Friday, December 18, 2020

Consumer Alerts: Santa doesn’t need your Social Security number

Consumer Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission

by Jim Kreidler, Consumer Education Specialist, FTC

This year, during the pandemic, your holidays might be moving a bit online. On the 10th day of Consumer Protection, maybe you're planning to send e-cards to family and friends.

Read more ->  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/12/santa-doesnt-need-your-social-security-number?utm_source=govdelivery

This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.




Town Council approves creation of Community Preservation Committee

It's official! 
 
The Franklin Town Council unanimously passed the by-law to create the 9-member Community Preservation Committee (CPC) on Wednesday, Dec 16!

Town Administrator Jamie Hellen said last night he expects to announce applications for the four at-large seats will be available in January. The 5 boards which have standing representatives will also begin work to consider which of each committee's current members wishes to serve on the initial CPC. 

If you are considering applying for either an at-large seat or a board rep seat, please know that training will be available through the Town and our friends at the state coalition!

Two of the initial at-large seats will have one year terms, and two will have two year terms to stagger the terms. 
 
Applications will be reviewed by the Town Administrator and final appointments will be made by the Town Council. 
 
 
 
Town Council approves creation of Community Preservation Committee
Town Council approves creation of Community Preservation Committee
 
 

Library of Congress: Completes Digitization of 23 Early Presidential Collections

Library of Congress Completes Digitization of 23 Early Presidential Collections

Portraits of George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt

The Library of Congress has completed a more than two decade-long initiative to digitize the papers of nearly two dozen early presidents. The Library holds the papers of 23 presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, all of which have been digitized and are now available online (https://www.loc.gov/collections/).

Click here for more information (https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-20-085/?loclr=ealn).

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Franklin Residents: Winter Storm Update

Winter Storm Update
Hello Franklin,
Please make note of the following alerts and information: 
  • A full parking ban is in effect until noon today
  • No Trash/Recycling Collection today, Thursday, Dec 17th. Trash/Recycling will be delayed by one day for 12/17 and 12/18 pick-ups only.
  • The Municipal Building and all town buildings (Recreation, Museum, Senior Center, Library, and DPW Administration) will remain closed today, Thursday, December 17th. All staff will be working remotely today and are available via email and phone during regular business hours. Please do not hesitate to reach out! 
  • Town offices and buildings will reopen tomorrow, Friday, Dec 18th at 8:00 for normal business hours. 
  • Based on this morning's report from the state MEMA office and Governor Baker's directives, it's in the best interest of the community to stay off the roads and allow our incredible local DPW workers and state highway officials the chance to clear snow from all roads, sidewalks and parking lots. 
  • Visit our website for information and links.
Stay safe! 

Town of Franklin | 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA 02038
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FM #415 Franklin Senior Center Nurse P-Collatos - 12/09/20 (audio)

FM #415 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 415 in the series.
 
This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Patricia (Trish) Collatos, the nurse at the Franklin Senior Center. The conversation was conducted via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

The recording runs almost about 23 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Trish. Audio link = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HcSKYqfS 


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The Town of Franklin Senior Center page  https://www.franklinma.gov/fsc

Senior Center updates during this pandemic
Prior sessions with Trish
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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 #415 Franklin Senior Center Nurse P-Collatos - 12/09/20 (audio)
FM #415 Franklin Senior Center Nurse P-Collatos - 12/09/20 (audio)


MMA: "New video highlights link between taxes and essential services"

From the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA)

"The leaders of Lawrence and Arlington share their views on the property tax and local services in a new video from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy that highlights the connection between taxes and the ability of communities to control their own destinies.

Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera and Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine are interviewed in the nine-minute video, “Property Tax 101: Why the Property Tax,” which explains the importance of the property tax and the value of local government.

“I think about local government as the most important form of government,” Rivera says in the video. “It’s the closest to people. Let me tell you something: if one mayor falls down on the job, if one city council falls down on the job, you feel it immediately. And so local government and the way we fund local government is very, very important.”
Continue reading the article online
 
 
Visit the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy online  https://www.lincolninst.edu/

Direct link to video "Property Tax 101: Why the Property Tax" on YouTube => https://youtu.be/yElQHQjjIxM


FPS Digital Learning: "Maintaining Connections during Hybrid and Remote Learning"

The FPS Digital Learning Integrationists have a new web page to help share information on what they do to support the teachers and students in the classroom environment with technology.

"In a typical school year, 8th grade ELA teacher Lauren Berolini can be found meeting one-on-one with students for writers' conferences. Ms. Berolini uses this format to provide specific, authentic feedback in a private and personal setting and values the opportunity it provides to make personal connections with students. 

In an effort to maintain these personal connections as students develop their writing skills in this hybrid and remote setting, Ms. Berolini requested help from the Digital Learning Integrationists to identify digital tools for providing feedback to students. Together they explored Mote, a google extension that enables voice note feedback within Google Classroom, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides."

Continue reading the article

Direct video link = https://youtu.be/RrhcLUjoEVQ