Yes, the summer is coming to an end.
Dolores has her classroom ready to welcome her new set of friends at Oak Street.
Check to see what time your kindergarten orientation is on Tuesday.
Drive with alertness to keep all the Franklin students safe!
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Yes, the summer is coming to an end.
Dolores has her classroom ready to welcome her new set of friends at Oak Street.
Check to see what time your kindergarten orientation is on Tuesday.
Drive with alertness to keep all the Franklin students safe!
Yes, this used to be Aroma's Caffe.
Soon it will be Andro's Pizza.
BTW - also on the food front, noticed a sign that says Nonni Roses' is now offering a full breakfast Thu-Fri-Sat.
The foundation at 188 King St was being set up 2 weeks ago and posted here
The section of Beaver Street from West Central Street to Grove Street will be closed to through traffic from August 25, 2008 to approximately September 12, 2008. The purpose of the road closing is to reconstruct the Mine Brook drainage culvert.
Access up to and including Master Drive will be from West Central Street. Access to the Beaver Street Recycling Center and the Beaver Pond recreational facilities will be from Grove Street.
Jiminy Peak, a western Mass. mountain resort, marked the one year anniversary on August 15 of flipping the switch and connecting its 1.5 megawatt GE wind turbine to the grid. The turbine, nicknamed Zephyr, is now generating a full third of the ski resort's power. But getting there wasn't exactly a breeze.
Nestled in the Berkshires, Jiminy Peak claims to be the first privately held company in the nation to have installed a megawatt class turbine. Its Zephyr (named after the Greek god of wind) sits on a 253-ft. tower, with each of its three blades reaching approximately 123 feet into the air, making the wind turbine taller than the Statue of Liberty.
The turbine generates 4.6 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy or enough to light up the TVs, DVDs, microwaves and refrigerators in 613 homes for a year. Most of the power is generated in winter, when mountain winds peak, and demand at the resort is at its highest, due to the demands of snowmaking equipment.
Town councilors voted yesterday to accept the Red Brick School from the School Department, with some saying they still hope to have it be used for education by another group.
The school was declared a surplus earlier this month by the School Committee, which sought to transfer ownership of the building to the town.
The motion passed 6-1, with Councilor Robert Vallee casting the opposing vote.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
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The company owned by Councilor Joseph E. McGann and former Police Chief Lawrence Benedetto wants to withdraw its application for a retail development on Washington Street.
Their lawyer, Richard R. Cornetta Jr., made the request in a letter this week to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which votes on the matter tonight at 7:30.
McGann and Benedetto's proposal for a two-story 20,000-square-foot retail building met strong opposition from people living nearby. Mark Seifert, one of the leaders of a group called "It Does Not Fit, Do Not Permit," said he is pleased with the decision.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
To those who have indicated to be notified about updates on the public hearings regarding the development at 704 Washington Street:
On August 18, 2008, Lajero LLC withdrew their application for variances. The application for variances were scheduled to be heard at a public hearing before the Town of Franklin Zoning Board of Appeals on August 21st . That hearing is cancelled. No other hearings are scheduled at this time. You will be notified (via email or by standard mail) in the future of any subsequent developments. Thank you for your interest in the matter. Refer to the website www.home.comcast.net/~
Thank you for your continued interest.
Financial Planning Committee is scheduled to meet on 8/21/08
This committee has their meeting schedule available on the new town web site but I don’t find anything else for them, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, etc.
Community section takes you off the new virtual Town Hall pages to a new portal provided by American Towns. Nice layout, seems to have all the prior community links moved over. In a future podcast, I’ll spend some time looking through those pages. In the meantime, go exploring. If you find something there of interest, let me know. If you find something missing, that should be there, let me know
Ben Franklin would say: "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
-----------By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
|
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
A long-awaited overhaul for busy King Street in Franklin has received an injection of state funds that will allow the project - offering improved traffic flow, better signals, and enhanced vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle safety - to move forward next spring.
The state Transportation Improvement Program has allotted $3.8 million in state and federal funds toward the project, which focuses on upgrades to the Interstate 495 ramps at King Street. Work will extend along King Street from Union Street to Upper Union Street, and include construction on Upper Union Street from King Street to Constitution Boulevard.
The project is slated to go out for bid this fall, with construction starting next spring. Robert "Brutus" Cantoreggi, director of Franklin's Department of Public Works, said he expects construction will last 18 months. While there are likely to be delays, the roads involved in the project will remain open, he said.
The project is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving safety measures at several bustling intersections along King Street and at Interstate 495.
