Franklin Matters

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Franklin Food Pantry announces “Plant a Row”

What grows in your garden? Do you have tomatoes and peas , or are you like Mary here

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With peppers, beans, and lots of greens,
And tall sweet corn in a row!

Have you considered planting a row in your garden for the Franklin Food Pantry? Modeled after the national “Plant a Row” program, this is a good way for gardeners to contribute. Grow some fresh and healthy food to share. Then, when it is ready, take those healthy fruits, herbs, and veggies to the Food Pantry, where they will be distributed to your neighbors and families.

Why Plant a Row? Plant a Row is rooted in the heartfelt tradition of gardeners sharing a bountiful harvest with others. Sharing can happen on many levels. Home gardeners, schools, church groups, youth and community organizations, and even area businesses can all help make a difference for their neighbors who experience hunger or the threat of hunger.

Nothing beats the taste and nutrition of fresh-picked vegetables. Growing and eating from your own garden can improve your health, save you money, increase your sustainability, and decrease your carbon footprint. And most important, your Franklin Food Pantry announces garden can help your Franklin neighbors.

You can sign up by emailing PlantARow@franklinfoodpantry.org or visit Franklin’s Plant a Row website http://www.plantarowfranklin.org/

"You're never going to have 100 percent perfection"

The state Department of Environmental Protection "wants us to try to figure out what was wrong," he said. "We're doing that by eliminating those possibilities."

A routine water sample taken last Tuesday from a well on East Central Street tested positive for fecal bacteria, either E. coli or enterococci. The well was immediately taken offline and the town notified the public through a mass recorded phone call and a press release on its website.

No other samples have come back positive and residents do not need to boil water or take other precautions, Perrotta said.

Perrotta emphasized that the sample was taken before the water had gone through treatment.

"I think the important thing is that the treated water did not have a problem," he said. "That's why we treat it."

Before the sample was taken last week, a blockage developed in the culvert, which is under an access road to the well. A small stream goes through the culvert. The blockage caused water to build up, potentially making it easier for bacteria to enter the well. The culvert broke late last week, Perrotta said.

"needs to open its doors in Franklin within 18 months"

Steve Senna, a project manager with National Development in Newton, said Hamilton Storage Technologies wants to combine its Hopkinton and Milford offices into a new, 50,000-square-foot building at the intersection of Rte. 140 and Forge Parkway.

"We thank you for the opportunity to present what we think is a very exciting and in these times very rare development opportunity," Senna told the board.

The company, which manufacturers refrigerators used in laboratories and also has its European headquarters in Switzerland, was attracted to the 8-acre, 3 Forge Parkway lot because it is close to Interstate 495, commuter rail and a hotel, Senna said.

Many of Hamilton Storage Technologies' employees live nearby and its clients often come from out-of-state for a week to see how its refrigerators operate, he said.

Monday, June 20, 2011

MBTA readies crackdown on parking delinquents

Wow - if you park at either of the Franklin MBTA lots, please take care. $21 is pretty steep for missing to pay!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

MBTA readies crackdown on parking delinquents

via Boston Business News - Local Boston News | Boston Business Journal on 6/20/11

The state is about to drop the hammer on parking scofflaws at its 95 parking facilities throughout the commonwealth. Starting July 1, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will assess a $21 fine for delinquent payments made by commuters at its network of parking lots and garages. The current penalty for nonpayment of daily parking charges at MBTA lots is $1. Jonathan Davis, the MBTA's chief financial officer since the mid 1990s, said the move was endorsed by the authority's board to enhance collection rates and incentivize commuters to pay parking fees in a timely...

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Franklin, MA: 4th of July Schedule

The schedule of events for Franklin's 4th of July celebration is available:

Thursday, June 30th:
• 6pm-10pm Rides and food booths open
• 7pm-10pm DJ and local youth bands

Friday, July 1st:
• 6pm-10pm Rides and food booths open
• 7pm-10pm Corvairs Oldie Band

Saturday, July 2nd:
Children's Day
• 10am-10pm Rides and food booths open
• AM road races by Rec. Dept
• 12 noon Children’s Parade
• 1pm-2pm Lisa & Friends Puppets
• 2pm-3pm Flippo the Clown
• 3pm-4pm TBA
• 4pm-7pm Franklin Idol
• 7pm-10pm "Groove Doctors" Band
• 10pm FIREWORKS!!! Franklin High School

Sunday, July 3rd:
• 1pm-10pm Rides and food booths open
• 2pm-3:30pm PARADE
• 4pm-7pm Franklin has talent
• 7pm-10pm Digger Dawg Band

Monday, July 4th:
• 10am-7pm Rides and food booths open
• 10am-2pm DJ
• 2pm Talent winners announced
• 5pm-7pm DJ
• 6pm Drawings to be drawn

The 4th of July celebration is supported by volunteers, and donor contributions. You can contribute by mailing a check or by using your credit card in a secure online transaction here: http://july4thfranklinma.com/donations.asp

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day

To all the fathers in Franklin, have a great day!

"just don't have the means to purchase food"

The food assistance program is meant to help families and individuals who live near the poverty line put healthy food on the table. To qualify, a household of two with children can make no more than $2,429 in gross income per month, $3,052 for a household of three or $3,675 for a household of four, according to a state website on the program. SNAP also has limits on savings and other resources to qualify.

Benefits, which total more than $107 million a month in Massachusetts, are federally funded. The national and state governments split the cost of administering the program. Recipients receive benefits on Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, cards, which limit what the money can be spent on.

Kehoe said the state has worked over the past few years to improve access to the SNAP program. Eight to 10 years ago, Massachusetts ranked 48th in the nation for the number of residents who were eligible and had actually signed up for food stamps, she said. Today, the state ranks eighth.

The state has taken steps such as shortening applications for seniors, allowing a medical deduction aimed at helping the elderly and disabled, lowering how often participants have to recertify that they qualify and holding outreach and health expos, Kehoe said. The agency has especially targeted seniors, many of whom saw a stigma attached to accepting food assistance, she said.