Print extras in today's Milford Daily News

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Print extras in today's Milford Daily News

via The Milford Daily News News RSS by Staff reports on 11/20/10

Every day, The Milford Daily News prints stories you will not find anywhere else. In today's edition, read about a lockdown drill at Hopedale Junior-Senior High School; talk of setting up a nonprofit to run Franklin's cable TV studio; and columnist Lenny Megliola's take on the Celtics' Kevin Durant.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to The Milford Daily News News RSS using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

There are three good advantages for those folks in Franklin. MA and beyond who want to keep up with what happens in Franklin.

First, you can visit Franklin Matters and get the information about the business of Franklin, everyday in one place.

Second, you have an option to subscribe via RSS feed or email, or just visit the site from a bookmark or list of favorites. If you want to skip the daily dose and go right to the weekly summary, you can get that either via RSS, email, or iTunes.

Third, while my colleagues at the Milford Daily News are out to sell something, I am not. So when I report from the Town Council or School Committee meeting you get all the information available from the meeting as it is discussed. You don't need to wait until Saturday to have to buy the paper to find out that Franklin is considering establishing a non-profit 501(c)3 entity to run the cable feeds for the town.

The Cable Update was published Wednesday night and the full recap of the Town Council meeting was collected as well.

Your choice to stay informed on all the business of Franklin.

Because Franklin MAtters!

In the News - Tri-County

Medway farm to be repaired by Tri-County students

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Julie Balise/Daily News staff

Explore the Tri-County website to find out more about what they do  http://www.tri-county.tc/index.php



Franklin, MA

A great "Holiday Care Package" idea for the members of our Armed Forces in Afghanistan or Iraq

First, I hope that this message finds you and your families in good health and spirits.

Second, as we approach the holidays, I ask that you give some thought to performing a random act of kindness for a member of our military serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. You can perform this random act of kindness by:

1. Sending a Holiday Care package to a member of our Armed Services

or

2. Making a donation to the USO (http://www.uso.org/).


For the first option, a holiday package can be sent via the USPS to one of the Chaplain addresses found at http://www.cjtf101.com/files/CJTF101%20com%20RST%20MAILING%20ROSTER%20(2).pdf (skip the “Redeploying soon” addresses).

For example, my wife and I know someone at FOB Gardez so we are sending Holiday Care packages to:

Chaplain
Chaplain Section,
FOB GARDEZ,
APO AE 09354

with a note asking the Chaplain to distribute the gift to a Service Member who may not receive a holiday care package from home. 

However, you can select one of the other addresses and use the above format. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find addresses for a US Marine base but perhaps a reader of this can share a Marine base address.

The Holiday Care packages that Beth and I are sending includes Xmas candy (chocolate bar and jelly beans), socks, trail mix bars, a small packet of Oreo cookies, soap, and a Xmas card. The Xmas card is addressed to “A member of our Armed Services at FOB Gardez” and signed the Kelliher Family. We are not addressing the card to “a Soldier” because members of the Army, Air Force, and Navy are all stationed at the base and the term soldier would be inappropriate for members of the Air Force or Navy. In addition, we are packing the items in a Holiday theme gift bag before we place the bag in the box so that the idea of a Holiday gift is reinforced.

Incidentally, the large Priority Mail Flat-Rate box, only costs $12.50 to send to a overseas military zip code like 09354 and the box can be filled with a nice collection of candy, socks, soap, and other items.

Please utilize the list http://www.cjtf101.com/files/CJTF101%20com%20RST%20MAILING%20ROSTER%20(2).pdf to pick another base. We would like to show our appreciation at more than one base.

Please share the “Holiday Care package” suggestion with your friends, relatives, and co-workers.

Regards and Season’s Greetings,

Charlie Kelliher



Franklin, MA

In the News - Remington, trees on Common

Franklin students help needy with Turkey Trot

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Diseased trees cut down on Franklin Town Common

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Staff reports

Franklin, MA

Sign the Food Revolution Petition

Jamie Oliver is working on his Food Revolution to change the way families eat and cook. He created a stir when he came to Huntington, WV last year and as I recall he is going to LA this year.

He has started a petition to take to the President to get the FDA to change the way they establish the requirements for school lunches.

You can find out more about Jamie's work on his website  http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution

You can sign the petition here http://www.jamieoliver.com/jfr-beta/petition_beta.php#petForm

You can get recipes for school lunches here http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/school-food


Franklin, MA

5th Annual Casino Night - tonight!

Today, the Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) will hold its 5th Annual Casino Night at the Franklin Elks from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The event will feature Black Jack, Roulette and Money Wheel as well as raffles, a Silent Auction, cash bar and FREE hors d’oeuvres. The event is well known as a fun evening out with friends and neighbors, all while contributing to a worthwhile cause.

Admission is $25. To avoid waiting in line at the door, advance ticket purchase is recommended. For ticket purchase, auction donation or sponsorship information, please contact Peter Minor at (508) 541-6700 or peter@peterminor.com. Cash only accepted for chip purchase. Checks and Visa/MC accepted for Silent Auction items. For more information visit www.franklined.org.

Since 1997, The Franklin Education Foundation events have raised well over $190,000 which has been distributed to Franklin public schools in the form of special grants. All Franklin Public School staff members are eligible to submit creative, innovative ideas for programs or activities that would not traditionally be funded by tax dollars. To see a list of programs FEF have funded over the years, visit www.franklined.org.


Franklin, MA

Attention Franklin: Important Dates for your calendar

Dec 8, 2010 - a new meeting was added to the Town Council calendar. This is the annual exercise to set the tax rate. I hope to have the data in time to update the analysis that I did last year. I expect the tax rate to increase from the 12.03%. The question is will it go higher than the 14.21% rate that was set in 1997. The low rate for the record was in 2007 at 8.86$

You can find last year's analysis here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/11/fm-50-slidecast.html


Jan 25, 2011 - a presentation and discussion on the issue of full vs half day kindergarten. As has been said frequently by the School Committee, full day is on the table this year. It is likely to be included in the level service budget they initially come forward with. How much revenue the school budget can expect from the Town and state will determine how much of a gap there will be, and hence what options they'll need to consider to balance the budget.

Jan 29, 2011 - school budget workshop, this will be a good opportunity to get into the details and nuances of the budget, cost drivers, etc. The information in this session will set the stage for the school budget actions to come later.

Feb 1, 2011 - announced as the presentation of the school budget formal presentation at the regularly scheduled School Committee meeting.

If you heard the School Committee on Tuesday evening, you heard clearly that they are not interested in changing their ways of communication.

If you did not view the meeting, tune into this section here

Given the reluctance of the current School Committee to consider changing their ways, anyone with any interest in the schools needs to start taking an interest now.

Re-districting is another distinct possibility, they really should have done it earlier to avoid some of the imbalance in class sizes amongst the schools. They have chosen to move slowly. Why? Maybe they can answer. I won't speculate for them.

Both of these issues affect the entire school population. Never mind getting into a tough budget year next year AND the high school renovation pending some realistic dollar figure being attached to it after all kinds of speculation.

Given all this, one would expect a significant communication effort to come forward. As was made clear by their litany of excuses explanations during their meeting Tuesday, they are comfortable with their efforts and don't see the need to change.

You can ask them. You can get involved.

Franklin, MA