Franklin Matters

Monday, February 8, 2016

Hockomock Sports photos from swim championships

Photos from the Hockomock League Swim Championships have been posted by Hockomock Sports. The FHS girls team won on Saturday. The KP boys team won on Sunday and the FHS boys finished 7th.

FHS swimmer checking the results (Hockomock Sports photo)

In the News: electrical aggregation, SAFE outreach, bone marrow drive, pajama and sock drive

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

The town has contracted with an area company as it continues to explore a move that could bring down residents' power bills.

Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen announced that the town has reached an agreement with Marlborough firm Colonial Power Group, and will be pursuing municipal electrical aggregation solutions with them.

"I think they've contracted with two or three other communities in the area," he said. "In all, I believe they have half a million customers in their portfolio."

Colonial Power Group

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160207/franklin-moves-forward-with-aggregation

A task force aimed at combating the current opioid epidemic is looking at several ways to reach out to area addicts, including possible police "ride alongs."

James Derick, president of the Support for Addicts and Families by Empowerment (SAFE) Coalition, spoke - before a recent lecture by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam - of several initiatives the group is undertaking.

One of the coalition's goals, Derick said, is to reach out to addicts in need of help. To that end, it has applied for grants to ride along with area police departments on certain drug calls.

Safe Coalition

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160207/franklin-safe-looks-at-outreach-for-addicts

Residents gathered for a bone marrow donor registration drive Saturday in support of a Franklin resident’s sister who is searching for a bone marrow match.

Jennifer Felicetti, a New Jersey resident, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve. She is currently receiving aggressive treatment, but doctors think a bone marrow transplant is her best option in hopes of beating the disease.

There are no matching donors in her family so Felicetti is now on a waiting list to find a matching donor somewhere in the world.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160206/bone-marrow-drive-supports-franklin-family

The Student Government at Jefferson Elementary School is conducting a pajama and sock drive through Feb. 12 to benefit the Friends of Foster Care and Comfort Cases for kids. All collected pajamas and socks will be included within a backpack and delivered to the children as they begin their journey with a new foster home.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160206/jefferson-elementary-school-holding-pajama-sock-drive

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Franklin Public Schools: School Closing on Monday, Feb 8

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hello

Based on the most recent report from our weather service, snowfall predictions will be greater than predicted.

All schools closed on Monday 2/8- No evening activities.

Central Administration Offices will be open unless notified otherwise.

Thank You

This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message.

the new artificial turf field at FHS is covered with snow

Yes, Franklin - the Town is improving its communications

In case you haven't noticed, there have been some significant changes to the Town of Franklin webpage. The page itself looks and functions much the same but the information placed there and the timeliness of the info there is what I think is worthy.

On the Town Council page, instead of grabbing all nine emails to send them something, you can now do so with one click.

screen grab of Franklin Town Council webpage

Franklin TV has enabled an RSS feed for the videos that get posted for the town meetings that are recorded. Yes, now you can get notified via RSS that the Town Council meeting video is available! (If you don't already have an RSS reader, you can find more about that here or here or here (video)).

FHS girls’ swimming program brought home its first Hockomock Championship title

"After back-to-back seasons of finishing in second place to its league rivals, the Franklin girls’ swimming program brought home its first Hockomock Championship title with a dominating performance on Saturday at the Milford High pool.

The Panthers finished with an overall team total of 383, more than 100 points better than defending champion King Philip’s total of 264. The top five was rounded out by Taunton (230), Sharon (186) and North Attleboro (186).

The championship meet was the culmination of a season of first for the Panthers, who also finished undefeated in the dual meet season and won the Kelley-Rex title for the first time in the seven-year history of the program.

“This is a big deal,” said Franklin coach Jess Pridham. “For the last two years we’ve been runners up and I can’t take credit for their talent. I’m just the chessmaster. I put together the best meet possible and their talent has brought us this far.”

Continue reading the article online
http://www.hockomocksports.com/franklin-claims-first-hockomock-swimming-title/

Franklin girls swim team takes first Hockomock Championship

Franklin News from around the social media

On Facebook, Jeff Roy posted about the FHS Mock Trial team winning their first case. FHS Teacher Mike Walsh added that

"What Jeff Roy neglected to mention is that he has been volunteering his time to help us prepare for this complicated case. Meant a lot to the kids that you came to cheer them on today."

Delighted to see some talented young litigators from Franklin High School try a case in the Marlborough District Court....
Posted by Jeff Roy on Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Franklin Chargers congratulated Eian Bain on getting the FHS football coaching position and posted Coach Bain letter to the FHS football community.

Coach Bain letter

Have you heard about the "Helping Hands Florist"? Quality flowers prepared with quality attention by a group from HMEA. Hmm, Valentine's Day is coming!

Helping Hands Florist

MassBudget: Analyzing the Governor's FY 2017 Budget

MassBudget		Information.
MassBudget		Participation.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center		Democracy.

Analyzing the Governor's FY 2017 Budget

The Governor's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 is best described as an austerity budget. It contains small cuts and spending reductions across government and includes few new initiatives. Our newly released Budget Monitor analyzes the budget in detail.

Many of the reductions are due to the early retirement program implemented this year. Perhaps the most important question this budget raises is how those cuts will affect the quality of services provided by our government. With fewer people working at the Department of Environmental Protection (where the Governor proposes a 7 percent reduction in funding), will our state's ability to enforce the laws that keep our air and water clean be degraded? With reductions at the Department of Revenue (where this budget proposes 13 percent less funding), will it be harder for honest taxpayers to get answers from the department and will it be easier for those corporations and other sophisticated taxpayers who seek to evade taxes to avoid paying the taxes they owe? Similar issues will arise across state government, and we won't know the answers until after the budget takes effect.

On the positive side, this budget proposal continues efforts to hire more social workers at the Department of Children and Families so that caseloads will decline and our front line workers can better protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. The proposal also funds new efforts to address the opioid addiction crisis, including an additional $9.1 million for the Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services to support increased prevention and treatment efforts.

The budget reduces the state's reliance on temporary revenue and makes a small deposit into the stabilization fund. But six years into an economic recovery, the budget is still being balanced with temporary revenue, including $150 million that existing law dedicates to the stabilization fund. This continues a long-term pattern we have seen since the state cut income taxes by over $3 billion between 1998 and 2002: deep cuts in recessions, barely balanced budgets in the best of times, and chronic structural budget gaps. This pattern has real world consequences: our Commonwealth has not been able to make important investments in the education and skills of our workers and in the integrity of our transportation infrastructure that could strengthen our economy in the long run. This Budget Monitor examines the Governor's FY 2017 budget proposal in the context of these long-term trends.

For the full Budget Monitor, click HERE.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER

15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700

BOSTON, MA 02108