RIP - Howard Crawford

Driving by the Akin-Bak Farm on Friday, it was closed and that was unual for this time of year. I heard later that Howard had passed that day which explained why they were closed. Driving by on Saturday, the flag was lowered.

Akin-Bak Farm closed in honor of Howard Crawford

Franklin has lost one of their treasured gentlemen!

Howard A. Crawford 91, of Franklin, died peacefully, surrounded by his family at home Friday April 10, 2015 following an illness. He was the beloved husband of Santina E. (Accorsi) Crawford. 

Born in Bristol, Connecticut on July 17, 1923 a son of the late James E. and Alice M. (McGuire) Crawford, he was a former resident of Sherman Mills, Maine before moving to Franklin in 1950.

... his funeral service Wednesday April 15th, at 10AM at the Franklin United Methodist Church 82 West Central St. Franklin. Interment with military honors will follow at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. 

Calling hours are Tuesday from 4-8PM at the Charles F. Oteri & Son Franklin Funeral Home 33 Cottage St. Franklin.

Howard's full obituary can be found on the Oteri page here
http://oterifuneralhome.tributes.com/obituary/show/Howard-A.-Crawford-102371517

FM #111 - Finance Committee meeting Apr 7, 2015 (audio)

This is the recording of the Finance Committee meeting of Tuesday, April 7, 2015. I was originally planning to attend the School Committee. That was scheduled for the Council Chambers and thereby to be broadcast and recorded by Franklin TV.

The FinCom meeting I thought was scheduled for Weds the 8th but walking into the municipal building I found out it was actually Tuesday night. Hence, my plans changed and I recorded the FinCom meeting.

There is a round of introductions as the meeting starts so you should be able to align the voices and names. You can follow along with my notes (see the links below.)

The hand out is copied and available for download. The one map mentioned is part of a the larger capital budget package that I also have linked to here (see below.)

If you want to skip around to particular sections you can use the follow as a guide

• Intro and Recreation Dept building up to ~ 23 minutes
• Capital budget then begins with an overview at ~ 23
• Police Dept starts at ~28
• DPW starts at ~53
• Enterprise accounts - Water - begins ~ 1:07
• Enterprise accounts - Sewer - begins ~ 1:19
• The FY 2016 budget planning being about ~1:26 and runs to the close

First part meeting notes (through the vote to recommend purchase/renovation of 275 Beaver St)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/live-reporting-finance-commmittee-apr-7.html

Second part

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/live-reporting-fincom-continued-capital.html

Documents for the purchase and renovation of 275 Beaver St

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/04/beaver-st-building-proposed-as-new-home.html

The April 1 memo to the FinCom on the Capital Budget can be found here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczczI3aTRoUG1reFk/view?usp=sharing

The 'original' capital plan dated Feb 1, 2015.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczbE9STVk1SjZVMlVNR0FLUGJ2bmJ2S0tacGgw/view?usp=sharing

view from sidewalk of 275 Beaver St

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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.

How can you help?

If you like this, please tell a neighbor.
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Through this feedback loop, I can continue to provide good information for you

Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and East of Shirley. The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their  permission.

You can also subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes = search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

Boston Rocks!

26.2 Bead Blue cable necklace- nearly weightless! Boston Strong bead The Boston Marathon Update Show your support for the 26.2 Foundation, and take your part in building the International Marathon Museum! This April 20th is Marathon Monday and Patriots' Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord that were fought near Boston in 1775. We're going to be at the Boston Marathon start at the common in Hopkinton MA on the 18th, 19th and on Marathon Monday with limited editions of the Boston Strong and 26.2 beads, runner tech tees and other neat stuff for our Marathon runners and their supporters! Proceeds will go to the 26.2 Foundation as they work to raise funds for the International Marathon Center. Click on any of the pics to order yours now! Boston Strong Chick tech tee Made to honor the memory of Boston Mayor Tom Menino, the MY WAY Boston bead raises funds for the many important charities that The Boston Foundation supports. Sponsored by Technology for Autism Now Boston Strong Chick tech tank Facebook Twitter Website Pinterest Share Tweet Forward +1 Copyright © 2015 Confidence Beads/Back to Business/ Beads for a Cause, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to our newsletter list either through Back to Business or Confidence Beads. If you'd prefer to unsubscribe, no worries! Just click on the unsubscribe link, below. We don't like to bug people! Our mailing address is: Confidence Beads/Back to Business/ Beads for a Cause 43 Main St, Suite 246 Franklin, Ma 02038

Confidence Beads/Back to Business/ Beads for a Cause · 43 Main St, Suite 246 · Franklin, Ma 02038 · USA

In addition to the beads shown here, there is also a Franklin Pride bead. A portion of the sale price from the Franklin Pride bead goes to the Franklin Food Pantry. On behalf of the Food Pantry, I thank Linda for this wonderful collaboration!

