In the News - Seniors play Wii

FRANKLIN —

Watch out, bingo. Wii has got seniors cheering, jumping out of their seats and swinging the "Wiimote" faster than they can stamp a square.

After reading that senior citizens are the second largest market for Nintendo Wii, Susan Bonvilar, director of enrollment for Suffolk University students at Dean College, decided to bring the video game system, to the Forge Hill Senior Living Center.

Last week, one dozen seniors offered stiff competition for six students in the Suffolk University Networking Club based at Dean, in their first Wii-bowling tournament at the center.

They rolled up in wheelchairs, put aside walkers, and grabbed hold of the Wiimote, a remote control which simulates a bowling ball.

"I love it. I love it because I like to bowl, I always used to bowl," said Janet Caton, a senior at the center who played for the second time last week.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News

In the news - how to handle stormwater

The Boston Globe Globe West section features an article today on how local towns are handling storm water. Franklin is amongst those mentioned. The new technology for handling this run off will get more discussion as the downtown redevelopment plans move forward.

"Before, the thinking was just to get the water off the road for safety reasons, and there wasn't much thought given to pollution," said Denise Zambrowski, storm-water manager for the town of Franklin. "But we have 48 miles of streams and 266 acres of ponds, and 95 percent of our watershed ends up in the Charles River. We are now giving storm water a serious look."

Zambrowski said the town recently received a $131,000 federal matching grant to pay for several projects, including installing a man-made wetland area or other technology to capture runoff from a large condominium development near Route 140. Storm water from the complex, which has approximately 200 units, flows through overflow pipes directly into Mine Brook, a tributary of the Charles.

Franklin, like a number of other area communities, is also considering redeveloping its town center to make it more pedestrian and retail-friendly, and officials are considering measures such as storm-water planters as part of the redesign, she said.

Read the full article here.

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Brick Classroom FY09 budget status (audio)

A segment from the Franklin School Committee meeting on 2/26/08, Supt Wayne Ogden answers a question from Sue Rohrbach on the Brick FY09 budget status.

Time: 2 minutes, 9 seconds



MP3 File

The full segment from which this piece was taken can be found here.

The full meeting summary can be found here.

Pay to Ride or 20 Teachers? (audio)

A segment from the Franklin School Committee FY09 budget discussion during the 2/26/08 meeting, one option to save some teachers (instead of cutting 45 positions) would be cutting instead the entire pay-to-ride program. Supt Wayne Ogden explains.

Time: 2 minutes, 4 seconds



MP3 File

The full segment from which this piece was taken can be found here.

The full meeting summary can be found here.

Where in Franklin? #43

Where in Franklin? #43, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Hmm, where in Franklin would you find this white mill structure?

The guidelines for playing "Where in Franklin?" can be found here.

Where in Franklin? Answer #42

Where in Franklin? Answer #42, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Yes, the giant fish netting in picture #42 can be found along RT 140 as part of the Franklin Country Club driving range.

Thanks for playing. How about someone giving ltsjs some competition? ltsjs has been on a streak!

Stay tuned for the next opportunity to discover "Where in Franklin?"