"encouraged residents to conserve water"

By Lindsay Corcoran, Daily News Correspondent

GHS

Posted Jun 27, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

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After weeks of rainy weather, many residents may wonder why their towns are instituting water bans.

Franklin, Hudson, Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway, Wayland and Southborough have all implemented bans on outdoor water usage for various reasons.

A reason for many of the bans is a requirement by the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees public water supply use in Massachusetts, that towns with public water systems maintain certain usage limits.

"If (the town) has a permit from us, they are going to be doing some kind of restriction year in and year out," said Duane LeVangie, chief of the DEP's Water Management Program.

....

Franklin gets its water from 12 wells and implements a water ban every year, usually from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with an option to extend the ban if supplies are low.

"We have every intention of lifting the ban on time this year," said Robert Cantoreggi, Franklin's director of public works. "All of the (rain) this year is helping a lot."

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News

Looking for your help

Train depot building gone

Additional photos from my phone camera (hence lesser quality).

The empty concrete platform



Breaking up the concrete platform



Repeating questions from yesterday's post:

Does anyone know when this building was last in operation?

Did anyone have relatives who worked there loading freight to/from the trains?

Franklin 4th of July celebration schedule

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Franklin 4th of July celebration schedule

via Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 6/25/09

The town's 4th of July Celebration Committee is gearing up for the town's annual Independence Day festivities on the town common, which begin next Wednesday and run through July 5. Below find the schedule of events.

Wednesday July 1

6-10 p.m.: Booths (optional) and rides open; Okey Dokey DJ.

Thursday July 2

6-10 p.m.: Booths and rides open (no children's entertainment)

7-1o p.m.: Local youth bands

10 p.m.: Fireworks at Franklin High School, Oak Street (Rain date: Monday, July 6)

Friday July 3

10 a.m.-10 p.m.: Everything Open

10 a.m.: Children's parade at town common

11 a.m.-7 p.m.: Children's activities

12-2 p.m.: Okey Dokey DJ

2-5 p.m.: Random Play

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Okey Dokey DJ

7-10 p.m.: Digger Dawg

Saturday July 4

Children's Day

9 a.m.: Road race registration

10 a.m.-10 p.m.: Everything open

10 a.m.: Children's road race

11 a.m.: Adult road race

11 a.m.-7 p.m.: Children's activities

12-12:45 p.m.: Jamie Barrett performs

12:45-2 p.m.: Okey Dokey DJ

2-4 p.m.: Franklin Idol under 14

4-6:30 p.m.: Franklin Idol 15 and up

7-10 p.m.: Corvairs

Sunday July 5

1-7 p.m.: Everything open

1- 2:30 p.m.: Parade

3-7 p.m.: Children's activities

3-5 p.m.: Interfaith music concert

6 p.m.: Franklin Idol winners announced

7 p.m.: Closing ceremonies (Raffle drawings and lowering of flag)

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES

Friday July 3: Children's parade at 10 a.m., Parrot Lady at 11 a.m., Lunch with Elmo at 12 p.m., SpongeBob Craft at 1 p.m., Cinderella Story at 2 p.m., Photo with Elmo at 3 p.m., Creature Teachers from 4-7 p.m.

Saturday July 4: Children's road race at 10 a.m., Photo with SpongeBob at 11 a.m., Lunch with Cinderella at 12 p.m., Story with Elmo at 1 p.m., Franklin Idol (under 14) 2-4 p.m.; Princess Photos, 4 p.m., Dinner with Super Heroes, 5 p.m., Snow White Story, 6 p.m.

Sunday July 5: Parade, 1-2:30 p.m., Regal Reptile from 3-5 p.m., Super Hero Phohtos at 5 p.m., Snow White Craft at 6 p.m., Franklin Idol winners announced at 6 p.m.

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Franklin: train depot eye sore no more

Franklin: train depot eye sore no more, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The old and falling apart railroad building next to the Agway on Cottage Street near the corner of Union is no longer.

The demolition crew was working on breaking up the concrete foundation on Friday. What remained of the red painted boards were in some large dumpsters waiting to be trucked away.

I have an interest in the old days and particularly in the way things were done. I managed to work in a steel mill in RI for a couple of summers between college before the mill closed.

Does anyone know when this building was last in operation?

Did anyone have relatives who worked there loading freight to/from the trains?

"designed to give them experience"

By Nick O'Malley/Daily News correspondent

Milford Daily News

Posted Jun 26, 2009 @ 10:55 PM

Last update Jun 26, 2009 @ 11:43 PM

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FRANKLIN —

In response to the deflating summer job market for teenagers, the Bernon Family Branch YCMA is starting a new training program to help teens become more marketable.

The Teen Corps volunteer workplace skills program will train teenagers who had planned to get jobs this summer, but who have been unable since many companies have stopped hiring - particularly inexperienced teens for summer-only work, according to the program's coordinator, Christina Puleo.

"We put this program together in response to the lack of jobs in the area for teens," Puleo said. "I actually have had a couple of parents that have called me that planned for their children to get jobs and they've said many of those jobs have gone to adults."

Read the full article about this youth program in the Milford Daily News here

Commuter rail seeks customer feedback

In an effort to be more responsive to customers, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad today introduced a program to solicit feedback from customers and to better inform management on all areas of performance including fare collection, cleanliness and on-time performance.

In a press release, Richard A. Davey, general manager of the commuter railroad, said, "It is critical that we hear from customers about our performance and that we remain accountable through providing accessible performance statistics are to riders.

"By putting our on-time performance on the internet and in stations, we will ensure riders have every opportunity to know about our efforts to provide safe and reliable commuter rail service."

The commuter rail company is asking customers to grade performance, by signing up to take part in a week-long electronic survey about the service they have experienced on their train. Customers completing this survey will be entered into a drawing to win a free monthly pass. As part of its customer information efforts, the company will post monthly on-time performance numbers online at www.mbcr.net and at South, Back Bay and North stations.

This is the latest MBCR effort to better understand the service their customers receive and to provide customers with easily accessible performance records for all commuter rail trains operated by MBCR on behalf of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Davey said.

The program is part of MBCR's ongoing effort to raise awareness of the company's goal to achieve at least 95 percent on-time average performance throughout the system and to improve the traveling experience.

MBCR operates and maintains the fifth largest commuter rail network in the United States under a contract with the MBTA. MBCR provides service to 40 million passengers a year in nearly 80 cities and towns in Massachusetts, as well as Providence, R.I.

This was originally posted on the Franklin/Wicked Local Gazette

My 2 cents: If the MBCR/MBTA really wants to listen to the riders, all they need to do is pay attention to what the riders are already saying on their blogs or in Facebook, Twitter, etc. about the performance. Even Clever Commute is a better peer-based information delivery system on what is hapening with the schedule than the current T-Alerts.