Franklin Pride - view of a single bead, all angles

You can view these and additional items and place your order via this link

#shopFranklin

Franklin Library: Doggie Tales returns Apr 15

Doggies Tales returns to the Franklin Public Library on Wednesday, Apr 15th. 

Please call the library to register in advance. 

Good for young readers in grade 2 and up. The reader spends 15 minutes reading aloud to a therapy dog.

Doggie Tales - Apr 15

This was shared from the Library page here
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2015/04/doggie-tales.html

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Apr 15, 2015

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This session will not be recorded by Franklin Matters

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS
Zoning Board of Appeals - David J. Lamberto

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

» Hamra Noodles, LLC, D/B/A Noodles & Company – New License
» Gill N Sidhu,LLC – Chinese Mirch - Change of DBA
» Maguro House- New Officer and Director, Transfer of Stock and New Stockholder

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

Curbside Collection – Brutus Cantoreggi

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

1. Resolution 15-15:Appropriation and Authorization to Borrow for Purchase and Renovation of Improved Property for Franklin Recreation Department
2. Resolution 15-16:Purchase of Property at 275 Beaver Street for Franklin Recreation Department’s Use
3. Bylaw Amendment 15-746: Chapter 181, Wetlands Protection – 2nd Reading

275 Beaver St - street view

275 Beaver St - back building

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION

P. ADJOURN

The full set of documents released for this meeting can be found here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2015%20Complete%20With%20Documents/04152015.pdf

Pantherbook Roundup: PARCC, human rights club, Trivia Bee

Pantherbook has been publishing more frequently so there are several good items to share. Pantherbook is the student effort reporting on FHS and Franklin providing a great opportunity to practice writing while using the various publishing and social medai tools available today.

1 - What do the students think about PARCC?

The newly introduced PARCC test has caused confusion and server failure for students and some staff at Franklin High School (FHS). Information from the administration can elucidate the background, purpose, and future of PARCC. 

First, PARCC is not yet a done deal. The question of whether or not it will be implemented will be voted on in early September by the Board of Education and the State. 

This new form of state testing is meant to judge a student’s college and career readiness. It tests application of skills as opposed to recitation of memorized information.

Continue reading the article here
http://pantherbook.org/student-life/2015/04/05/a-walk-in-the-parcc/

2 - FHS students getting active discussing human rights

Young activists are welcome to come discuss social issues both within the school and beyond at Franklin High School’s Human Rights Club. 

Junior Olivia Pavao started the club in early January. She attended a Summer at Brown where she met students who had human rights clubs at their own schools, and was inspired to bring one to Franklin High School. 

“We have the GSA, we have Anti-Bullying. Combining those and making them more inclusive of a lot of different people would better our school,” said Pavao.

Continue reading the article here
http://pantherbook.org/student-life/2015/04/08/discussion-and-activism-at-the-human-rights-club/

A shot from the FEF Trivia Bee (Abigail Weinberg)

3 - they reported on the recent Trivia Bee

On Wednesday, April 8, the Franklin Education Foundation held its 18th annual Trivia Bee at the Horace Mann Auditorium. Many members of the community participated, including several FHS students. The event raised thousands of dollars that go directly toward helping our town’s educational system. 

According to their Facebook page, the FEF is “an independent, non-profit, community-based organization developed to support to innovation and excellence in education… by funding grants for teachers and other staff within the Franklin public school system.” 

The Trivia Bee is an event that helps carry out this mission. Each year, students, parents, local business owners, teachers, and other school faculty members can participate in a trivia competition consisting of several rounds. This year’s trivia theme was movie trivia.

Continue reading the article here
http://pantherbook.org/top-stories/2015/04/09/franklin-community-shows-skill-in-trivia-bee/

Yard Waste Pickup re-scheduled to 4/27/15

If you subscribed to the news alerts, you should have received a voice message (or phone call) from DPW Director Robert Cantoreggi announcing that the yard waste pickup has been delayed two weeks. 

Instead of the schedule for this occurring the week of 4/13/15, it will now take place beginning the week of 4/27/15.

screen grab indicating change in the schedule for yard waste pickup

The full updated curbside schedule can be found on the Franklin DPW page here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Recycling/Curbside_Index