4th Annual Pen to Picture Graphic Novel Celebration - May 16

The Franklin Public Library, in collaboration with Franklin Middle School, is hosting the fourth annual Pen to Picture graphic novel celebration! This year we are thrilled to welcome Colleen AF Venable 

Meet the author, hear about her creative process, and join us for book signings, photo ops, and breakout sessions.

Target audience is age 8-14 but this event is free and open to all!

Join us at the Franklin Public Library May 16 at 1 PM

Shared from - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551606135109407/?multi_permalinks=4331504707119522&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen

Crafters sought for the 2026 Craft Fair at Tri-County, Nov 14

Our 2026 Craft Fair will be held on November 14, 9am-3pm, at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School. The application to our juried craft fair is now available. All participants from last year should have an email with the application and contract attached.

If you'd like to participate this year and were not in our fair last fall, please download the application and contract. The deadline to be included in the jury process is July 10th.

Any questions please email us at rotarycluboffranklinma@gmail.com or send a DM to this page. Do not respond to any messages with any individuals, if anyone is contacting you and asking for online payment, they are a scammer. We will only communicate via our official email address or through this page, and we only accept checks for payment with a mailed application to our PO Box.

Please note that our Craft Fair is for handmade items only. We do not accept MLM companies or other resellers, the person listed on the application must be in attendance, no sales reps are allowed. Please review the materials carefully and be sure to include all required information on your application, including email address, and payment for the booth space and any extras (tables, electricity).

Photographs are required and should follow the guidelines set forth on the application and contract. Missing information may result in us not being able to consider you for one of our spots so please take your time with this. We will be jurying during the last weeks of July and will send out acceptances in August.

Shared from - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DckdBM1FL/

Town Council's Communication Subcmte meets for the first time Monday, April 27 (video)

The Town Council's Communication Subcmte met for the first time on Monday, April 27, 2026 as scheduled at noon. All four members participated, 3 in the 3rd floor training room, 1 remote (Grella).

Chair Caroline Griffith opened the session. She opened for comments from the committee members on what their ideas were. Councilor Max Morrongiello, then Councilor Jane Callaway-Tripp and Councilor Gene Grella shared their ideas before Chair Griffith completed the round.

Liz Kalaijian, Director of Communications & Community Engagement as well as Julie McCann, Operations Manager participated.

Franklin TV video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZWNXNKTd8

Meeting agenda - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2270 

My set of notes from the meeting in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JiB0YpZXFHfWRnnMBQM7u26r8qx6cOiJ/view?usp=drive_link

Community Closet Closed Today, Tuesday, April 28 due to construction

We’re sorry for the inconvenience, friends — the Community Closet will be closed Tuesday (April 28) due to construction work happening at the church. Donations can still be dropped off and volunteers will be onsite sorting, but the Closet will not be open for shopping.

While we know this may disrupt your plans, we’re grateful for the improvements being made. These updates will help us serve you better, create a safer and more accessible facility for everyone who walks through our doors.

Good news: We plan to be open again next Tuesday, May 5, from 12–2 PM for shopping.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support. We can’t wait to welcome you back next week!

Franklin United Methodist Church

Learn more: FranklinUMC.org/Community/Closet

Shared from - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CJC2yzbry/

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Tuesday, April 28, 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:

wfpr.fm Schedule for Tuesday, Franklin Public Radio

Tuesday

SAFE Radio – Jim Derick and Dr. Anne Bergen Addressing issues of Drug Abuse Disorder 

Jazz Journey – with Pamela Hines - An insightful tour of Jazz Greats in a golden era

Franklin Public Radio wfpr.fm Schedule for Tuesday

Franklin TV schedule for Tuesday, April 28, 2026 (Your local Public, Education & Government "PEG" station)

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

7:00 am ArtWeek: Theater in the Open

7:30 am     Franklin Matters: Joe Landry YMCA

9:00 am Sons & Daughters of Italy: Ciambotta

10:00 am Frank Presents: Djuna Perkins

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Taquitos

12:30 pm Cooking with Linda: Italian Sausage

1:30 pm     Pizzapalooza: Margherita Pizza

2:00 pm New England Candlepins Summer 2023 Show 1

3:00 pm Candlepin New Generation: Show 4

3:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Student Athletes Pt 1

5:30 pm Jon Mitchell & Randy LaRosa: 12-Tone Music

9:00 pm SAFE Coalition Gala 2026

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

7:00 am Middle School Winter Music: 2025: Band

8:30 am FHS Concert Hour 02-25-26

10:00 am Sons & Daughters of Italy: Ciambotta

1:00 pm FHS Varsity Softball v North Attleboro 04-08-26

3:00 pm MSTCA Track Meet Pt 2 04-28-24

7:00 pm All-Town Chorus & Orchestra 2026

8:30 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Student Athletes Pt 1

9:30 pm Franklin Footlighters: Footloose

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

8:00 am School Committee 04-14-26

12:00 pm Joint Budget Subcommittee 04-16-26

2:00 pm School Committee 04-14-26

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

Keep calm & continue on: there is a Large scale police & fire training set for Davis Thayer Tuesday, April 28

via Franklin Police Dept:

"There will be a large-scale police and fire training at the Davis Thayer School on Tuesday 4/28 and Wednesday 4/29. You can expect a large first responder presence in the area."

