Franklin Matters

Sunday, May 29, 2011

"Gettin' it done"

T-shirt of the day: spotted at the Ribbon Cutting for the Community Gardens on Saturday. Town Administrator Jeff Nutting was wearing this. The slogan is attributed to DPW Director, Robert "Brutus" Cantoreggi. Brutus developed this line as the DPW worked to clear the roads during the several storms this past winter.

This spirit is shown by all those involved with the Franklin Community Gardens!

Franklin, MA

"a nonprofit organization to run the town's public access channels"

Franklin's nonprofit idea is not new. The first nonprofit access stations were formed in the early 1970s as cable television grew in popularity and regulations required cable companies to fund local programming. Other stations were run by the towns themselves or by the cable companies.

In the past 10 years, Comcast has stopped running many cable access stations it inherited when it purchased AT&T Broadband, leaving towns to figure out how to keep providing those services, said Amy Palmerino, vice chairman of the Board of Directors of MassAccess, a statewide organization that advocates for public access television.

Many communities, including Milford and Hopkinton, created nonprofit stations when a cable company stopped running their studios, a move Palmerino said increases community participation and creates separation between the town and one of its primary media outlets.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Community Gardens - Ribbon Cutting - 5/28/11

Did the ribbon get cut for the Community Gardens today?

Yes, it did. Here is the video recorded live during the event:

I'll have more pictures and stories later.

Franklin, MA

In the News - house fire, fallen heroes, parade

House fire deemed accidental

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Alison McCall/Daily News staff

Franklin honors fallen heroes

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Alison McCall/Daily News staff

FRANKLIN - The Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10:45 a.m. on Monday in downtown Franklin.

Marchers will line-up at the Historical Museum, 80 West Central St. The parade will travel on Main, School, Union, West Central and Beaver streets, ending at the war memorial on the Town Common.

Marchers will stop at Dean College, Union Street Cemetery, St. Mary's Cemetery and the war memorial.

Any veteran who wishes to march should meet at the Historical Museum at 10:15 a.m. Vehicles will be available for veterans who do not want to walk the route.
The parade is sponsored by the Franklin Rotary.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Take some time

In February, snow still covered much of the ground. It had arrived in December and covered many lawns until late in March.

April showers came and went, May flowers have bloomed, the trees and lawns are green again.

Memorial Day weekend is upon us. The traditional start to summer time.

Take some time to be thankful for all that you do have. Take some time to remember and honor those in the military who made this possible for us.

Franklin, MA

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Franklin Community Garden Grand Opening this Saturday AM

The Franklin Community Garden Committee is proud to announce that the Grand Opening Day of Franklin's first community garden will take place this Saturday, May 28th at King Street Memorial Park located off King Street in Franklin. A ribbon-cutting will be held at 9:00 a.m.

A fundraiser plant sale is planned as well featuring locally grown vegetable starts.

Plots were assigned through a lottery drawing and winners have been notified. A wait list has been established as well.

Gardeners who have paid the lease fee may begin working in their plots on Opening Day.
Lease payments are due by June 7th and will be collected by Franklin Recreation. Gardening can not begin until the $40 fee has been paid. Payments can be made at the Recreation Department at 150 Emmons Street (Old Town Hall). The hours are Mon, Tues, and Thurs 8:30-4:30; Wed 8:30-6:30pm, and Fridays 8:30-1:30 pm.

The garden features 46 large raised beds leased to gardeners. The Franklin Food Pantry will garden 4 of those beds; other beds have been assigned to individuals, families, and community groups. Several of the beds are designed for easy access.

Many of the gardeners will be participating the Franklin's Plant A Row to Share program.

For more information, please visit www.franklincommunitygardens.org

"services using other people's money"

Town Council Chairman Scott Mason said after the meeting he had received about 20 emails from residents and library advocates questioning a budget that would cut 5.5 positions and require the town to seek a waiver from the state for the library to remain certified.

"When it comes to what gets cut, given that we have to make cuts, I am going to support cutting the library over police, fire and DPW every day of the week," Mason said.