"It's been a crazy winter"

... the same goes for Franklin, which has had four-and-a-half snow days this year. Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said starting the school year earlier allows for more learning time. 

Of course, not having one full week of school in January has made it difficult for teachers to maintain momentum with their curriculum and get kids ready for Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests. 

"The staff has expressed concerns with the disruption to the instructional program," said Sabolinski. "It impacts teachers' plans, their curriculum, and preparation for MCAS." 

She said that while teachers may not be happy, students are most likely cheering every time the School Department calls their homes announcing school is canceled. 

"I think the kids enjoy it tremendously," said Sabolinski.

Read the full article on snow days in the Milford Daily News here




Franklin, MA

Help for senior citizens struggling to pay their property taxes?

If Sudbury can do this, why not Franklin?

“Some people will pay a little more and another group will pay less, so the total amount we raise will be just like it was before,’’ he said. 

Tyler said the plan calls for increasing the tax burden on residential taxpayers by 0.5 percent, or about $50 a year for the average taxpayer. The additional money would be used to reduce the taxes of about 300 homeowners who pay more than 10 percent of their income on property taxes, Tyler said. He said if the town raises about $300,000 from the shift, each qualifying senior would get a break of about $1,000. 

“This is a really caring community in Sudbury, and it was a proposal people could really buy into,’’ Tyler said.

Read the full article in the Boston Globe West edition here


Franklin, MA

Are we born to run?

As a life long runner, a lover of cross country (where to be successful you need to run in a pack), Christopher McDougal's TED Talk strikes a resounding bell for me. Will I ditch my shoes and start running longer? I don't think so. Ditching shoes to run in an urban environment is too risky. Nevermind the kind of weather we are having, running wouldn't be practical at all.

You do need to walk before you run. And in this weather, if you don't want to venture outside as the sidewalks are not cleared enough, go to the High School. Tue-Wed-Thu evenings beginning about 5:30 (as I recall) there is an indoor walking club. You can walk the halls of the school in the relative comfort of the indoor space and get the healthy exercise your body craves.



As the weather improves, move the walk outside. Walk through your neighborhood, walk to downtown and back, explore side roads in Franklin. There are lots of good opportunities for walking.

When you can walk 4-5 miles comfortably, when you can walk and talk the whole way without breathing heavy, then, and only then, should you consider bringing your walk to a faster pace. After being comfortable at a faster pace for some time (perhaps several weeks), then you can consider taking your faster walking pace into a jog or easy running pace.

What kind of pace is that? Covering the 5 miles in close to an hour. If you can do the 5 miles in under an hour, you should be ready.

Should everyone run? Maybe not, but most everyone should be able to walk.


Franklin, MA

Leadership in Action: Dominic Orr

Three business leaders will continue the year-long series of presentations at Dean College’s “Leadership in Action” program in February and March.

The first speaker this month is Dominic Orr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aruba Networks will speak on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, Campus Center Atrium, 4:00 pm.

Mr. Orr was named President and CEO of Aruba Networks in April 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Orr served as the company’s Chairman of the Board, and previously he was the president of Nortel Networks, Intelligent Internet Web Systems. He previously served as the president and chief executive of Alteon WebSystems which merged with Nortel Networks in October, 2000.

Mr. Orr has more than 20 years of experience in the computer systems and communication networking industry and has held senior positions at Bay Networks, Hewlett-Packard and Hughes Aircraft. Mr. Orr is a member of the Sciences Board of Visitors at UCLA. He holds a BS in physics from City University of New York and a MS and PhD from California Institute of Technology.

Two more speakers will be featured in this series: choreographer, dancer and Dean alum Jay T Jenkins, (stet), on February 22, and James A. Anderson, Jr., DPM, podiatrist on March 21.

These program are free of charge and open to the public. 

Please RSVP to alumni@dean.edu or call 888-711-3326.

Franklin, MA

In the New - rollover

Three taken to hospital after rollover on I-495 near Franklin

by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

Dean College - "Think Pink"

The Dean College Women’s Basketball team, in conjunction with the Sisterhood and the Student Government Association are sponsoring the second annual “Think Pink” night to raise awareness about breast cancer. The groups will be selling “Think Pink” tee shirts to raise money for the College’s Relay for Life team later this Spring.

The shirts are available at the basketball team’s 6 p.m. game on Thursday, February 10 at the Pieri Gym on School Street, on the College’s campus in Franklin.

Admission to the basketball game is free, but a suggested donation of $3 per person will go to the “Relay for Life” team. Tee shirts are available in white, pink or black and range in price from $8 to $12.

Attendees are encouraged to wear pink. Refreshments, activities and drawings will be available during the basketball game.

Franklin, MA

MA sales tax less than national average

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

MA sales tax less than national average

via Commonwealth Conversations: Revenue by Robert Bliss on 2/4/11

The non-partisan, non-profit Tax Foundation has released its latest ranking of state sales taxes and Massachusetts ranks 31st (with No. 1 having the highest rate).

Unlike many other states, Massachusetts , which has a sales tax of 6.25 percent, does not allow municipalities to levy their own sales taxes.

The highest combined rate is 9.44 percent in Tennessee, which has a 7 percent state tax and an average local rate of 2.44 percent. California, Arizona, Louisiana and Washington are at the top just below Tennessee.

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