Franklin Public Schools: Kennedy School incident of March 6th, 2020

"Police announced Tuesday night that the individual the Franklin Police was interested in identifying earlier in the day had come forward. 

The announcement came hours have they issued a press release saying they were trying to identify a young man who entered the John F. Kennedy School on Pond Street last Friday after classes had concluded for the day. 

“There was no criminal intent and the matter is resolved,” said in a statement issued Tuesday night."

https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200310/update-franklin-police-locate-and-id-man-who-entered-kennedy-school-adding-there-was-no-criminal-intent

Kennedy School incident of March 6, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2020 2:30 PM

"Franklin, Massachusetts: On Friday March 6, 2020 an unknown male individual made entry to the John F. Kennedy School on Pond Street. This occurred after school hours; however students participating in after school programs were still on site.

After making entry by entering though an open door as another parent left, he proceeded into a common hallway where he was confronted by school staff and questioned as to his reason for being in the school. At no time did he come into contact with any students. His answers to staff questions were inconsistent, and he was escorted from the building immediately.

"Franklin Police Department is only seeking to identify the individual in the photos"

At this time the Franklin Police Department is only seeking to identify the individual in the photos. No criminal charges are pending at this time.

If you have any information on this individual please contact the Franklin Police Detective Division at 508-528-1212 and press option #6."


Shared from the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/police-department/news/kennedy-school-incident-march-6th-2020

Franklin Disabilities Commission: Ability Summit - April 18

The Franklin Disabilities Commission is holding an Ability Summit on Saturday, April 18 from 12 PM - 3 PM at the Franklin Senior Center. 

All are welcome! 

Please see the attached flyer for more details and contact information.

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/20200306111229537.pdf

Franklin Disabilities Commission: Ability Summit - April 18

FM #222 - Franklin Matters Radio with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Anne Marie Tracey

FM #222 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 222 in the series.

The first of a monthly series of discussions with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen was recorded in the Franklin Public Radio studio recently. Anne Marie Tracey, Marketing and Communication Specialist, joined Jamie and I for this session.

Ultimately, the plan for these sessions will be to broadcast these live. The first couple of sessions will help the studio prepare for this to go live by recording them as if we were live, then making them available for replay.

The radio show format will be deliberately ‘long form’ with a topic or two in each broadcast to spend some time with. Not so much to get into dollars and cents details but to get into the reasons why, and the rationale behind the pros and cons of the major items before us.

There will be a segment for questions from the audience. You can submit a question via the Google form on the Franklin Matters page
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/02/ask-franklin-matters-you-ask-question.html

In this session, we cover Jamie's background and how that prepared him for Town Administrator, success planning being done where possible across Franklin, a teaser on the budget process which starts now, and some info on the stormwater utility fee and information sessions scheduled for March. There will be more to come on stormwater as the details get worked out.

This audio segment runs about an hour, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Anne Marie https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HcQcbQpX




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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

 

FM #222 - Franklin Matters Radio with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Anne Marie Tracey

"Six Rounds of Vengeance" returns to FHS March 13

"Six Rounds of Vengeance returns to FHS on 3/13, at 730pm. Tickets are $10 for all patrons. Come support the FHSTC and their semi-final round submission for the METG Drama Festival.

This show contains strong language, and stage violence and may not be suitable for young audiences."

Shared from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FranklinHSDrama/status/1237006967320821760

Six Rounds of Vengeance returns to FHS on 3/13

Town Council recap - MArch 4, 2020

Walter Zinchuck, the oldest Franklin resident, 102 years young, received the Boston Post Cane

The resolution on Civil Discourse passed after much discussion.

Municipal aggregation was confirmed as happening in November 2020. You can opt out of it. Why? If you already ahve a long term electrical contract or already have solar panels... For the rest of us, we get to see a savings with green energy (wind power) and a rate of 10.5 cents/KWH for three years. More to come on this as the Sep/Oct time frame when mailings to all the residential customers will be sent. In the meantime, more info can be found on the Colonial Power page for Franklin  https://colonialpowergroup.com/franklin/

The first look at the budget for Fiscal Year 2021 was presented showing a deficit of $3.5M which will need to be resolved before passing a balanced budget by June 30,2020.

