Sunday, October 18, 2015

News and updates from the Franklin Historical Museum


LOOKING FOR MUSEUM HOST VOLUNTEERS
The Franklin Historical Museum is looking for volunteers to host at the Museum during regular business hours. 
Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity in your community?  Are you interested in Franklin History? 
This could be what you're looking for.  Responsibilities would include opening and closing the museum, greeting guests, answering questions and accepting any donations that might be brought to the museum.  We are looking for volunteers willing to host 1 day a month.  If you would like to volunteer, or would like more information, please call Mary Olsson @ 508-520-9187. 
The museum is open Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings (except during winter months).
Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St
Franklin Historical Museum, 80 West Central St 

WINTER OPERATING HOURS FOR THE MUSEUM
The Franklin Historical Commission has found that visitor numbers to the museum on Thursday nights during the cold winter months, drops dramatically. 
For the second year, the commission has voted to close the museum Thursday evenings during the months of December, January and February.  
We will be open for the Downtown Partnership Holiday Stroll on Thursday December 3rd and will close Thursday nights starting the following week, December 10.  We will resume our regular operating hours in March.
MASS MUSEUM DAY AT THE STATE HOUSE
The Franklin Historical Museum recently participated in the 1st Annual Mass Museum Day, hosted by NEMA, (New England Museum Association).  The event took place on Wednesday October 7th in the Grand Hall at the State House.  Senator Stanley Rosenberg, President of the State Senate along with Senator Eric Lesser, Chair of the joint committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development welcomed the 30 museums from across the State.  
Participants were invited to showcase their museum and show their legislators why it is important to continue to fund the local arts and cultural organizations within our communities.  The Franklin Historical Museum fittingly featured favorite son Horace Mann, who served in the Massachusetts State legislature, Served as President of the Senate in 1836-1827, and was the first Secretary of Education.  
State Rep Jeffrey Roy and Senator Richard Ross both supported and participated in the day by visiting the table and promoting Franklin and the museum.  The Historical Museum was proud to help sponsor the event and was recognized by having our logo displayed on the NEMA event banner.  
If you haven't already had the chance, visit the museum, located downtown at 80 West Central Street.  The museum is open Saturdays 10:00AM - 1:00PM; Sundays 1:00PM - 4:00PM and Thursday evenings 5:00PM - 8:00PM (except Dec, Jan, and Feb).  
Handicap access is available at the back of the building.  Come by and discover Franklin's history, where our story began.

You can also visit the Historical Museum on the web at
http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/   

or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FHM02038?

Retirement Open House: 10:00am --- 6:30pm - Franklin Municipal Building

Open House
Everyone Is Invited!

After 31 Years, Our Town Clerk, Deborah L. Pellegri, Cmc, Will Be Retiring On November 11th. Stop By To Wish Debbie Good Luck In Her Retirement And Thank Her For All Her Years Of  Service. We Are Planning The Retirement Open House:

Place: Franklin Municipal Building
Date: Wednesday, October 21st
Time: 10:00am --- 6:30pm

Ceremony/Presentations To Follow In The Council Chambers @7.00pm At The Regular Town Council Meeting.

All Are Invited

Desserts Will Be Available Throughout The Day.

Franklin Municipal Building, 355 East Central St
Franklin Municipal Building, 355 East Central St

What can Franklin do about the Medway power plant expansion?

1 - There is a "Public Forum" on Wednesday at 7PM, Medway High School 88 Summer Street.   


Franklin neighbors are encouraged to attend. If opposed to the plant, folks are asks to wear a red shirt.


2 - There was a Fox News report on Thursday (10/15/15):



Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston


http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30274284/power-plant-expansion-causes-controversy-in-medway



3 - "Stop Medway Peaker" recently released a statement: 


This power plant threatens the health and safety of our children and our communities by polluting our air and wasting our precious natural resources. Please plan to attend the public forum Oct. 21 to have your voices heard. Let the Board of Selectmen know how you feel and tell them to voice their strong opposition to this project and do everything in their power to stop the expansion.