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CHSHaVTrH/

Monday Recycling Route - Incomplete for Franklin, MA

View this in your browser

April 27, 2026 Monday Recycling Route - Incomplete Update from Waste Management: "Due to a mechanical failure, today’s recycle route (Monday) was not completed. Affected areas are highlighted in BLUE on the attached map. These areas will be collected tomorrow. We apologize to the residents of Franklin for the inconvenience." View it on website

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Monday, April 27, 2026 ???

Monday, April 27

For 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

Note: Senior Center checking on why their events are suddenly being shown as "All Day". You can use the monthly newsletter for specific program/event times

***  Town Meetings today   ***

Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Monday, April 27 Time: 12:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2270 

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, April 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2266 

Franklin School Committee Horace Mann Legacy Sub Committee Meeting

Monday, April 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2263

Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, April 27 Time: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2272 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, April 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2271 

250th Anniversary Celebration Committee Historical Importance Subcommittee

Monday, April 27 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2273

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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

"Give My Regards to Franklin: A Cabaret" scheduled for May 9 at 8 PM

"Give My Regards to Franklin: A Cabaret"
scheduled for May 9 at 8 PM

"On May 9th at 8:00 PM, FPAC presents Give My Regards to Franklin: A Cabaret featuring singers from the Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC)! 

FPAC, Franklin’s own Actors’ Equity Professional Theater, is thrilled to welcome back talented singers from their past productions to THE BLACK BOX stage for a fun evening of music. 

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

Shared from - https://www.instagram.com/p/DXe0SbVEs4h/

FY 2027 Budget Narrative: Purchasing Department

From the Town Administrator's FY 2027 Budget narrative, each department's story is worth sharing. 

General Purpose

Procurement for the Town of Franklin is centralized and is responsible for ensuring that services, supplies, equipment and construction related activities are procured in an efficient and cost effective manner.  The mission of Central Services is to proactively review the status of shared copiers and mailing equipment to ensure that the Town/School shared equipment will meet the demands of its users. Central Services budget also covers costs associated with the Town’s permanent record storage/retrieval and postage.

Core Functions

● Procure supplies, services, contractors and consultants following the requirements of Massachusetts procurement laws while providing efficiency and best value to Town Departments and Staff, and ultimately, to the taxpayers.

● Provide guidance and training on procurement steps to management.

● Provide a transparent and open procurement process that demonstrates Franklin’s commitment to providing competitive opportunities that are fair to all bidders.

● Proactively maintain status on shared copiers and mailing equipment to ensure that the Town/School shared equipment meets the demands of its users.

 

Staffing

● One (1) Chief Procurement Officer

Strategic Initiatives & Accomplishments

● During the past Fiscal Year, conducted 95 procurements through the use of Invitations for Bids, Requests for Proposals, Cooperative Contracts, Collective Contracts, OSD Statewide Contracts, and Requests for Written Quotes which totaled over $31,000,000 in contracted services and supplies for the Town.

● Publicly auctioned surplus supplies through the Municibid platform totaling over $21,000, which was returned to the General Fund.

● Transitioned maintenance of procurement records to a digital format, thereby, creating a more efficient manner of maintaining records per the Massachusetts Public Records Law guidelines.

● Provided procurement training to personnel who are involved in making purchasing decisions to ensure that they are knowledgeable about processes and procedures under Massachusetts law.

FY27 Requested Budget Highlights

● Begin transition from purchased to leased copiers by replacement of the seven (7) oldest copiers which are out of contract and difficult to obtain replacement parts for. Remaining copiers owned by the Town will move to a lease arrangement over the next two years, which will ensure that all departments have copiers that are current and in good working order. Estimated FY27 costs to lease these copiers is $25,705.20, which will be paid from the Central Services Budget.

FY27 Requested Budget Summary

In the past, the Town purchased copiers and would keep them in use until we were no longer able to obtain replacement parts for repair. Moving to a leased copier arrangement will ensure that all Town copiers are current and in good working order. Leased copier costs include all general maintenance and service costs each year of the lease term. The cost also includes replacement toner and staples. If the request for funding to move the seven oldest copiers out of service and replace them with leased copiers is denied, the Town will incur greater costs as the older copiers are out of contract resulting in service charges. In addition, it is extremely difficult to obtain replacement parts for the older copiers which could lead to departments not having a working copier.

The PDF of this section - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ReQjcE90xbIRal6RuGjFl4HMs9hzYeKQ/view?usp=drive_link

For the full FY 2027 budget narrative -  https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8912/FY27-Budget-Narrative-FINAL-1

The FY 2027 budget information can be found 

https://www.franklinma.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=577

Testimonials recorded at the SAFE Gala - April 17, 2026 (audio)

FM #1730 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1730 in the series. 

This episode shares the testimonials I was able to gather during the SAFE Coalition Gala held on April 17, 2026 at Gillette Stadium. I was fortunate to have an official Press Pass for the evening and am grateful to be able to share these recorded testimonials with the community. 

Testimonials from

• Lucas Giguere, Superintendent Franklin Public Schools

• Jim Derick, co-founder of the SAFE Coalition

• Jeff Roy, Franklin’s State Representative

• Bob Dellorco & Greg Connor

The conversation runs about 15 minutes, let’s listen

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1730-testimonials-at-safe-gala-04-17-26/

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SAFE Coalition web page  https://www.safecoalitionma.org/ 

Franklin TV recorded the speaker portion of GALA  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Xby1B-lQM 

Video testimonial from Mark, a client of SAFE https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/04/safe-coalition-hear-marks-story-video.html 

Other links of the SAFE Gala  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/04/safe-coalition-holds-their-10th.html 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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!

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