From the meeting I created two audio files to listen to meeting segments:

• Audio segment on Civil Discourse

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/fm-218-town-council-citizen-comments.html

• Audio segment on FY 2021

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/fm-220-town-council-fy-2021-budget.html


Actions Taken
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/files/tc-actions-taken-3420


My notes reported live during the meeting

• Live reporting: Town Administrators Report to Closing

 https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-town-administrators.html

• Live reporting: Legislation for action

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-legislation-for-action.html

• Live reporting: Civil Discourse Discussion

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-civil-discourse.html

• Live reporting: FY 2021 Budget Update

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-fy-2021-budget-update.html

• Live reporting: Municipal Aggregation

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-municipal-aggregation.html

• Live reporting: Town Council - March 4, 2020

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/live-reporting-town-council-march-4-2020.html

Walter Zinchuck, the oldest Franklin resident, 102 years young, received the Boston Post Cane

OCC Coffeehouse: Tom Paxton & The Don Juans - March 20

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and folk icon, Tom Paxton, teams up with the Grammy winning singer/songwriter duo The Don Juans - Don Henry & Jon Vezner. Collectively, their songs have been covered by: Harry Belafonte, John Mellencamp, Miranda Lambert, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Nancy Griffith, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, John Denver, Faith Hill, B.J. Thomas, Blake Shelton, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan… just to name a few! Within days of writing and playing together, they knew they were onto something. Now they’re taking it on the road!

Tom Paxton has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tenderest bonds of family, friends, and community. Among his many songs that have become standards are The Last Thing on My Mind, Ramblin' Boy, Bottle of Wine, Whose Garden Was This?, Goin' to the Zoo, and The Marvelous Toy.

OCC Coffeehouse: TOM PAXTON  & THE DON JUANS - March 20

At Don Henry's shows, you'll easily spot those who have yet to hear his songs. Upon first experiencing them, the listener is often moved to laughter or tests, sometimes both at the same time! And everyone leaves humming, because Don Henry songs songs stay with you.

Mary-Chapin Carpenter said "Jon Venzer writes about the details of our hearts and feelings. His gift is in speaking to these ordinary things which connect us to one another And in recognizing their simple beauty, he transforms them into something extraordinary."

Tickets for the concert are $20, available at the church office, 508-384-3110, or at www.musicatocc.org. The event will be in Fellowship Hall at the back of the church with entry from the parking lot behind the church. Parking is available behind the church and in the lot across the street. For more information and to be added to the mailing list, visit the website or contact Ken Graves, 508-384-8084, occmusic99@gmail.com.

SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE NEXT FOUR CONCERTS

We have noticed that occasionally people like to gather their friends or fellow group members to attend one of our concerts as a group. As a way to encourage that, we will give you 2 free tickets for every 10 tickets you purchase. For instance, if you buy 10 tickets, you will get 12. Buying 20 tickets gets you a total of 24. Give it a try! More people to share the fun with!

OTHER SHOWS IN THE 2019-2020 SEASON

AT OCC COFFEEHOUSE: Tickets are now available for all shows on the website. All shows are general admission seating, so arrive early for good seats.

** Saturday, April 25, 2020, Aztec Two-Step 2.0, featuring Rex Fowler, Dodie Pettit & Friends. Now that Neal Shulman has retired, Rex continues on, recapturing the sound of the duo's original studio recordings.

** Sunday, May 24, 2020, Ted Vigil, John Denver Tribute. Ted is an award-winning singer, songwriter and tribute artist. He performs internationally, and wows the crowd, selling out theatres everywhere. A typical comment is "I can't believe how much he looks and sounds like John Denver."

You ask - we answer: tax our driveways?

Q - Is it true that the town is going to tax our driveways? Sounds pretty ridiculous to me but I heard it from a trusted friend?

A - Yes and no. There is a stormwater utility fee coming that could be viewed as a tax that will apply to all landowners and the impervious coverage they have. "Impervious" simply is coverage that wouldn't allow for penetration of water into the ground. So roofs, driveways, pools, tennis courts, etc. would all count toward the impervious amount of square feet on an individual property. 

While there will be a fee charged, the rate remains to be determined. There will also be credits for mitigation of stormwater. These details and others remain to be worked out. 

As an example: while my driveway needs to be replaced, if I were to get it covered with some paving blocks rather than blacktop, I would likely qualify for some credit for mitigating my impervious coverage. The exact details for paving block to be used and amount of credit are among those details to be worked out.

The Town has created a stormwater page which will capture the Frequently Asked Questions, presentation documents, and other information:  https://www.franklinma.gov/stormwater-division

In the first session held, March 6, it was revealed there would be more sessions as the stormwater utility fee proposal moved forward. Stay tuned to find out. We'll share as soon as we hear.

The current information sessions scheduled:

• March 11 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Franklin TV Studios
• March 21 from 11 AM - 1 PM at Franklin Public Library

The schedule was posted on the Town of Franklin page

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/storm_water_8.5_x_11_in_0.pdf

The Franklin Police dog, Ben Franklin, made an appearance at the stormwater information session

Submit your question here

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/02/ask-franklin-matters-you-ask-question.html