the area. https://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/

Planning underway for Franklin Harvest Festival - Oct 2

FM #512 Joint Budget SubComm Mtg- 04/12/21 (audio)

FM #512 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 512 in the series.

This session of the radio show shares the Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting held on Monday, April 12, 2021.

The Joint Budget Subcommittee is made up of members of the Town Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: some of the Finance Committee members, School Committee, Schools Central Office, Town Council members, Town Administrator and key personnel, were in the Council Chambers; the remaining Subcommittee members joined the public via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 25 minutes, so let’s listen to the Joint Budget Subcommittee meeting. Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0e686928-3b7e-4aff-875e-154b55f98b01

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

Joint Budget agenda

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/agendas/2021-04-12_joint_budget_subcommittee_meeting_1.pdf l

Town of Franklin budget page https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget

Franklin Schools budget page https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget

My notes captured from the meeting recording
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/04/recap-joint-budget-subcommittee-meeting.html

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

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm). 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit   Franklinmatters.org/  or www.franklin.news/

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

I hope you enjoy!

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

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

FM #512 Joint Budget SubComm Mtg- 04/12/21 (audio)

FHS volleyball top Mansfield 3-0 to advance to final of Hockomock Cup

From HockomockSports.com we share the FHS sports results:

Volleyball = Hockomock Cup

KR2 King Philip, 3 @ D1 Canton, 1 – Final

KR3 Mansfield, 0 @ KR1 Franklin, 3 – Final

This sets up the final game with Franklin at home vs King Philip on Friday (5:15 PM)

https://hockomocksports.com/wednesdays-schedule-scoreboard-04-14-21/

The Boston Globe has coverage of the KP-Canton match

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/15/sports/king-philip-girls-volleyball-ousts-canton-hockomock-cup-semifinal-next-faces-franklin-final/

FHS volleyball top Mansfield 3-0 to advance to final of Hockomock Cup

Franklin Area NonProfit Network (FANN): meeting info and ACTIONS for April 19, 2021

Coming out of the Franklin Area NonProfit Network (FANN) kickoff meeting (3/29/21), we have the following notes and Actions

Frequency – at least monthly until we get up and running
Will try and lock in a standard day/time
Initial phase is for members to get to know each other. This phase is expected to take anywhere from 4-10 meetings, depending on how many organizations want to get involved and the speed at which we can conduct the introductions. Intent is to invite 10-12 organizations per meeting and provide them up to 5 mins each to tell all about their organization; with a focus on their mission, highlighting services provided and target audience.
During the introduction portion, all should listen carefully to identify touchpoints of connection, potential help or cross referral.

Issues raised from the organization will be placed in the parking lot for future consideration by the group (address via an ad-hoc small group to study or as an upcoming FANN Topic, or ??)

First topic up is Media 101 and speaker is Pete Fasciano, Franklin Community Cable (Franklin TV, Franklin Public Radio)
Also, will want to address creation of Leadership/Steering Comm and Website in either housekeeping or wrap up

Actions:

Organizations can sign up for the “get to know each list” https://forms.gle/cFTsMSu5y4fwfPkP7

We’ll confirm the orgs and order of presentations before each meeting

Meeting agenda for April 19, 2021

700 PM Call to order, review agenda and any housekeeping Steve Sherlock

710 PM Introductions NPO 1

715 PM NPO 2

720 PM NPO 3

725 PM NPO 4

730 PM NPO 5

735 PM NPO 6

740 PM NPO 7

745 PM NPO 8

750 PM NPO 9

755 PM NPO 10

800 PM FANN Topic for the month TBD

820 PM Wrap Up, Actions, Next Month agenda Steve Sherlock

(NPO introductions on schedule, Topic for the month…)

830 PM Adjourn

meeting info and ACTIONS for April 19, 2021

St. Mary's Women's Faith Formation Group - May 1

St Mary's Women's Faith Formation is pleased to announce that Fr. Flavio from La Salette Shrine will be speaking at our May meeting about "Making Mary Part of Our Lives".

Our meeting will be held Saturday morning, May 1, starting at 9:30 AM on Zoom. There will be time for discussion. This meeting is open to all women.

If interested in attending this 45 minute meeting, please email Deacon Guy (deaconguy@stmarysfranklin.org) for Zoom link contact information.

This will be our last session until we restart again in the fall.

