"It's a community challenge"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Nov 15, 2008 @ 11:42 PM

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FRANKLIN —

When Assistant Superintendent of Schools Maureen Sabolinski assumes her new post as superintendent next July, she'll inherit a high-performing school district that lost 44 teachers last year, faces more cuts due to the staggering economy, and still needs to rebuild its high school, which is facing accreditation issues.

There is no question what her top challenge will be, she said: the budget.

"The challenge of leadership is really making things work for the benefit of students with fewer resources. The community has to work together," said Sabolinski.

Despite the setbacks posed by the recession, Sabolinski, a self-described optimist, still sees opportunities for making improvements.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

Listen to her interview with the School Committee and the Q&A session that followed

"We have a unique social environment here"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Nov 16, 2008 @ 08:30 PM

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FRANKLIN —

Raye Lynn Mercer is a pianist, director, producer and choreographer, but it is her vision that's taking the Franklin School for Performing Arts to new heights.

Mercer, who founded the regional school in 1985, is creating a "cultural destination" by combining the school with the Franklin Performing Arts Company to form the New England Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization.

The move should help the school, which is used by about 1,000 performing artists in 45 local communities, Mercer said.

Plans are in the works for a new building which will have three times the space as the existing building at 38 Main St., and which should triple the number of people involved, she said.

"It's ambitious, I know. My vision is to have the venues that we've always needed to showcase our talent," Mercer said.

Currently, the school holds all of its performances, except small recitals, at other locations, such as middle school auditoriums, said Mercer.

"The scheduling of the auditorium is extraordinarily difficult because of the demands for that space, and extremely difficult to put up professional productions. We look forward to having a state-of-the-art performance space," said Mercer.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Statue ceremony 11/19/08

The new statue at the Museum will be unvealed Wednesday, 11/19/08.

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Fund raiser pick up

Parmenter announces their fund raiser pickup for 11/18/08

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Franklin Art Association awards

FRANKLIN - The Franklin Art Association’s "Fall Into Art" festival, presented Nov. 8 and 9, with a gala on Saturday evening, consisted of an open exhibit of more than 140 works of art, bins of members’ artwork and cards for sale, a silent auction of donated paintings and a raffle of artwork donated by members and well-known artists who have demonstrated their talent during the past year, and a gift certificate and gift basket donated by local businesses.

Proceeds from the raffle go to the scholarship fund. Those eligible to receive the annual scholarship are graduating seniors who live and/or attend school in Franklin or who are children or grandchildren of Franklin Art Association members. More than half of the members of the association are from Franklin and the rest are from the greater MetroWest area.

More than 500 people attended the event. Entertainment was provided by members of the Newton Symphony Orchestra and music students of Franklin High School. A variety of food was donated by area restaurants and FAA members.

Read the full article to see all the awards in the Franklin Gazette here

"He’s done a wonderful job for us"

Franklin teen works building handicapped walkway

By By Heather McCarron, STAFF WRITER

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FRANKLIN - Growing up with a handicapped aunt, and spending time as a volunteer at a hospital, 17-year-old Andrew Turgeon has a pretty good idea about the challenges faced by the physically and mentally disabled.

So when he noticed a heavily traveled sidewalk at the Wrentham Developmental Center was showing some disrepair, and posing difficulty for the center’s handicapped residents, he decided to do something about it.

A member of Franklin Boy Scouts Troop 126, Turgeon spent the last couple of months planning and realizing a sidewalk repair project in his quest to attain Boy Scouting’s highest status, Eagle Scout.

And while he was at it, he decided he’d also build a walkway from the campus building out to an existing covered patio area, to make access to that favored warm-weather spot easier for the center’s clients and their caregivers.

The finishing touches were done on Monday — with winter approaching, good timing especially for the main sidewalk.

"The main walkway coming out of the (WDC) campus building was sunk in the middle, so all winter long it’s been covered with ice," explained Turgeon, who spent last Saturday morning overseeing fellow scouts in undertaking the work.

Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here.

In the News - new rail trail, MBTA parking rates

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Nov 13, 2008 @ 09:54 PM

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BLACKSTONE —

Standing among a crowd of conservation enthusiasts at Daniels Farmstead yesterday, Bellingham Conservation Commission Chairman Cliff Matthews presented his town's vision for developing a bike trail that would start at Franklin State Forest and end in Willimantic, Conn.

The planned trail is one of several projects that will benefit from $2.5 million in environmental bond funding that state Rep. Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton, recently secured for her district. Callahan organized a tour yesterday of one site that could benefit, Daniels Farmstead on Mendon Street, where the bike path and other projects were discussed.

Matthews explained that he, the rest of the Conservation Commission, and Town Administrator Denis Fraine want to convert an abandoned railroad bed into a bike path. The old line goes through the Grove Street entrance at Franklin State Forest, to Bellingham, Blackstone, Millville, Douglas, Webster, and into Connecticut.

read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Nov 13, 2008 @ 09:51 PM

Last update Nov 13, 2008 @ 11:34 PM

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FRANKLIN —

Local commuters are miffed the MBTA is doubling the daily parking fee as of tomorrow, particularly in the souring economy, with some saying they will stop parking in the lots.

The MBTA's price hike bumps up Boston-area parking fees from $3 to $6 a day, and parking at Franklin's two stops, Dean College/495 and Forge Park, from $2 to $4 daily.

"I just started taking the commuter rail. I'm not very happy about it,'' said Bellingham resident Vanessa Kaupelis, as she got ready to leave the Forge Park parking lot yesterday afternoon.

"It's $4 to park - that's a bit insane. I wish I could grandfather-in one big pass. Of all the times to be doing this, we're in the middle of a recession, and they're raising the prices?'' she said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here