4 - What can Franklin Residents do?


WRITE THE STATE SITING BOARD: Go to the web page http://www.stopmedwaypeaker.com/ Click on "contact officials" where you can find sample letters and who to email.


Twitter image
Twitter image


Follow and share the group's activities via social media



St Mary's: First Grade Religious Education Registration


Religious Education for First Communion is a two-year program. The first year the students complete the book at home with their parents following our schedule. The second year, the students attend classes at the Parish Center (across from the church) and then receive the Sacraments of Penance and First Eucharist. A student must complete the First Grade Program before they enter the Grade Two Program.

We will be having registration (in the Religious Education Office inside the Charter School) for this program at the following times: 
  • Tuesday, October 20th—5:15 p.m.—6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, October 27th—5:15 p.m.—6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 29th—1:00 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
The Registration Fee for First Grade is $50.00. If your child was NOT baptized at St. Mary's in Franklin, you must provide a copy of his/her Baptismal Certificate. NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE TAKEN WITHOUT A BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE. 
If your child was baptized here, we have that on record so you do not need a Baptismal Certificate. You will receive a book and the schedule to follow as you complete the program with your child.
St Mary's Franklin
St Mary's Franklin

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Religious Education Office at 508-528-1450.


Karen Ackles
Director Grades 1-8
St. Mary's Franklin
508 528-1450

LET'S LAUGH TODAY in Franklin is on Monday, October 26th

Experience the health benefits of joyful laughter every fourth Monday at the Meetinghouse of the First Universalist Society in Franklin, 262 Chestnut Street, Franklin from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.  
Laughter Yoga is a fun and healthy combination of laughter exercises, yoga breathing and gentle stretching. It's a great stress buster with real health benefits. Join in the laughs, fun and finish with a restful cool down meditation.Wear a funny hat for Halloween if you like! "Monster Mash" will be played afterwards!  
Any age and any level of physical ability can participate in this uplifting experience! New laughers are always welcomed! $5 donation to the church, $10 maximum per family.  Please bring your water bottle because laughing can be dehydrating. 
Led by Certified Laughter Yoga Teachers, Linda and Bill Hamaker. See www.letslaughtoday.com for additional information.  If you have any questions, just call them at 508-660-2223 or e-mail billandlinda@letslaughtoday.com   
Also ask for the information on the week-end workshop/certification on how to bring more laughter into your life on November 14th and 15th!

Linda and BIll Hamaker
Linda and BIll Hamaker


Senior Center: A new edition of The Franklin Connection is available



A new edition of The Franklin Connection has been published on the Town of Franklin web site.


Click the link below to read the latest edition.




Franklin Senior Center
You can find out more about the Senior Center on their official Franklin webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Senior/index

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Franklin Candidate for Town Council - Rick Power

Rick Power and I met recently at Panera to talk about his campaign for Town Council. This is the summary of our discussion.

FM - What is your Franklin story?


Rick Power – I grew up in Norwood and went to Xaverian Brothers High School and UMass, Amherst. I was commissioned as an Infantry Office in the Army National Guard and served 12 years. I have three amazing kids, Alyssa, Nicole and Rick. We raised them in Randolph for about eight years and then moved in Lakeland, FL to care for my father-in-law. 
When it was time to return to New England, choosing Franklin as our home was a ‘no brainer’. Renowned for its school systems and secure community, I knew our children would flourish in Franklin. That’s all a dad really wants. Our family roots are also here: my sisters, brother, four nieces and my parents live in town. Although my ex-wife and I are now divorced, the kids still live in the house they know as home. It was an amicable separation and we minimized any disruption for the kids. 
Shortly after we moved to Franklin, my daughter started playing softball for the Franklin Girls Softball Association and I got involved in coaching. I eventually joined the Board of Directors and have served as the President for the past three years. I am still involved in the girls’ softball league even though my daughter is not playing anymore. I promised myself I would leave the league in a better situation than when I joined it and there is still work to be done. 
I work as an Area Manager for the largest complex rehab company in the US. I manage a budget of over $15M and we provide custom wheel chairs for people with progressive diseases like ALS and MS. It is very rewarding, helping people with some pretty tough diseases. 
People ask me how come I want to get involved in politics. My reason is because I love the town of Franklin, and I want to do my part to ensure it grows in a controlled, responsible manner. I want to continue to attract families looking for great schools and a safe community as well as businesses that can offer the town needed products and services.