St. Mary's Women's Faith Formation Group - May 1

Recap: School Committee approved FY 2022 budget, Parmenter shares highlights, District Improvement Plan status updates

Quick Recap:

School Committee approved their FY 2022 budget after receiving word on the amount the Town would fund (which was not discussed in the Joint Budget meeting on Monday)
Parmenter Elementary presented their highlights using staff, students and children integrated in the presentation
Re-opening fully in person underway, 700+ students remain remote in virtual academy, items being worked here and there; pool testing now Tue/Thu and will continue through end of school year
Updates to the District improvement plan #2 ad #3 provided including
"Marking the moment" of a microaggression as a teachable moment, either on the spot or to return to and address

----
As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.

The Twitter hashtag can be found online #schcom0413
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23schcom0413&src=typeahead_click

Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter c be found in one folder https://photos.app.goo.gl/XowahZLSvMbYnTA58

Real time reporting about to begin for the #schcom0413 meeting
Meeting opens with Chair Bergen reading the standard protocol message, #schcom0413 Executive session to follow public portion. Tim and Jen not yet present for this session via roll call
Agenda doc and connection info can be found #schcom0413 https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/april-13-2021-school-committee-meeting-packet

FHS student updates

FHS student updates; return to school went well, issues with lunch being worked, also with hallway and spacing, National Honor Society doing drive for Food Pantry #schcom0413 today's lunch better than Monday. Track tournament this week, theater beginning new production

Superintendent's report https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/superintendents_report_to_school_committee_april_13_2021.pdf

Superintendent report, box at municipal bldg for food pantry also. Thanks to staff across district for reopening. #schcom0413 grant received for tilt skillet at FHS kitchen $18k, spring sports sign up underway. April vacation next week, stay safe.

Parmenter presentation

Parmenter school presentation next #schcom0413 https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/files/parmenter slides to follow along with
Slides #schcom0413
Approx 46+ via Zoom, additional via live stream, still others via Comcast/Verizon cable. Google transcripts working on the audio feed provides a nice accessible feature. #schcom0413
Love the Maya Angelou quote shared: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." #schcom0413
Multiple short videos with student presentation and voices highlighting the work being done #schcom0413
Poetry unit in 4th grade, civics in 5th grade, examples of work being done #schcom0413
Over 100 new titles added to the school library, good to see some of the titles shared #schcom0413 at school council level a key Ibram X Kendi text was used
#schcom0413 looking for high school or college age mentors for student program, contact the principal if you know of one or more
"if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" Wayne Dyer - another timely quote #schcom0413
BTW as Committee gets into feedback and questions on the Parmenter presentation Keenan and D'Angelo are present #schcom0413
Tiered support common across district albeit named or delivered slightly differently. Also working to align the tiering for content and the tiering for SEL #schcom0413

District improvement plan

Moving on the district improvement plan items #2 and #3 https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/sc_dip_2_and_3_updates_4_13_21.pdf #schcom0413
Mixing metaphors talking of the compass rose as an anchor #schcom0413
"Marking the moment" of a microaggression as a teachable moment, either on the spot or to return to and address #schcom0413
#schcom0413 year 1 of 2 year plan for new social studies framework implementation
8th grade tackling civics this year (interview with soc studies teachers on this shared earlier this school year)
Homework monitoring leading into grading revisions. #schcom0413
Request for presentation on civics action projects for future meeting "Envisions" not meeting needs, may shift to "Illustrative Math". all programs need supplements, no one program is perfect.
Using benchmarks to compare the programs based upon the content taught, also will use MCAS as available. #schcom0413 Next update #3
#schcom0413 remote IEP meetings became a reality due to the pandemic. Leveraged every thing that could be used
After the Parmenter presentation, dropped down to 26+ via Zoom No questions after the #3 round. #schcom0413 Moving to discussion action and the budget

Discussion action items - FY 2022 budget

Did get a 2.2m or 3.4% increase from Town since last time so the previous view of the budget can be reduced to meet the town amount by $700k #schcom0413 Based upon Gov Baker's numbers, not the House/Senate agreement to provide more than the Governor provided
Revised budget pages https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/budget_changes.pdf
#schcom0413 How can we prepay from this year? Favorable amounts in budget this year; subs in particular. There are fewer positions in the budget already
#schcom0413 the gap has been covered in part by COVID funds helping to offset some expense amount. Chair Bergen providing historical background on budget over the years. Two key reasons: 2.5% restriction placed 40+ years ago things cost more each year than that
#schcom0413 1) apples to oranges comparison to compare schools to police/fire. We can only spend what we collect. 2) Special ed is too much. We need to provide for them until they are 22. 3) we are competing for teachers and not overpaying.
Ready to vote on the recommendation; motion and second, vote via roll call passes 6-1 (Pfeiffer no) #schcom0413
Motion and second on policy adoption https://franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/files/d-b-policy … #schcom0413 vote via roll call 7-0

