Circle of Friends: Don White online concert Thurs, July 23

Hilarious singer/storyteller Don White - donationas

Don White Thurs, July 23 7 PM View this email in your browser Don White Online Thursday, July 23rd, 7 PM The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse presents an online concert by Don White on Thursday, July 23rd at 7 PM to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry.  Don is an award-winning singer/songwriter, a comedian, an author, and a storyteller. He's been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for thirty years. He is a Circle of Friends regular whose songs and stories always have our crowds rolling in the aisles.  http://www.donwhite.net/ Franklin's Jamie Barrett opens the show. Special surprise guest(s) will be joining Don at the end of the show for a song circle.  If you check our last email that may give you a clue. More info next week You will be able to view this show on YouTube or on Don's Facebook page. There is no fee but donations will be accepted and benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. Here is the link to YouTube: https://youtu.be/Zwoc7dXhnpU The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse is a non-profit organization affiliated with Franklin's First Universalist Society.   Please visit http://www.circlefolk.org/  for more information.

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse · First Universalist Society · 262 Chestnut St · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA

Student Bus registration required for 2020-2021 school year

Bus Registration is now available for the 2020 -2021 School Year. 

Find more details, including the necessary registration forms and payment information here: https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/communication_to_families_re_20-21_busing.pdf

Student Bus registration required for 2020-2021 school year

Franklin radar picked up via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FranklinPSNews/status/1283447794146181121?s=09

Election Workers needed for upcoming Primary and State Elections

The Town Clerk's office is seeking election workers for the upcoming elections scheduled on September 1st and November 3rd.

If you are interested or if you have any questions, please reach out. 

Contact information for the Town Clerk can be found on our website here https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk

Election Workers needed for upcoming Primary and State Elections

FTC Alert: Utility company calling? Don’t fall for it.

Utility company calling? Don't fall for it. by Jim Kreidler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC Every day, millions of people who have lost their jobs are making difficult choices about how to pay their bills. As the Coronavirus continues to spread, scammers are taking advantage of people's heightened economic anxiety.  Their latest ploy is posing as representatives from utility companies to dupe people out of their cash and personal information by convincing them their utilities will be shut off if they don't pay. Read more https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/07/utility-company-calling-dont-fall-it?utm_source=govdelivery This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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“I think 2025 is a very aggressive schedule"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"State Department of Transportation officials have laid out the three-stage process it will likely take to start replacing the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, with the goal of starting construction on the same timeline as laid out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

The multiyear process will include preliminary design, a 25% design and then handing it over to a design and building firm for the construction phase, department officials said in an interview with the Times on Tuesday. 

The department took the lead on replacing the two 85-year-old bridges last week after signing an agreement with the Corps, the owner of the existing bridges, that would hand over ownership of the newly constructed bridges to the state. 

The project was originally going to be done by the Corps, but the state is taking over because Massachusetts transportation officials said it was better suited to build two highway bridges. Replacing the bridges will be the largest construction project on Cape Cod in recent memory, and the state is currently embarking on the preliminary design phase."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200715/massdot-shoots-for-2025-construction-start-on-1b-project-to-replace-bourne-sagamore-bridges?rssfeed=true

The press release announcing the transfer of ownership from the Army Corp of Engineers to Mass DOT  https://www.mass.gov/news/memorandum-of-understanding-reached-between-massdot-and-the-us-army-corps-of-engineers

Further updates can be found on the Mass DOT page
https://www.mass.gov/cape-cod-canal-transportation-study

Further updates can be found on the Mass DOT page

In the News: DESE requests no announcement of final decisions on re-opening plans

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Parents who are eager to know whether Massachusetts students will return to classrooms this fall will likely have to wait until at least early August for any final decisions. 

Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley sent additional guidance on fall reopening plans to school districts on Friday and asked officials not to make any announcements to families at this time.

“While you continue working to flesh out these models, I am requesting that you hold off on announcing any final decisions about what reopening will look like for the fall in your district until early August,” Riley wrote. 

In late-June,school districts received Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance, which asked them to prepare a reopening plan that addresses three possible learning models for the fall: a full return to in-person learning with new safety requirements, a hybrid of in-person and remote learning and the continuation of remote learning."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200715/massachusetts-school-districts-asked-not-to-announce-fall-decisions-until-august/1?rssfeed=true

The DESE request was discussed during the Franklin School Committee meeting Tuesday. My notes and the audio for this meeting can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/fm-312-franklin-ma-school-committee.html

The re-opening FAQs can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/dese-fall-reopening-frequently-asked.html

In the News: DESE requests no announcement of final decisions on re-opening plans

FM #314 School Committee Anti-Racism Resolution Discussion 7/14/20 (audio)

FM #314 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 314 in the series.

This session shares the discussion around the anti-racism resolution on the agenda of the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. The meeting was conducted via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda and reference documents.

The statement runs just about 33 minutes, so let’s listen to discussion from the School Committee meeting on July 14.

Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HrB6lq3K



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School Committee agenda
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda.html

School Committee meeting packet
https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/july-14-2020-school-committee-meeting-packet

Resolution link
https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/files/disc-action-c-resolution-anti-racism

My real time reporting via Twitter summarized
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/school-committee-recap-anti-racism.html

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.

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 #314 School Committee Anti-Racism Resolution Discussion 7/14/20 (audio)