Via Hockomock Sports and Twitter we can share the results of the FHS gymnastics meet on Friday
This session shares the Franklin, MA School Committee - Davis Thayer Facility Analysis Subcommittee meeting held on Wednesday, Feb 3, 2021.
The meeting was conducted in a remote format; all the subcommittee, Central Office personnel and the public participants were remote via conference bridge, to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Catching up to this, after the fact, yes, but sharing this as a matter of public record. I was unable to participate fully in this meeting on Feb 3 due to the multiple meetings scheduled in competing time slots. You may recall that I chose to cover the Board of Health meeting (5:00 to 5:25 PM - it was short and ended then), the beginning of this meeting (5:30 to 5:43 PM) and left to cover the Economic Development Subcommittee meeting (from 5:45 to 6:50 PM) followed by the Town Council meeting at 7 PM.
I did listen to the recording provided by the Franklin Public Schools to prepare this for sharing. Unfortunately, there is not much to add to what was already reviewed and discussed during the School Committee meeting of Feb 9. In case you did not hear, the School Committee did accept the report and did vote to close the school by a 5-2 vote.
Due to the recording I viewed to make this audio copy, I could not tell how many participants there were. The three members of the committee, Supt Ahern, and Business Manager Miriam Goodman are the voices acknowledged that we hear. At the end of the meeting, Subcommittee Chair Stokes states that they will not take comments as this is their last meeting. So I feel bad for anyone in the public who did participate hoping to get to say something. My two cents would also have been silenced.
The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda.
The recording runs just about 51 minutes. Let’s listen to this segment of the Davis Thayer Facility Analysis meeting of Feb 3, 2021. Audio file => https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ef72fb33-5539-40e0-baf7-3d4eb9b3c6d0
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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?
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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"
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| FM #461 SchComm - Davis Thayer Facility Analysis Meeting - 02/03/21 (audio) |
"THE STATE’S COVID-19 vaccine website now lists available appointments for some locations, part of a new platform the Baker administration launched Friday to smooth the sometimes-challenging process of securing doses.
A new appointment-finder hub on mass.gov/covidvaccine lists all public vaccine sites across Massachusetts, searchable by location — much like the existing website — but will now add information on whether there are vaccination slots available and link visitors directly to the booking page.
Baker administration officials who outlined the new tool said it will eliminate an existing barrier by centralizing availability and searching in one location, rather than listing vaccine sites and requiring residents to search through multiple different separate sites to learn where appointments are still open."
Franklin's COVID-19 status improved this week. The positivity dropped from 4.7 to 3.7. Keep up the good work folks, especially with school vacation here. Be safe, be social (at a distance)!
https://www.canva.com/design/DAERJvYx-CA/RDnuYIFlWB8rUKQrGQlX0Q/view
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| Franklin's COVID-19 status improved this week |
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| St John's Episcopal: Ash Wednesday |
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| FPS: Budget Subcommittee Meeting - March 3, 2021 |
The next Senior Coffee Hour with Officials will be held on Thursday, February 18th at 8:30am.
Find the meeting link here https://t.co/P0l7grjjr0 or else call in (audio only) +1 617-865-5269, Pin 61414166#
(Note - this is using Microsoft Teams for the meeting not Google or Zoom)
Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/0wBntU2NGL
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| Senior Center Coffee Hour - Thu, Feb 18 |
"ToF Offices will be closed on Monday for the President's Day holiday. We will reopen at 8:00am on Tuesday."
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| Town of Franklin, MA: Offices will be closed on Monday, Feb 15 |
Winter weather forecast for the school vacation week ahead of us. Opportunities to get out and about are increasing. Be safe, be social (at a distance)!
If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication: https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6
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| Community Calendar |
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| Franklin Public Schools, MA: Return to School Plan Update and Survey Request |
Senator Rausch State House Briefing
Part 2, Chapter 2 (February 10, 2021)
Dear friends,
I hope you are staying safe and well. I write with some important updates concerning COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and vaccination sites in our district:
Vaccinations Scheduling Call Center: The process of signing up for a vaccination appointment online is frustrating and unnecessarily challenging. My colleagues and I are advocating to change that, and we’ve gotten some positive changes already, like being able to search for appointments by zip code. We also advocated for a call center, and got that too. If you are 75+ or scheduling an appointment for an older adult and you are unable to do so online, call 2-1-1 or (877) 211-6277 for assistance. This service is available between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Unfortunately, you should anticipate long wait times on the phone.
Mass Vaccination Site Coming to Natick: Exciting news for our district! A mass vaccination site is coming to the Natick Mall this month. The first vaccines will be given starting February 22nd, and at full capacity this site will administer up to 3,000 vaccinations daily. Appointments should open up next week.
Expanded Vaccine Eligibility: Effective Thursday, February 11, an individual who accompanies a person age 75 or older to a mass vaccination site will also be eligible to receive the vaccine, if they have an appointment booked together for the same day. Only one companion is permitted.
While
I am heartened to see certain expansions in vaccine access,
I remain very concerned by a lack of racial, economic, and
regional equity in COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Last week, I filed
the COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Act,
crafted in collaboration with infectious disease experts and
legislative colleagues, to generate exactly that equity. Read more below
about my efforts to make vaccine distribution more equitable within our
Commonwealth.
Questions and comments about the COVID vaccine distribution plan and
implementation can be emailed directly to the Baker administration at COVID-19-Vaccine-Plan-MA@mass.gov. I welcome constituents to copy me on those emails as well.
As always, if you or any of your loved ones in my district have fallen
on hard times during this pandemic, please do not hesitate to reach out
to my office via phone (617-722-1555) or email (becca.rausch@masenate.gov). We are here to help. You can also find robust resources to help you navigate through COVID-19 on my website.
