Franklin Matters

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Live reporting - opening items

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – October 1, 2008, October 15, 2008
approved 8-0

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

(will update later from recording)

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

(none)

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

Ken Norman raised an objection to the music being played in the background on Channel 11. He finds it difficult to try and follow what is going on with the music distracting and objectionable. Can the administrator find another alternative?

E. APPOINTMENTS
Design Review Commission
Council on Aging

(will add names from recording later)

Live reporting - Town Council Meeting

Added to agenda: motion made and approved to organize the Council for the next year.

Feeley - Chair
Bartlett - Vice-Chair
Pfeffer - Clerk

all motions made and voted 8-0 (Vallee not attending)

GATRA "free ride" coupons

Yes, it is true, there is a "free ride" coupon coming for the GATRA Franklin bus.

Where do you get a coupon?

This Friday’s (November 7, 2008) edition of The Country Gazette will have a 2” x 2” orange coupon also known as an “Ad Note” affixed to the front page of 10,000 copies of the paper. The “Ad Note” is a “peel off” good for a FREE RIDE. The “coupon” is good immediately up to and including Saturday, December 20, 2008.

If your neighbor doesn't want to use it, ask them for it?

If you can't use it, give it to some one who will use it!

That's helping someone get at least one ride free.

In the News - 2010 Budget planing starting

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Nov 05, 2008 @ 01:35 AM

FRANKLIN —

Thanks to the sour economy, Franklin is looking at a possible shortfall of several million dollars for fiscal 2010, and a subsequent "major reduction in force ... townwide," Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting told the Finance Committee last night.

It is still too early to estimate how much the shortfall will be, said Nutting.

That figure, he said, depends on the result of Question 1 (to repeal the state income tax), and assuming there aren't any changes in revenue projections. According to last night's numbers, Massachusetts voters shot down the effort to repeal the income tax.

Nutting's projection was not discussed at length, as it was not an issue on last night's meeting agenda, but he mentioned it when he told the board he will ask department heads to submit budgets in early December.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Fall Into Art - November 8 & 9

Read more about this event put on by the Franklin Art Association here.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

"the school system is going to need it"

Michael Doherty, a member of the board of directors of the Franklin Education Foundation, said he is worried about the economy's effect on the foundation. "Local businesses have been feeling the pinch for well over a year and it is harder for them to be as generous to us as they have in the past,'' he said. "We still get a lot of support but some of the small businesses have really suffered.''

The Franklin Educational Foundation will hold its third annual casino night on Nov. 21, but on a smaller scale than in the past, Doherty said. He said he thinks people are waiting until later to purchase tickets for the event.

"We hope to get a large turnout for it, the event was well supported in the last two years,'' he said. "People who are not gamblers come out and understand its just a fun event and everyone knows what they spend will benefit a great cause.''

Doherty said another casualty of the economy is that people have less and less time to volunteer for the foundation. "People are working more, but we are always accepting new members and donations for the cause,'' he said. And with state budget cuts and less revenue from other sources, the school system is going to need it, Doherty said.

"We cannot make up the entire gap but we hope to provide whatever assistance we can,'' he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"They're both really smart,"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GateHouse News Service

Posted Nov 03, 2008 @ 10:37 PM

FRANKLIN —

If the voting pattern of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Horace Mann Middle School is any reflection of the way the rest of the country will vote today, Barack Obama will win by a landslide.

The final tally: Barack Obama, 329; John McCain, 181; Ralph Nader, 17.

'Our motto today is: `As Horace Mann goes, so goes the nation,''' said sixth-grade math teacher Patricia Metrick, who helped organize the mock election.

"Twenty, 30 years from now, this election's going to be in our textbooks. Their children will be learning about it. It gives (today's students) a chance to participate, even though they're only young adults,'' said Metrick.

Although the school has held mock elections in the past, this was "by far the snazziest, most authentic one,'' said sixth-grade English/social studies teacher Joseph Corey, who directed the video news team yesterday with sixth-grade math and science teacher Noreen Langmeyer.

"They're very excited, they're waiting for their turn to vote,'' Langmeyer said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Voting is Patriotic (USA)

Voting is Patriotic (USA), originally uploaded by farlane.

Not just patriotic, is it a democratic society's duty.

Please get out and vote today!

Town Council Agenda - 11/5/08

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – October 1, 2008, October 15, 2008

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS - Design Review Commission
Council on Aging

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS – Teppanyaki Restaurant – Change of Manager

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Recycling Committee Presentation
DPW Presentation – Rubbish/Recycling
DPW Reorganization

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 08-59: Dissolution of Fire Station Building Committee (Tabled on 10/15/08)
2. Resolution 08-71: Authorization for Intermunicipal Agreement – Town of Blackstone
3. Resolution 08-72: Acceptance of Gifts for the Red Brick School
4. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-625: Chapter 185-5, Town Code: Zoning Map – Business to Commercial II – 2nd Reading (Tabled on 10/15/08)

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN

"Doc, can you help me study?"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

Sun Nov 02, 2008, 06:39 PM EST

FRANKLIN -

Don Roemer, affectionately known as "Doc" to his students and colleagues, spent 37 years in a job he loved.

