Reporting by walking around: Sunday, Aug 16 (photo essay)

The walk Sunday took me out Chestnut St through Chestnut Ridge and back East Central to find out what was happening in that area. Turns out that there is a bunch of things going on.

landscaping at Magnolia Heights looks great

Magnolia Heights has transformed what was the 'rock pile'

Planet Chrysler Jeep expanded their parking area

Dave's Cafe is getting ready to open where the Best Deli had been (next to the Municipal Building)

the work on Lewis St had gotten to strip the road completely

another view of Lewis St

the Shaw's Plaza has received a new coat and new parking lines

what was the Hess gas station has changed to Speedway

Hockomock YMCA: TPC Boston Hosts Integration Initiative Golf Clinic

This summer, TPC Boston hosted two golf clinics for members of the Hockomock Area YMCA’s Integration Initiative. Participants were given tips from the best, receiving instruction in putting, chipping, and full swing from professional staff at TPC Boston. Later, the newly trained golfers hit the links and played a few holes on the championship course, the same course that will host the best players in the world on Labor Day weekend for the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Among the participants were some of Franklin’s shining stars: Datta Baplata, Peter Willis, and Douglas McNulty. They were joined by Hockomock Area YMCA staff, additional members of the Integration Initiative, as well as Patriots Legend Steve King and several other generous donors who support the Initiative.

Peter Willis

This is the fourth year that TPC Boston has hosted these clinics. While many of the participants were golfing for the first time, some of the kids had years of experience and were excited to return. Hockomock Area YMCA President Ed Hurley observed how some of the participants “have been playing for several years now as a result of this experience.” The golfers from the Integration Initiative have developed their game so much that the Hockomock Y was able to start a 20-person integrated golf team in 2014, a program which is still going strong.

Dave Baplata

The day, however, was not over after the golfers finished the course. They were treated to some pizza provided by Domino’s and then given a special surprise: tickets to the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. Hurley smiled as he commented on how the kids would watch the best players in the world “and they can tell their friends they played on the same course.”

“I want to thank everybody at TPC Boston…for doing this again for us every year. It’s something the kids look forward to and we look forward to. It’s a great day for our Y and the kids and our Integration Initiative,” said a grateful Ed Hurley. The Hockomock YMCA is proud to have experienced another successful golf clinic thanks to TPC Boston and the Integration Initiative.

Doug McNulty and Cody Martin

The Hockomock Y’s Integration Initiative has been at work for 11 years, fostering an environment of inclusion and respect for young people with special needs. The Initiative has positively impacted over 700 families, a number which grows more and more every year thanks to events like the TPC golf clinic.

About Hockomock Area YMCA:

Where Cause Meets Community. At the Hockomock Area YMCA, strengthening community is our cause. The Hockomock Area YMCA is an organization of men, women, and children sharing a commitment to nurture the potential of kids, promote healthy living, and foster a sense of social responsibility.

Our YMCA is committed to partnering and collaborating with others to create and deliver lasting personal and social change in the 15 communities we are privileged to serve. The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable cause-driven organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and Mansfield. For more information visit hockymca.org.

Memory Café - Thursday - Aug 20 - 3:00 PM

Please join us this Thursday at the Franklin Senior Center for our monthly Memory Café. Memory cafes are places for people with memory loss to share in social time with their caregivers and others.

This month we plan to do a very simple flower arrangement with flowers donated by Hillside Nurseries. We will have a refreshment and just chat and relax!

Memory cafes are popping up around the state and nationally as well. Locally the cafes are coordinated by Beth Soltzberg at Jewish Friends and Family Services in Waltham, Mass. There are several cafes in our area and all are open to the public and are free of charge. 

See the attached link for more information. http://bit.ly/1Muyza7 

Please call Elaine Owens at 508-520-4945 to register for this week’s café.

Franklin Senior Center

For additional info on the programs that the Franklin Senior Center offer visit their page   http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Senior/index

Franklin Library: Animal World Experience - 4:00 PM

The Franklin Library has Animal World Experience coming on Wednesday at 4:00PM. 

This is one in the series of summer events sponsored by The Friends of the Franklin Library.

Animal World Experience - 8/19 - 4:00 PM

This was shared from the Franklin Library page
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2015/08/blog-post_17.html

"Fatal drug overdoses claimed more than a thousand lives in Massachusetts last year"

“The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program helps federal, state, and local authorities to coordinate drug enforcement operations, support prevention efforts and improve public health and safety,” said Botticelli, who served as director of Massachusetts substance abuse services from 2003 to 2012 where he oversaw a pilot program for Quincy police to begin carrying naloxone to treat opioid overdoses. 

The New England HIDTA also will receive $265,000 to advance a range of drug use prevention initiatives and to support HIDTA operations. 

“This federal funding comes at a critical time in Massachusetts and New England’s effort to tame this scourge of heroin and prescription drug abuse," said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass. "Heroin overdoses are taking lives at an unprecedented rate. Stemming this tide will require a comprehensive strategy that teams public health, science, medicine, and law enforcement on the federal, state and local levels to stop addiction before it takes hold and secure treatment when and where its needed most."

Continue reading the article in the Milford Daily News (subscription maybe required)  http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150817/NEWS/150817153/1994/NEWS

Who's behind the free movie night at Beaver Pond this Friday?

The Franklin Small Shop Co-op has gotten together to sponsor the free movie night. The current program guide from Franklin TV lists the 20 businesses.





You can also find the program guide each week on Franklin TV's webpage. It shows the schedule for all the shows broadcast on Franklin TV.

Franklin TV

Small Shop Co-op

The Small Shop Co-Op is a group made up of local, independently owned, small businesses in Franklin MA. The group's goal is to brainstorm and implement new methods, events, and/or tools used to market small businesses within the Franklin community. Examples of such events include a town wide small business scavenger hunt, as well as the Movie Night and Small Business marketplace at Beaver Pond.

The Wiz - Aug 20-23 at Dean College

Did you think you were in the Land of OZ this weekend while at the Feast of St Rocco's? You might have caught the cast of The WIZ as they were out and about.

Roberta Trahan with the cast and Joel Thayer

Dean College and the Massachusetts Star Players proudly present “The Wiz” in a series of live performances at The Main Stage Theater on the Dean Campus in Franklin, MA. Shows start at 7:30 PM on August 20th, 21st and 22nd and at 2 PM on August 22nd and 23rd.

“The Wiz” is a seven-time Tony Award-winning musical that retells the classic musical “The Wizard of Oz.” This show follows the story of Dorothy, a farm girl who wishes to see more than Kansas. Through her adventures in the Land of Oz, she encounters the impossible, which assures her that home is where the heart is.

Warren Reynolds shares this video he captured of the preview of The Wiz presented during the Franklin Cultural Festival. You can see The Wiz this weekend. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM and at 2:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.




To purchase tickets for the show, visit www.starplayersma.org or call 774-226-5130