Yours in service,
Senator Becca Rausch
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| Senator Rausch: State House Briefing - Feb 10, 2021 |
Via Hockomock Sports we can share the results of the FHS boys hockey game on Thursday
"Even in the most irregular of seasons, Canton and Franklin’s rivalry on the ice matters.
When the two teams met on Thursday night at the Metropolis Rink, the game had no bearing on either winning yet another league title and neither team was preparing for its typical postseason run. But, regardless of the circumstances, both teams skated a little faster and things were a little more intense because of who was on the opposite bench.
Five days ago, Franklin battled back to tie the game only for Canton to score a late winning. On Thursday, nothing could separate the two teams. Twice Franklin went in front and twice Canton found the tying goal. The teams skated to a 2-2 tie, with all four goals scored in the second period.
“We were on the phone for hours one night figuring out how to do this in a shortened season,” said Canton coach Brian Shuman. “I know the kids appreciated it immensely on both teams."
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| FHS boys hockey skates to 2-2 tie with Canton |
"Today, I am announcing the creation of the new Senate Special Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency.
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended assumptions about the way we live, work, and travel in Massachusetts. It has also laid bare long-standing inequities in various aspects of our economy and communities. As we look to the future as we recover from the pandemic, we have a rare opportunity—and a responsibility—to question the status quo and reimagine the path towards continued vibrancy for the Commonwealth.
Massachusetts has historically been a leader in innovation, and we are well poised to lead in the "new normal." But we must ensure that our efforts are integrated across multiple areas. This committee will serve as a hub to synthesize information and share best practices that have been developed in response to COVID-19, as well as a forum for new ideas as to how to move forward. The committee will also work to actively ensure that historical inequities are addressed.
COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives; this committee acknowledges that and asks how we help direct the change we know lies ahead. While the newly-created COVID-19 committee will be focused on pandemic response and the challenges posed by COVID-19 today, the Reimagining Mass committee will be focused on tomorrow and the next day. We have not experienced anything like this pandemic in a hundred years, and this crisis deserves our attention and our best efforts at mitigating its effects.
The Reimagining Mass committee doesn't look like anything the Senate has done in the past, but that's intentional. We will need collaboration and creativity to reimagine our future. But it does draw on the best practices from the working groups the Senate developed last session—on revenue, transportation, COVID-19 and racial justice. These working groups were cross-functional and called on experts from across the Commonwealth, as well as the experience of the Senate members and their constituents. The efforts of the COVID-19 working group resulted in legislation such as vote-by-mail, telehealth, more flexibility for municipalities to work remotely, expansive outdoor and take out options for restaurants, and other innovations spurred by the pandemic. It is my hope that this committee will catalyze innovation in a similar way.
I look forward to the Senate Special Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency acting as a forum for oversight, coordination and ideas as we create a new vision for the Commonwealth's future."
To apply for a vacant position, please submit a resume and cover letter to apply@franklinma.gov. Please put the job title in the subject line of your email.
If you do not have a resume, you may send a completed Application for Employment instead.
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| Town of Franklin: Job Opportunities with DPW and Facilities |
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| FHS gymnastics: Meet Kate, Ryann, and Katie |
Kindergarten registration is open! Please see the attached flyer for info and links!
Registration is ongoing but we are asking families to register their child by March 1st if possible to help us prepare for staffing & class sections.
PDF Flyer for Registration: https://t.co/3IfADqbnPC
Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/HEdrfAblOO
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| Franklin Public Schools, MA: Kindergarten registration is open |
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| No school Friday, vacation week 2/15-2/19 |
"While trials are recruiting or already underway for children 12 and older, companies have yet to enroll younger children. It will probably be another year before vaccines are available for them, said Robert Frenck, the principal investigator for the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine trial at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who also oversees the AstraZeneca clinical trial there.
At least four companies — Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Janssen — are planning to start trials for younger children this spring, according to Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology, and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine. It is “critical to include all populations including infants and young children in safety trials,” she said in an email, adding that doing so “will be important to prevent individual pediatric infection as well as transmission to family members, teachers and other caregivers.”
"Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin and voting rights advocates want to allow Massachusetts residents to vote by mail for any reason. But is that constitutional?
The Massachusetts Constitution explicitly says the Legislature can authorize absentee voting for just three reasons: if someone is out of town, physically disabled, or cannot vote on Election Day due to a religious belief.
Lawmakers acknowledged the constraint in 2013, when they considered but did not act on a constitutional amendment to allow absentee voting for any reason.
“There’s been a long-term traditional view that opportunities to vote by mail in Massachusetts are constrained by the Constitution, which specifies particular conditions under which you can do this,” said Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University."
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has just updated their transportation guidance, which can be found online here: https://t.co/9LeGeMqRGj
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| DESE Updates Transportation Guidance |
As a reminder, our Rotary Club of Franklin MA Valentine's Day Virtual Fine Art Auction fundraiser preview is live today (Wednesday)!
We ask that you kindly share our flyers via email to all of your friends and family and encourage them to Register for their Bid Number and see the art that is up for auction right now! Because this is virtual event, it can be enjoyed by everyone you know, from all over the U.S. and it only takes a minute to Register at bid.marlinart.com.
This is our very first virtual fundraiser event and we cannot do this alone. Perhaps someone you know will win the $100 gift card, simply by registering and obtaining a Bid Number. Also, purchased art is framed and will be shipped to their home address, FREE within the U.S.!
Thank you in advance for your help in making this fundraiser a success.
Diane M. Padula
Rotary Club of Franklin MA-Fine Art Auction PREVIEW BEGINS