Read the full article in the Boston Globe here
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On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the Franklin Public Library is hosting Carolyn Martino, professional storyteller, actress, writer and educator at 7 p.m. in the Meeting Room.
"Enjoy the musical rhythms and joyous logic of all that is Italian in a Bella Notte of Italian storytelling as Martino captures you with her humor, warmth and style,'' says Margaret Ellis, the library's literacy coordinator.
This program is funded by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the LSTA, a Federal source of library funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Originally published in the Franklin Gazette on Friday August 15, 2008.
"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
Hence, having missed prior opportunities for regular maintenance on the library, the scaffolding is up now for repairs before the situation gets any worse.
found this pole near the corner of Wachusetts and Arlington streets
Leading up to the McDonough family's 200-year-old barn, a blotchy trail of gasoline still darkens Partridge Street, a trace of an attempted arson during the early hours of Aug. 4.
"They started at the barn, went down the driveway, down the street," said Bill Tavia, who found matches next to a five-gallon gas can between the McDonough home at 430 Partridge St., and 443 Partridge St., a group home for people with developmental disabilities.
"They thought they could light it and it would fire up like they saw in the movies. Thank God it didn't," said Tavia, a former Bellingham Police officer and neighbor who had just finished renovating and painting the McDonough's post-and-beam barn two days earlier.
Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here
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Town Council will decide Wednesday whether to accept ownership of the historic Red Brick School from the School Department, which declared the property as surplus at its last meeting.
A future tenant could keep the building's historic integrity intact and keep the building on the National Historic Register by using it for educational purposes, officials have said.
Two such entities - the Benjamin Charter Classical Public Charter School, and artist/art instructor Don Carlucci - have expressed interest in renting the building, which is about 500 to 600 square feet, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.
Yesterday morning, Nutting gave a tour of the Brick School to Carlucci, the owner of the Franklin School of Modern Art, he said.
read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
A feral cat colony living behind Highwood Condominiums is the pride and joy of elderly resident Dorothy "Dottie" Luff, but other residents living closest to the cats' feeding station say the felines are just a nuisance.
"No one wants to hurt the cat people or send (Dottie) into distress," resident Madelyn McAneny said yesterday. "But these cats are using my yard as their litter box."
A group of neighbors gathered yesterday to dispel public perceptions surrounding the controversy over these cats.
"It's not that we don't like animals," Highwood Road resident Ruth Bayer said. "We're just concerned with the health issues, the smell and our property values."
"This is not us against Dorothy," McAneny added.
Last month, Pioneer Property Management responded to heightened complaints and notified residents the cats would be trapped and removed from the site. But pleas from officials and caretakers, including Luff, have halted the trapping.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Planners recommended the town adopt a zoning change to allow a wider variety of development near the Knights of Columbus on Rte. 140.
The Planning Board last night voted in favor of recommending Town Council rezone a portion of West Central Street (Rte. 140) from Business/Single Family III to Commercial II.
Town Planner Beth Dahlstrom and Town Engineer William Yadisernia also supported the change.
"The Knights of Columbus is selling the property, and we want to increase the redevelopment potential of the lots in that area. The Knights of Columbus is in need of substantial redevelopment," Yadisernia said.
Neither he nor Dahlstrom knew the prospective buyer of the Knights' property, which they estimated to be between 7 and 10 acres.
The proposal involves seven adjacent parcels of land (on the zoning maps, parcels 270-024-000 through 270-030-000), including the Knights of Columbus property, a Dunkin' Donuts, a gas station, and single-family homes, Dahlstrom said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Anticipating vast increases in the price of home heating oil this winter, Councilor Stephen Whalen is proposing the town suspend a prohibitive bylaw to enable more residents to convert from oil to natural gas.
"One of my fears is, a lot of people are going to be caught off-guard by the huge increase in heating oil," said Whalen, who is a senior financial analyst with Liberty Mutual Group.
He had just read a report projecting oil will cost homeowners 70 percent more than last year, and gas, 25 percent to 30 percent more, when he received an e-mail from Maple Street resident Joshua Phillips objecting to a bylaw that prevents him from tapping into natural gas, said Whalen.
"I'm not an expert, but there is a consensus in the financial community that oil will go up more than gas," said Whalen.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Pellegri, who has been Franklin's town clerk for 24 years, said she finds the number of vacancies listed - 778 - alarming.
That figure is down slightly from April, when the listing was 805, she said, but in past years, it is typically in the high 400s or low 500s, Pellegri said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
The Financial Planning Committee last night outlined its mission, putting public education and communication in budgetary matters as top priorities, along with creating a three-year fiscal forecast.
