Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA Area: FRI 1/8/16 - THU 1/14/16

FRIDAY 1/8/16
9:30am   Canvas and Coffee at the Franklin Art Center

SATURDAY 1/9/16
10am-12pm   Information Session and Building Tour of the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School
1-3pm   Family Paint at the Franklin Art Center
6:30pm   Electric Youth 2016 Debut at The Black Box
8:00pm   Circle of Friends Coffeehouse: John Gorka and Honor Finnegan, FUSF (262 Chestnut Street, Franklin)
8:30pm   Electric Youth 2016 Debut at The Black Box

SUNDAY 1/10/16
7:30-10:30am   Sunday Morning Breakfast at Franklin Rod and Gun Club

TUESDAY 1/12/16
6:30-8pm   Knitting Circle for Adults at Franklin Public Library
7:30pm   Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee Meeting at the Franklin YMCA. Public welcome!

THURSDAY 1/14/16
7-9:30pm   Zentangle (Winter Bear) at the Franklin Art Center

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

The Tri-County Insider January 7

JANUARY 7 To the Tri-County Community, Happy New Year! We are almost at the midpoint of the school year- there is a Ferris Bueller quote in here somewhere about time flying by. Our Winter Sports are in full swing. We are preparing freshmen to select their programs soon, and seniors will begin their Senior Project presentations next week. Ms. Haney will be planting the garden before we know it. Our MCAS results have been made public and Tri-County is once again a Level 1 school with all of tested programs making gains towards their 2017 goal. It is rewarding to see students work so hard to achieve these goals and a faculty so willing to do whatever they can to help them. We hear and read a great deal about college and career readiness in the news, and here at Tri- County and the other vocational programs across the state this idea of college and career readiness is lived out every day. Congratulations to all the teachers, students, and parents on our 2015 performance. More congratulations to our Computer Information Systems students on their "Late Pass" app that was entered into the Verizon App Contest and won Best in State winner in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. Please read below how to help our students succeed at the next level of the competition. Thank you all for your support, Mr. Procaccini Upcoming Events Grade 9 Shop Selection Night Wednesday, January 13 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday, January 18 About The TC Insider The TC Insider is a biweekly newsletter for the families of Tri-County students. Forward to a Friend Follow on Twitter Like us on Facebook View Email In Browser Tri-County RVTHS 147 Pond Street Franklin, MA 02038 www.tri-county.us 508-528-5400 Tri-County admissions webpage image Note: the newsletter was shortened for publication here, you can view the full set of contents here

Blood drive and bone marrow drive this Saturday in Norfolk

Via the Franklin network:

The Gary Mirliss Memorial Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Campaign Has Arrived Next Saturday your donation can make a difference in someone's life. We need your help, your family's help, your friend's help, and your neighbor's help to reach our goal of collecting  200 Units of Blood       BE THE ONE THAT PUTS US OVER THE TOP  When Saturday, January 9, 2016    From 8 AM to 3 PM Where King Philip Middle School 18 King Street  Norfolk, MA 02056 All participants names will be placed in a raffle for the chance to win great donor raffle items and enjoy a pancake breakfast and pizza See you next Saturday, January 9th Schedule Appointment Sponsor Code: Mirliss Forward to Family, Friends, and Neighbors STAY CONNECTED:

MBTA: New feature: Subscribe-by-train for Commuter Rail

Dear T-Alerts subscriber, We've introduced a new feature for Commuter Rail T-Alerts. Subscribers can now choose a specific commuter rail train(s), instead of everything that runs during a specific time of day. This way you'll only receive the alerts that matter most. To update your subscriptions to take advantage of this feature: Log in to edit your T-Alert subscription at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MABTA/subscriber/new Check your trains to subscribe to them (You can hover your mouse over the blue "i" symbols to see each train's scheduled stop times) Click "submit" at the bottom when you're done We hope this feature improves your T-Alerts experience. - The MBTA T-Alerts Team

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train at Franklin/Dean station

Strategic Materials fined for violating state air pollution control and wetland protection regulations

"The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $17,200 penalty on Strategic Materials, Inc. of Houston, Texas, which operates a glass recycling facility at Kenwood Circle in Franklin, for violating state air pollution control and wetland protection regulations. 

State of MA DEP

Strategic Materials holds an air quality permit issued by MassDEP, which establishes emission limits and operating requirements for the glass bottle-crushing facility. Inspections conducted by MassDEP staff in 2014 identified violations of both the permit and the Wetlands Protection Act regulations."

Continue reading the press release by the State of MA DEP
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/news/releases/franklin-recycling-facility-assessed-17200-penalty.html

Live reporting: Economic Development Committee - Jan 6, 2016

Wednesday night was a rush as the Economic Development Committee met in the 3rd floor training room at 6:00 PM and ran until just before the Town Council meeting scheduled for the Council Chambers at 7:00 PM.

I chose to take my notes both on paper and tweet the highlights. I did make an audio recording of the meeting and assuming the quality is good, I'll share that soon.

Note: be sure to scroll within the Storify window to read the full set of notes

image shared from Eileen Mason

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In the News: senior assistance approved, recycling business fined, feedback from seniors sought

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

The Town Council considered - and ultimately accepted - two initiatives intended to make it easier for local seniors to pay their property taxes. 

The council unanimously approved a higher tax exemption for seniors older than 70 who make less than $19,000 a year and a higher ceiling for the senior tax work-off program. 

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said an increase in the state's minimum wage at the beginning of the year - from $9 to $10 an hour - allowed the town to bolster its work-off program, in which seniors volunteer at town departments in exchange for credit on their tax bills. The town is only allowed to pay seniors up to the minimum wage.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160107/franklin-council-approves-senior-tax-measures

A Kenwood Circle glass recycling business has been fined by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for violations of state air quality and wetlands rules, the department announced Thursday. 

The company - Houston-based Strategic Materials, Inc. - was fined $17,200 by the department after staff discovered violations in 2014, according to the announcement.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160107/franklin-facility-fined-by-dep

Franklin Senior Center

State Rep. Jeffrey N. Roy, D-Franklin, will host a community conversation with senior citizens to discuss issues that impact their lives and to provide information on the various state programs available to them. Area seniors, their loved ones, and caregivers are invited to the event that will take place at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 15 at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill St. 

Roy’s special guest for the event is State Rep. Denise C. Garlick, D-Needham, the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. Garlick, who is also a registered nurse, will speak about the $3.5 billion dollars allocated to the Executive Office of Elder Affairs and MassHealth for senior programs. Aside from MassHealth, Garlick will address other funded initiatives including homecare and nursing homes, prescription drug assistance, Council on Aging funding, protective services, elder housing and nutrition programs.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160107/state-rep-roy-to-host-conversation-with-franklin-medway-seniors