Holiday Lighting 4:00 - 6:00 PM Sunday 11/25/07

The annual Holiday Lighting on the Common will take place this afternoon at 4 p.m. on the Franklin Town Common.

Presented by the Committee for Concerts on the Common, the festivities will include lighting up the Town Common holiday lights and displays, refreshments and goodies, and a visit from Santa and the elves. A special attraction this year will be having a free picture taken with Santa, ready to be taken home.

In case of inclement weather, the festivities will take place across the street in the Ben Franklin Charter School.

Donations to help defray the cost of decorating may be sent to Concerts on the Common, P.O. Box 92, Franklin, MA 02038 or call 508-528-2206 for more information.

From the Milford Daily News

Franklin: Santa's Coming

Franklin: Santa's Coming, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Sunday 11/25/07 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Franklin: Setting up

Franklin: Setting up, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The elves were busy setting up the Town Common for the tree lighting ceremony and associated festivities on Sunday, November 25th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM.

Franklin: Holiday decorations

Franklin: Holiday decorations, originally uploaded by shersteve.

There were flowers
and the season for them passed.

There were empty pots
and now they have been filled.

Franklin: Elves have been busy

Franklin: Elves have been busy, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The elves have been decorating for the holidays.

Franklin in the News

The Milford Daily News has the following items of interest to Franklin:

Winners of the Franklin Art Association's annual members exhibit, Autumn Talent Unveiled, held recently at Hayward Manor, were announced during the recent artists reception.

Best in show was awarded to Susan Pratt Sheridan for "Afternoon in Piensa," watercolors.

Click through to the full story to read about the other winners.

When the Conservation Commission visits the pond-dappled DelCarte property Sunday, members will take another step toward determining the future of the overgrown sanctuary, widely regarded as the most generous gift in town history.

In 2001, Shirley Stewart donated 130 acres off Pleasant Street to Franklin on behalf of her deceased father, longtime landowner Ernest DelCarte. Following his final wishes, the town agreed to maintain the $3 million property as open space and to ban all fisherman on the man-made ponds except for a few neighbors.

Read the full story about this "Hidden Gem". Be sure to click though and view the multimedia slide show with some photos of what Franklin Reservoirs looks like today.

The Boston Globe has a recap of the leaking library situation:

Now that Franklin voters have rejected a property tax increase to raise Community Preservation Act funds, town officials are scrambling to pay for as much as $6 million in library repairs, or at least enough to prevent further damage this winter.

The town's leaking library was on the top of the list of projects to receive Community Preservation Act money if voters had approved the tax surcharge this month. It was rejected by about 60 percent of voters, 2,174 to 1,528.

Water is seeping through the roof and inside walls of the Franklin Public Library, which opened in 1904, said Ken Wiedemann, chairman of the library's board of directors. Some water has already reached murals that adorn the reading room, and other paintings are vulnerable.

He said the situation isn't "desperate" yet, but can't wait too long, either.

Read the full story here.

Franklin: Autumn Color

Franklin: Autumn Color, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The forecast doesn't seem to have bright and clear skies for this Thanksgiving Day so a picture from a recent 'good' day is appropriate.

We have so much to be thankful for in Franklin.

We can work through our problems, we can continue to be a Top 10 community to raise a family, a Top 100 community to retire, and continue to be a place to be thankful for!