The group was created by Town Council in response to citizens' calls for a long-term financial plan as frustration grew over repeated Proposition 2 1/2 tax override requests. The group was meant to serve as a proactive solution to the recurring fiscal deficits.
"I think education and communication are 95 percent of what our task is," said Councilor Stephen Whalen, a committee member.
"It's a reasonable goal to have a really strong educational component," Whalen said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
They may be nearly impossible for law enforcement officials to prevent, but if anthrax attacks like those following the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened today, state and local officials say they could deal with the aftermath.
While every city and town in the state has an emergency plan which details information like shelter locations and evacuation routes, in the weeks following the mailing of anthrax to more than a half-dozen news agencies and members of Congress, there was a flurry of activity as plans were updated to include the possibility of a biological attack. At that time, millions of dollars in grants were handed out to improve detection of dangerous agents, including anthrax.
"The protocol we had pre-2001 - we thought this was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Martin Greene, deputy director of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' Hazardous Materials Response program.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Town Council last night unanimously endorsed the Franklin Veterans Iraq/Afghanistan Monument Committee's proposal to erect a memorial on the Town Common.
The endorsement is subject to the council's final approval of the monument layout, which Veterans Agent Robert Fahey said will not displace existing war monuments.
The names of Lance Cpl. Shayne Cabino, a Franklin youth killed in action Oct. 6, 2005, and Staff Sgt. Robert Pirelli, a Franklin resident killed in action Aug. 15, 2007, will be engraved on a bronze plaque with a statement honoring all those who have served in Iraq.
On the monument's rear face, another bronze plaque will honor those who served in Afghanistan. It would include names of anyone from Franklin killed in action there if that were to happen.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Despite impassioned pleas to keep the Red Brick School open as a kindergarten, the School Committee last night voted to give the town ownership of the historic building.
Matthew Kelly was the only School Committee member to vote against declaring the school surplus and giving it to the town, and member Ed Cafasso was absent.
This year marked the 175-year anniversary of the Red Brick School, which is one of the oldest one-room brick schools in continuous operation and is on the National Historic Register.
The building may still be used for education under the town's authority, said School Committee member Roberta Trahan. She said two educators have already expressed interest in using it: the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, and art instructor Don Carlucci, who runs the Franklin School of Modern Art.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Franklin's 175-year-old one-room schoolhouse is in line to close this year because of budget cuts, despite fund-raising efforts by supporters.
The School Committee may vote as early as Tuesday on the Brick School's fate, during its 7 p.m. meeting in the town's Municipal Building. The session would immediately follow a 5:30 p.m. meeting of the school district's building use subcommittee, which will assess the feasibility of continuing to use the facility as a school.
Jeffrey Roy, the School Committee chairman, who also chairs the subcommittee, said closing the Brick School this fall "is a likely scenario."
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
Day after day, for the past three months, 19-year-old Kristin Graci waited to hear whether her bone marrow team at Dana Farber Hospital found a perfect DNA match for her bone marrow transplant. |
By Tanya Girgenrath/Daily News correspondent
What do Boston Common and Franklin Town Common have in, well, common? The fact that both will be playing host to free summer productions of Shakespeare in the park. |
Leaders of the citizens' group, "It Does Not Fit, Do Not Permit" say they will remain vigilant in opposing "irresponsible development" and keeping a watchful eye on developers.
About 50 members of the group descended upon the Zoning Board of Appeals July 24, to fight a commercial development plan Councilor Joseph McGann and former police chief Lawrence Benedetto proposed in January for 704 Washington St. The members expressed frustration that the two sought a second continuance and did not appear.
Following the meeting, McGann said, in a phone interview, that a sale of the property was in progress, and attorneys were ironing out a few formalities. McGann declined to name the prospective buyer or how they intend to use the property and said he and Benedetto would not provide any more details about the project. Benedetto has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Previous postings here include:
By Michelle Laczkoski/Daily News staff
Police arrested two teenage boys Wednesday night after a passerby saw them trespassing on a construction site on Summer Street. The boys, ages 16 and 14, were arrested just before 9 p.m. Both face charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian said. |
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
Responding to several dozen reported car break-ins recently, including 11 Wednesday night, Deputy Police Chief Stephan H. Semerjian is warning residents to lock their cars and secure valuables like GPS devices and laptop computers. Downtown residents have been reporting the break-ins for the past five weeks, Semerjian said. |
By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff
Digital Federal Credit Union expects to open in Franklin later this month, its first branch in the Milford area and Norfolk County. Tim Garner, the credit union's vice president of marketing and strategic planning, said this week the company has been scouting several locations along Interstate 495 for new branches and this is the first to materialize. It has been working on the project for nearly two years. |
Property owners could be charged an annual fee of about $40 under a stormwater management plan proposed by the Department of Public Works.
DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi said the fee would raise about $500,000, which could be used to pay for infrastructure repairs and retrofits, additional catch-basin cleaning, street sweeping and maintenance of stormwater facilities to comply with federal mandates.
Establishing a stormwater utility would provide a stable source of dedicated funding, assist with making long-term improvements, and give a more equitable apportionment from different land uses than the tax base does, he said.
Another goal in the stormwater management plan is to keep water in Franklin, rather than letting it flow into the Charles River, Cantoreggi said.
However, there is a hitch to the proposed plan: It may not be legal.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Listen to my recap of the 3 things you should know from the Town Council meeting 7/23/08
The town will temporarily close a section of Beaver Street starting Aug. 25 in order to replace Mine Brook's deteriorating twin culverts, said Town Engineer William Yadisernia.
"It's a big deal," though a relatively inexpensive job, Yadisernia said, noting that diverting the water is no easy task.
Beaver Pond will stay open while the contractor, Aldore Tetreault & Sons Inc., of Medway reconstructs the culverts, he said.
Beaver Street will be closed from West Central Street to Grove Street during that period, but the pond, recreational facilities, and Beaver Street Recycling Center can be accessed through Grove Street, Yadisernia said.
Drivers can access Master Drive from West Central Street, he said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
Listen to the full DPW update from the 7/23/08 Town Council meeting here.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News hereRenovations should begin in late summer on the new home of the Horace Mann Museum, but will not be completed until next spring, officials say. The museum has been housed in a Washington Street church donated to the town in 1972 by Franklin Federated Church and is being relocated to the old senior center which will be revamped.
Four firms have responded to the town's Request for Proposals to make improvements to the future history museum at 80 West Central Street (Rte. 140), Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting said.
Franklin has $400,000 budgeted for the improvements, most of which will
be interior, he said.
America's first public library is getting a makeover.
At its July 9 meeting, Town Council authorized the borrowing of $350,000 to remodel and make "extraordinary repairs" to the leaking library, located at 118 Main St.
The renovations will include landscaping, paving and other site improvements, which should be completed by year's end, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.
"I'm hopeful we can finish during this construction season," he said.
The town received seven bids, with $292,000 as the low bid and $700,000 as the highest bid, he said. The $350,000 bond assumes the town will proceed with the low bidder while leaving funds available for unexpected issues that may arise during the project, Nutting said.
Franklin has the option of paying for the repairs with money from the sale of the former Four Corners School, he said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
A local property owner has donated office space to the Downtown Partnership, and several companies have supplied furniture, technology and equipment, to help the group continue its work to revitalize downtown.
"It's exciting we now have a downtown office," said Jane Curran, secretary of the Partnership and owner of Jane's Frames, 11 East Central St. Her landlords, Diane and Michael Glass, gave the partnership some office space at 9 East Central St.
The Partnership is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making downtown Franklin "an exciting place to live, work, shop and learn," and is comprised of residents, merchants, community leaders and town officials.
Dean Bank donated a computer, printer, desk and chair for the office, and Joel Carrara of Printsmart Office Products at 109 Marvin St., gave office supplies, said Curran, who donated framed art and Web access through her shop.
"We're excited to be downtown, and it's really exciting to have an office downtown and continue to work closely with Brian (Taberner, Planning Department director) and (Town Administrator) Jeff Nutting," said Lisa Piana, executive director of the Downtown Partnership and former downtown manager.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
The Franklin Downtown Partnership, a non-profit organization, is seeking sponsors for its annual Harvest Festival on Sunday. Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The festival will take place in downtown Franklin center, on Main and East Central streets. The rain date will be Sunday, Sept. 28.For more information on how to sponsor this event, click through here
About 50 people showed up in vain to a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last night to protest a prospective development at 704 Washington St. "I know you're going to be disappointed," Zoning Board Chairman Bruce Hunchard said, addressing the crowd and explaining the applicants, Town Councilor Joseph McGann and former Police Chief Lawrence Benedetto, had requested a continuance for a hearing on a request for a zoning variance.Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
McGann and Benedetto proposed demolishing a 1,400-square-foot
single-family home and adjacent barn at 704 Washington St., and replacing it
with a 20,000-square-foot retail building and a parking lot that would accommodate at least 112 parking spaces.
