In the news - martial arts

Getting their kicks

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

When Grandmaster Chang Nam Kang decided to open a tae kwon do school in Massachusetts, he said he sought a community where people value education and "really want to better themselves." Kang, who said he served as a bodyguard for the president of South Korea and an international referee for the World Taekwondo Federation, decided Franklin was the perfect town for his Mu Han martial arts school. "This area is focused on education, and martial arts takes a lot of time and dedication. Without discipline and patience, you won't continue. This is for people who really want to better themselves," said Master Jin Oh, who will run the school with Kang. "To me, this is a good location, because people here want to develop and build themselves," Oh said. At Mu Han, which means "infinite, unlimited," Kang will act as the lead instructor of tae kwon do, a Korean martial art, and Oh, a sixth-degree black belt and instructor in Attleboro trained in both tae kwon do and kung fu, will also teach. Both learned their art in Korea, their homeland.

Yes, there will be a celebration this 4th of July! You can help!

Fourth of July Coalition seeking volunteers

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

There is no question whether the town's Fourth of July celebration tradition will continue this year, said Michael A. Walker-Jones. "We're going to make it happen," said Walker-Jones, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee. He has been informally leading the Fourth of July Celebration Coalition steering committee with Michael Kelly.

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read the full article here.

Pirelli Rink

"At 8:18 p.m., all the shouting, banging and stomping at Veterans Memorial Skating Rink halted.

Young men in blue and white uniforms skating in circles and slamming pucks at their goal lined up, facing their opposition in silence. For a few brief moments, only the sound of bagpipes honoring fallen soldier Robert Ryan Pirelli could be heard. 

Following Gov. Deval Patrick's approval Friday, the town renamed the arena last night at the final Panthers home game of the season in memory of Staff Sgt. Pirelli, a former Panther hockey player who was killed by enemy fire in Iraq last year."

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News.(subscription maybe required)

On the same page - discussion

On the same page - discussion, originally uploaded by shersteve.

David Park and Khadija Hassine were deep in discussion during the Tuesday evening get together as part of the Library program "On the Same Page" facilitated by Margaret Ellis.

The immigrant experience in America was one of the themes in the book, Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo.

What did the recent immigrants have to say about their time here?

• "here in Franklin, it is like a big family, everyone knows somebody"
• "my new 'mother' is downstairs"
• "life is too busy here, all work, work, work"

How did they pick Franklin?

Most acknowledged that the reputation of the school system was the key reason. The location of the commuter rail and the safety of the area were two other prime reasons.

What were difficulties they found here?

• "too many forms, they ask the same questions so many times"
• "making friends, they found neighbors very helpful but those who could be friends had not enough time"

What were differences they found here?

• "so easy to drive here, back in my country it requires much more skill"
• "lives are so independent here, in my country life is more centered on the family"
• "time is so important here, everyone is so busy. I can hear: I have not seen him in two months. Back home, that is not possible."

The Franklin area immigrants represented a diverse collection of countries, from our northern neighbor Canada to Bulgaria, India, Morocco, Poland, and Vietnam.

What could be done

The residential property tax crisis around MA is growing daily. The Commonwealth has some help (possibly) coming our way. Wouldn't it be nice if some of our Federal tax dollars could be put to use?

Consider this:




All the more poignant as we prepare our taxes prior to April 15th.


Many thanks to Ronni Bennett for the link.

In the news - Pirelli Rink, Georgia-Pacific leaves

Town to dedicate rink to fallen soldier

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

FRANKLIN - The Panthers will surrender the ice tonight to let local dignitaries dedicate Veterans Arena Skating Rink to 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Robert R. Pirelli, a soldier killed in Iraq and one-time Franklin High hockey player.

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Georgia-Pacific to shutter plant

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff

FRANKLIN - Georgia-Pacific, the global paper products company, will close its packaging facility here in the coming weeks and lay off about 100 workers, it confirmed yesterday.

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Tough times ahead - Jeff Roy

Jeff Roy, Chairman of the School Committee closes his posting on Tough Times Ahead

But, no matter how you look at it, we are in for yet another bumpy ride. The School Committee will be discussing the budget scenarios beginning on February 26. We urge you to tune in and follow the progress of the budget discussions that will impact your school system.

Read the full posting on the School Committee blog

In particular, there is some really good work done depicting the money the Commonwealth returns to each community as colors on the map of Massachusetts. Very effective.

Franklin, we should thank our lucky stars for having it as good as we have had for so long.