the first time in five years Franklin is not using its reserves for operating expenses

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted May 26, 2008 @ 10:28 PM

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FRANKLIN —

The Town Council is due to vote tonight on the town's $88.02 million operating budget, following its second public hearing at 6 p.m.

With water, sewer and solid waste spending included, the town's fiscal 2009 budget totals $99.5 million.

The council will also consider a request Councilor Robert Vallee last Wednesday said he would make to add two officers to Police Chief Stephen T. Williams' 46-member force.

Williams had asked for the additional officers in his initial budget request, but was denied.

Policing in town continues to increase each year, while the department is understaffed, Williams said.

Each new officer could cost the town $60,000 to $80,000, Williams estimated.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Go to the Council Chambers tonight to participate or tune in via cable to see the Town Council and School Committee meeting back to back tonight. Town Council at 6:00 PM. School Committee was scheduled for 7:00 PM (before the Town Council adjust their schedule to finish up tonight).

Letter from Ed Cafasso

Good evening everyone!

I hope you and your families had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend. We certainly could not have asked for a better stretch of weather…

I wanted to pass along a couple of important scheduling notes as we all head back into our work and home routines, and the kids enter the homestretch of the 07-08 academic year.

On Tuesday (the 27th) at 6 p.m., the Town Council is schedule to finalize Franklin’s budget for fiscal 2009, which begins July 1. The school budget will be among those voted upon by the Council. Immediately following that session, the School Committee is scheduled to meet at 7:15 p.m.

Tuesday’s School Committee meeting will be an important one because it will be the first time we will be in position to analyze in more detail how the recent move to lay-off school personnel will impact academic classes, class sizes in key grades, and extracurricular offerings in the fall.

Now that the lay-offs have gone forward, in combination with retirements and terminations, Supt. Ogden and his staff will be able to present a clearer picture of the potential impact on student services. I urge you to tune in to the discussion Tuesday night if possible.

On Wednesday night, members of the Town Council, the School Committee and the Finance Committee will gather at 7 p.m. at the Mercer Auditorium at Horace Mann Middle School for a town-wide forum to answer citizen questions about the override votes scheduled for June 10.

I hope you will take the opportunity to attend Wednesday evening’s forum to learn more about the town’s fiscal condition and to speak your mind on budget matters, the town’s financial management and the value of the school services to the quality of life and property values here.



For additional information, you can view the Town budget page at: http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/town/admin/budget2/default.htm


You can view the proposed FY09 school budget at:
http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/FPS/super1/FY06Budget/default.htm


In addition, an override page is available that offers a central repository for a great deal of school and financial information. You can view it at:
http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/


A small group of parents has begun to organize a citizen’s group in support of the override. If you are interested in meeting with them, please let me know and I will connect you.

Thank you for your time and attention, and your continued support. Please stay tuned for additional budget information in the weeks ahead.


Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee

In case you missed the parade

Here are some musical highlights from each of the Franklin Public Schools as the marched by this morning.




Enjoy!

Franklin Fire Dept. new Tower Truck

Franklin Fire Dept. new Tower Truck, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The new $860,000 Tower 1 truck is at home in the new fire station in downtown Franklin, MA.

The truck will be paid for over five years, the first payment this year at $160,000, followed by four yearly payments of $175,000 each.

With a little luck it will be used for training and parades. If it does get called out to be used in a fire, the safety features it contains will hopefully enable a safe operation and rescue, if necessary.

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From the Town Council meeting authorizing payment (audio and text)

From the Finance Committee meeting authorizing payment (audio)

"The family atmosphere we have is because of them"

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted May 25, 2008 @ 08:40 PM

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Thousands of Bay State residents will observe Memorial Day today with cookouts, parties, days at the beach or soaking up sun with family and friends.

While she doesn't begrudge anyone having a good time this holiday weekend, Jodi Cabino-Cipriano wants people to remember the cost every Memorial Day entails.

The Franklin resident will this year mark the third Memorial Day since her son, Shayne Cabino, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. She said the holiday this week should serve as a reminder of the cost her family - and thousands more like it across the country - have paid.

"It'll never be the same," she said of the holiday. "I'll never have it again. We'll never, ever, ever be complete."

Cabino joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and was just 19 when he was sent to Iraq. He was killed along with three others when an improvised explosive device exploded outside Fallujah.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

"The energy this crystal has is very loving"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted May 26, 2008 @ 10:00 AM

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FRANKLIN —

It's not a bad life, being one of Sage Marianne's "babies."

Sage gently sings to the "newborn" crystals and says she infuses them with a divine healing energy.

A few of them even rest in their own purple velvet-lined basinets.

Since Sage's first "birth" in October 2000, she has opened her Glenn Meadow Road home to hundreds, possibly thousands of quartz crystals she unearthed during her bi-annual crystal mining trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Recently, 63-year-old Sage "Crystal Singer" returned from Hot Springs where she unearthed a few new gems, a tradition that began when she decided to take a six-week absence from work to explore who she is, she said.

"I'm an adventurous woman. I always wanted to drive cross-country - it took me (more than a decade) to do it," Sage said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

"50 cents a day, just seems like such a bargain"

As Franklin's second Proposition 2 1/2 override vote in as many years approaches, town officials are seeking to inform residents about the possibility of teacher layoffs, among other proposed school-related cuts, if they turn down the requested property-tax increase.

A special election has been called for June 10 to ask voters to decide on the proposed $2.8 million override. If approved, the additional funds would allow the district to save approximately 43.5 teaching positions - 16 at Franklin High, 12.5 at the middle school, and 15 at the elementary school - that would otherwise be eliminated, according to school officials. The extra tax money would also forestall a $100 increase in the pay-to-ride bus fee, and spare late bus service for students who stay after school for clubs and other extracurricular activities, they said.

Read the full article here in the Boston Globe