Reopening update

Reopening update https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/reopening_schools_status_update_april_9_2020-2021.pdf
738 virtual only across district per family choice, metrics in packet, pool testing Tues/Thur with students back #schcom0413 follow guidelines please, others schools have gone remote temp due to exposure Will continue pool testing thru end of year, monitoring activity closely
#schcom0413 keeping in mind recruiting; nurses, substitutes, etc. Appreciate flexibility in the community and staff, not all staff is vaccinated yet. 3rd round of stimulus expected in May
#schcom0413 if some purifiers are extra can they be used elsewhere? Any parent concerns, should be addressed to the schools directly. No Community comments, questions.
Joint budget subcomm yesterday. Community relations meeting Apr 28 Policy - mtg 4/29; SWAC update in newsletter this week, last meeting in May. Summer workshop on goals, evaluation anyone for an ad-hoc Committee for that
#schcom0413 Calendar for next meeting, diversity awareness, Remington, draft SchCom calendar for next year

Consent Agenda

Consent agenda - recommend approval, motion and second, passes 7-0 via roll call #schcom0413
Motion to enter executive session and not to return to public, motion and second, passes via roll call 7-0
That's all for tonight, catch you next time!

Recap: School Committee approved FY 2022 budget, Parmenter shares highlights, District Improvement Plan status updates

Drive Up Window Schedule at the Municipal Building - Apr 20

Drive Up Window Schedule at the Municipal Building

On Tuesday, April 20, the Drive-Up window at the Town Hall will be closed due to work on the bricks and glass, as part of the building window project.
The Treasurer's office will be open and residents are welcome to come into the lobby for any in-person transactions.
Thank you.

Drive Up Window Schedule at the Municipal Building - Apr 20

Photography – Reflecting Through Lens and Pen (video)

Marjorie Sardella of Beaux Regards Photographic Art recently gave Zoom presentation to the Franklin Art Association titled "Reflecting Through Lens and Pen."

If you missed the presentation on Zoom, you can view it on YouTube!
https://t.co/5LRLnjc5Uu or here https://youtu.be/e10hYd1yP00
#fdp
#photography

Please help us include non-english speaking residents on this project!

Dear Friend,

We want to thank you for your involvement in the Charles River Watershed Association's project: Building Resilience in the Charles River Watershed. After hosting our initial webinar and several smaller community meetings we are happy to announce that we have some multilingual materials available! Please help us share this survey with any groups that may not have been able to participate due to language barriers.

Building Resilience in the Charles River Watershed

The Charles River Watershed Association has created a flood monitoring tool that will show flooding scenarios in the Charles River Watershed depending on different time periods, rainfall increases, and potential green infrastructure solutions. Members of the Watershed area can use the tool to predict and implement the best ways to respond to flooding due to our changing climate.

If you would like to learn more about the project, watch the video linked below, Or refer to the attached informational flyer. Please take time to fill out this survey and share it with fellow watershed residents. Data that will be used to determine what flooding scenarios and nature-based solutions will be tested with the tool.

Closed captioning on the video, the attached document, and the survey can be found in LANGUAGES.

Feedback Survey

Learn more about the project by watching this video (https://youtu.be/VlaV2256bKg)

CC available in multiple languages

Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW)or CREW, is a 501c3 non-profit devoted to building up grassroots resilience in communities by engaging networks of local leaders through education, service, and planning. We have teamed up with the Charles River Watershed Association to help spread the word about this important project.

Thanks so much for your time,

Hola,

Me llamo Anna, y soy una pasante por CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather). Estamos trabajando con CRWA (Charles River Watershed Association) en un proyecto para monitor la inundación en la Cuenca de Río Charles.

Para el proyecto, queremos respuestas e información de los residentes de la cuenca del Río Charles. Favor de tomar unos minutos para completar ESTA ENCUESTA. También, pedimos que comparta la encuesta y el volante de información con su comunidad. Su voz y opinión son muy importantes!

Gracias por su tiempo,

Anna

Encuesta

Volante de Información

Olá,

Esperamos que este e-mail encontre você bem. Por favor, desculpe o google tradutor. Comunidades que respondem a condições climáticas extremas ou EQUIPE. está trabalhando com a CRWA (Charles River Watershed Association) em um projeto de monitoramento de enchentes na Bacia do Rio Charles.

Para o projeto, queremos respostas e informações dos moradores da bacia do rio Charles. Reserve alguns minutos para concluir ESTA PESQUISA. Além disso, pedimos que você compartilhe a pesquisa e o folheto informativo com sua comunidade. Sua voz e opinião são muito importantes!

Obrigado pelo seu tempo,

Inquérito português