FM - What do you see as a challenge for the position of Town Council?


Rick Power – They have a few. One would be getting the people a little more engaged. There seems to be a little bit of adversity going on; People vs. the Council. There is also a perception that there are too many realtors and lawyers involved and benefiting from town council development decisions. I feel the council could do a better job addressing those concerns. I won’t engage in negative campaigning when most of what is being said is unfounded. 
We have a town of 34,000 people and less than 20% of registered voters actually get to the polls for local elections (closer to 60% during Presidential elections) and not too many attend council meetings. I get it; these meetings can be pretty boring. Maybe they are designed to be but I feel they could be a little lighter and a more open to discussion. Maybe a town hall style meeting is a better forum where there can be more interaction. 
I recently attended the Opioid Meetings- I thought they were great. The organizers said their piece, a long piece but it had value, and then they opened it up for others to talk and engage. That is the type of engagement I’m talking about, that’s what is needed in the Town Council. 
I am active on Facebook. You have to be very careful. Some people are just looking to be argumentative but most want the interaction. I think that social media is part of the world we live in now. If we aren’t involved there, we’re missing the boat. I do like the immediate feedback that is available about the issues. 
The budget is another big issue. We currently have a balanced budget and it took a lot of hard work to get here but soon we are going to have to do address the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) of $70-$80M I think it is. We can’t keep kicking that can down the road.I want to strike a balance with new development and keeping the small town feel that people came here for or grew up here and love. Transparency and openness into how the decisions are being made is crucial. 
Another issue seems to be the roads and sidewalks. People appreciate the effort but complain about the timeframe to complete. That is a communication thing. What is the timeline? How long will it take? I’d like to see better communication from the DPW on stuff like that.One of the items that came up on Facebook was trying to build a community/teen center in town. We have a great senior center but need something more. I talked with my son about the opioid issues. He said there is nothing to do in town for teens and above so they sit around bored. The bowling alley just closed. We used to have a cinema. I think we are foolish as a town to not look at that at least. It may cost us some money but we did it for the seniors.


FM - What do you bring to the position that would set you apart from the other candidates?



Rick Power – I think we touched on some of my biggest benefits as we talked. I'm not a politician. I am unbiased and pretty open minded. I am willing to look at both sides of the issue before making a decision on which one makes the best sense for the most amount of people. Sometimes there are people, like in my business, that can't advocate for themselves, yet they are worthy of the benefit. We need to advocate for them too. 
I have many years of leadership experience both in the military and in private sector business. I owned or managed several small businesses so I know the challenges they face. 
I am pretty technically savvy, on social media and the like. The feedback and information flow can be pretty intense. 
I think I can be a liaison for the town. I can be a little bit more in touch. Through my family and community involvement I can reach out to a wide range of residents and keep the lines of communication open. 
I’d like to hold some open houses, get some other councilors involved in engaging the community in a conversation about key issues. You got to keep your hands on the pulse of the town.

If you have any follow up questions for Rick, you can contact him via email at rwpower1@verizon.net

You can find additional information about Rick’s campaign on this website http://franklintowncouncil.weebly.com/

You can also visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RickPowerFTC


Noteworthy: This information is intended to help the Franklin voters when we all head to the ballot box on November 3rd. The interview candidates have had an opportunity to review the text before publishing to ensure the accuracy of our discussion.