Franklin Matters

Saturday, June 13, 2015

“Whatever needs a vet has, they come to me, and I’ll help them out.”

The Norfolk County Board of Commissioners has entered into an agreement with the town to provide veterans services.

The agreement, signed by the Town Council Wednesday, gives the town a full-time veterans services officer at a reduced cost.

Rather than cover the salary and benefits of new veterans advocate Dale Kurtz, the town will pay the county monthly payments of $3,150. Over the life of the agreement – effective from July 1 through June 30, 2016 – the cost of the service amounts to $37,800.

“The savings to the town just for the wages will be approximately $6,000 without loss of the current service level,” said Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting. “If for any reason this does not work out, we are free to terminate the service.”

Continue reading the article here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150612/NEWS/150618052/1994/NEWS

Franklin Senior Center

For all the Franklin Matters notes from the Town Council meeting on Wednesday:

Live reporting: Closing

Live reporting: Legislation

Live reporting: Budget Hearing #1

Friday, June 12, 2015

Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA Area: FRI 6/12/15 - THU 6/18/15

FRI 6/12 - TUE 6/30 Ladybug Trek starting today, visit 15 local businesses and use app on your phone for scavenger hunt. #shopFranklin
FRI 6/12 12-6pm Franklin Farmers Market at The Town Common
FRI 6/12 7:30pm Zero - The Musical Fable at The Black Box
FRI 6/12 8-9:50pm Frozen Friday DJ Public Skate at Pirelli Arena

SAT 6/13 1pm Zentangle Workshop at Franklin Art Center
SAT 6/13 7:30pm Zero - The Musical Fable at The Black Box

SUN 6/14 8am PMC Kid’s Ride at Jefferson Elementary School
SUN 6/14 2:00pm Zero - The Musical Fable at The Black Box
SUN 6/14 6:30pm Franklin Interfaith Council "Voices of Faith" Concert, 91 Jordan Rd

THU 6/18 6:30pm Open Mic Night at The Cake Bar

For all the Town of Franklin Public Meetings click HERE.

For event details click HERE.

*If you have any suggestions or events for the calendar, please email Renata@BetterLivingRE.com

Lady Bug Trek is "meant to just be fun."

The Strawberry Stroll has ended but reasons to get out and about to Franklin's small businesses have not.

A mobile app-assisted scavenger hunt through more than a dozen small Franklin businesses is getting underway today, Friday, June 12 and will continue through the end of the month.

The Lady Bug Trek is the first collaborative activity of the recently formed Franklin Small Shop Co-op, featuring special offers from participating businesses and a chance at a grand prize of $1,100 in gift cards.

"We created the Small Shop Co-op for small businesses to collaborate, so this was sort of born out of that," said Tracie Turinese, co-owner of The Cake Bar in downtown Franklin.

A total of 15 businesses are part of the fun, including Franklin Liquors, Franklin Yoga & Wellness, Salon Sorella, Making Whoopie, Emmas Quilt Cupboard, Mac Deli, The Cake Bar, Hillside Nurseries & Farm, Elizabeth's Bagels, Terrazza, Pretty is Pink, NHS Printing, Daddario Hardware, Franklin Art Center and Jane's Frames.

Continue reading the article here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150611/NEWS/150618663/1994/NEWS

The website loaded quickly on my Android tablet and did not on my Android phone (they were next to each other at the time).

Ladybug Trek - a scavenger hunt with a grand prize worth over $1,100

solve 9 clues (9 of the 15 businesses) and get 5 entries, solve 12 and get 10 entries!

"Stop the Silence. Speak the Truth. Start the Conversation".

Patricia Byrne writes:

Patricia's son Kurt

"It’s time to Stop the Silence. It’s time to Speak the Truth. My son is a heroin addict. I want to wear a t-shirt, a hat, a pin, something. I want a suffering family member or addict to see me in the grocery store and be able to walk up and say ‘me too’. I want families to not feel isolated and alone in this hell that is Addiction. It is everywhere, and we are hiding it because we feel guilty and ashamed. I have seen in people’s eyes in the past that they knew my son was an addict. But they also didn’t know if I knew, and I wasn’t shouting it from the rooftops. So the elephant was with me everywhere I went. We lived in a small town. I was sure everyone knew. I was sure my son’s name was whispered when I wasn’t there. Yet I stayed silent.

My son is in recovery. He has been clean and sober for 16 months. It’s a miracle he’s alive. That miracle cost us a small fortune. True recovery is not cheap and it is not easy. It is not five days of detox, have a nice day. It is not a thirty day stint in rehab, have a nice life. It is a slow, slogging, exhausting crawl out of the muddy nasty pit Addiction digs under you."

Continue reading her article here
https://stopthesilencespeakthetruth.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/hello-world/

Help is coming to Franklin. There is a meeting at the Franklin High School auditorium on Tuesday, June 30 - 7:00 PM to form a "Community Coalition" to address the heroin and opiate drug problem the community faces. It can be solved, not by putting additional police on the streets but by providing the support to the individuals and families that need it.

Additional information on the Community Coalition can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/06/community-coalition-on-opiate-addiction.html

Voices of Faith concert - Sunday - June 14 - 6:30 PM

Just a quick note to let you know this Sunday - June 14th at 6:30 PM is the Interfaith Council's Voices of Faith concert. This year's theme is "Faith, Family and Freedom".

The concert is being held at 91 Jordon Rd., in Franklin - at the LDS Church - same location as the Turkey Trot!

Many of the houses of Worship in Franklin will participate - bringing songs from their faiths to share with us, as well as the 22+ voices of the Interfaith Council's Choir.

I've attached a poster with details. Refreshments will be served afterwards - and we will pass the plate to collect funds for our fuel assistance fund.

Here is the flyer you can print out

"Wow, this is a wonderful community!"

Franklin has a new two-sided flyer to help sell the community to potential businesses looking for a new location. This flyer touts all the goodness that Franklin can provide.

"the idea is sustainability"

“We’re looking for assurance on your part that this town is well protected,” Vallee said.

On average, towns with similar size populations have up to 50 officers, while Franklin currently has 43, with two more expected to arrive from the academy in January, according to Vallee.

Yet the statistics on crime do not justify the hiring of additional officers, Semerjian said. The stats show that since 2008, arrests and calls have steadily declined. For instance, arrests peaked in 2008 at 545; last year, there were 269.