Members of the group, "It Does Not Fit, Do Not Permit," groaned and yelled out, "Ohhhh," and "Oh God, this is nonsense ... this is ridiculous."
Hunchard told the group continuances are "not uncommon," and that he did not know why the applicants had requested one.
The hearing will be continued to Aug. 21.
The annual New Hampshire camping trip that used to be 14 days is now down to five, and there won't be any side trips to theme parks for Westborough teacher Deborah Harvell and her two teenage daughters.
Like many public school teachers in Boston's western suburbs, Harvell - who said she also has doubled her normal summer tutoring workload - said she is economizing and taking on extra work this summer in the face of uncertain times. Her family used to eat out once a week; now, it's once a month. Car trips are kept to a minimum, and it will be nature hikes instead of ATV rentals when they head north for their abbreviated summer getaway.
"Typically, I work the summer so that we can have a summer vacation," said Harvell, a 42-year-old speech therapy specialist. "This year, I'm doing it just to pay the bills."
It wasn't supposed to be this way. After the rigors of the school year, the period from late June through early September is traditionally a time for teachers to relax, regroup, and recharge their batteries. For many, the blissful period is what attracted them to the job in the first place.
Yet after a spring marked by rising gasoline and food prices, voter rejections of Proposition 2 1/2 property tax limit overrides, shrinking revenues, and municipal regrouping, some teachers say this has become the summer of their discontent.
Read the full article in the Boston Globe West section here
Note: Regular readers should recognize that the graphic is incorrect; Franklin ended up restoring 3 teachers so 42.5 will not be returning this September.
Saying they hope to avoid the same problems area towns are contending with over nude dancing, officials are considering changing town bylaws.
"It seems to be a hot topic in surrounding towns," said Councilor Stephen Whalen at a hearing on the matter last night, and asked Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting whether Franklin has received any applications for adult entertainment venues lately.
"No, nor do we ever want to," he responded.
"It's an issue in two local towns because maybe they were not prepared," Nutting said.
Councilor Thomas Doak noted that Franklin residents worried that the council, by enacting relevant bylaws, would actually encourage adult entertainment companies to come to town.
"Our intention is the opposite," he said, adding that people should not be confused about that.
read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
The state's system of funding public schools is inadequate, the Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee charges in a recent letter to local legislators, suggesting several changes.
Ideas include freeing school budget increases from the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 and increasing state support for special education.
With the change in the Chapter 70 school aid formula a few years ago, Mendon and Upton were directed to make a higher contribution to the school budget than in the past. In other places, such as Milford, the state funding percentage increased.
Last year, Mendon voters narrowly approved a $265,000 Proposition 2 1/2 tax override for the schools. In 2006, Mendon voters rejected two school overrides, while Upton approved one.
Although the district School Committee did not try for an override this year, members said to expect one next year.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
At first, 12-year-old Erin McGinley thought Liam Galvin "was a little crazy" when he looked around and began uttering words to an invisible presence at Franklin Public Library last night, she said.
"There were 12 spirits around his head. He kept telling me things and he said, 'I don't make this stuff up - the spirits tell me,"' McGinley said.
But in the end, Galvin and Joseph Lynch, psychics and spirit mediums who claim to communicate with those on the "other side," astonished and delighted McGinley and her peers with their tarot card readings.
The library's teen advisory board chose tarot card readings as one of several events for the young adult summer reading program, "X-Pect the Un-X-Pected" - which drew 24 girls from age 10 to 18.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News
PLC Systems Inc. (AMEX:PLC) announced today that it will defer the commencement of the U.S. pivotal trial of its RenalGuard™ System in the prevention of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (CIN). The company continues to support the investigator-sponsored clinical trial now ongoing in Milan, Italy as well as the limited market launch of RenalGuard in Europe, which began in the first quarter of this year, both of which are focused on the CIN prevention market.PLC Systems was mentioned earlier in our Franklin Industry series
It appears town leaders no longer believe they have to officially forbid throwing missiles, frightening horses, driving cattle or swine on sidewalks in Franklin.
Instead, Town Council is considering adding a few new provisions to the Peace and Good Order Bylaw, such as the prohibition of window-peeping, intentionally exposing one's naked body, publicly urinating, spitting, or expelling bodily waste upon a public street, sidewalk, building or place. Nuisance pets which bite, bark, claw, howl, scratch, cry or otherwise disturb the peace or destroy property, would also be forbidden.
The council is taking a "proactive approach" by updating Franklin's bylaws, said Town Attorney Mark G. Cerel, who is recommending removing antiquated provisions and language and appending others to address current issues
Read the full story in the Milford Daily News