"I loved it. I loved teaching," said Roemer, a Franklin resident who worked for 27 years as an English teacher at Wayland High School, and 10 years prior as an English professor at Northwestern University and Northeastern University.

Life felt a bit empty when he retired three years ago, so he decided to fill that hole by returning to his passion, he said.

For the past year, he has volunteered as a part-time teacher working alongside a few full-timers at Franklin High School, in a pilot program he proposed last October to Franklin Superintendent of Schools Wayne Ogden. Ogden is the former assistant superintendent of Wayland Public Schools.

"I really wanted very much to have something to do with education. I missed being with the kids. I may be old, but I have a lot of experience, a lot to offer," Roemer said.

"I never got tired of the teaching, I never got tired of the kids, but I did get tired of correcting papers," Roemer said.

As a volunteer, he gets the best of both worlds: giving students one-on-one academic attention, without having to pour through essays and tests, as well as a flexible, albeit, confusing rotating schedule, he said.

Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here

A video clip by Joyce Kelly interviewing Doc can be seen here:

Monday, November 3, 2008

T-Alerts were active on the Franklin Line Monday morning

Franklin/Forge Park Nov 3, 5:41 a.m. (Inactive)

Franklin/FrgPrk #790 (5:05am ib) will not service Forge Park. #702 (5:45am ib) will run on time from Forge Park. 11/3/2008 5:31 AM This alert is no longer active at mbta.com. Likely the issue has been resolved.

Franklin/Forge Park Nov 3, 6:31 a.m. (Inactive)

Franklin/FrgPrk #790 (5:05am ib) will not service Forge Park. #702 (5:45am ib) will run 20 minutes late. 11/3/2008 5:31 AM This alert is no longer active at mbta.com. Likely the issue has been resolved.

Franklin/Forge Park Nov 3, 6:41 a.m. (Inactive)

Franklin/FrgPrk #704 (6:15am ib) experiencing 20-25 min delay 11/3/2008 6:34 AM This alert is no longer active at mbta.com. Likely the issue has been resolved.

Franklin/Forge Park Nov 3, 7:21 a.m. (Inactive)

Franklin/FrgPrk #706 (6:35am ib) experiencing 15-20 min delay 11/3/2008 7:14 AM This alert is no longer active at mbta.com. Likely the issue has been resolved.

Franklin/Forge Park Nov 3, 8:21 a.m. (Inactive)

Franklin/FrgPrk #732 (7:54am ib) experiencing 20-25 min delay 11/3/2008 8:20 AM This alert is no longer active at mbta.com. Likely the issue has been resolved.

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If you haven't signed up for a T-Alert, you can do so here.

You can also join Clever Commute where the riders share the updates.

FM #19 - 4 things to know

FM #19 podcast provides the 4 things you should know about Franklin, MA this week.

Time: 8 minutes, 18 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

This podcast for Franklin Matters will focus on the 4 things you should know about what happened this week.

In the prior two sessions, we spent time listening to Assistant Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski as she was interviewed by the School Committee during their meeting Tuesday Oct 14th. In podcast 17 Maureen told her life story. How she started teaching in NY City, moved to the Buffalo NY area, to Rockaway, NJ and then to Franklin. She reviews her resume detailing how she has prepared to cover all aspects of the superintendent’s role in her own development.

In podcast 18, we’ll listened to the School Committee as they asked Maureen follow-up questions and get into a discussion to clarify her goals, objectives, and vision for Franklin’s school. If you have not listened to these yet, I strongly encourage you to go back and do so at some point in time. All the podcasts can be found within the Important links section on the right hand column.

The first thing you should know about from this week’s events was that the school committee did vote unanimously 6-0 (Matt Kelley was absent) to enter into contract negotiations with Maureen. We should hear in a future meeting about the contract terms and transition with Wayne as he is scheduled to step aside on June 30th 2009.

The second thing you should know about this week is that the pilot to sell advertising banners in the field house was proposed and accepted. During the pilot period, the banner content will need to be reviewed by the Superintendent of Schools, High School Principal and the chair of the School Committee. The cost for the banner would be $480 year and available for a minimum period of three months (at a prorated cost).

The third thing you should know about this week is that if you area parent of school age children there is a survey on the Franklin Schools homepage looking for your input on how to create the calendar for the school year; for example, should the school year begin before Labor Day or after? Your input is welcomed until November 24th. The link to the survey will be available on Franklin Matters here. Jeff Roy has also created a posting at the School Committee blog with a link to the survey. Let your voice be heard.

The fourth thing you should know this week, on the contract front, the Police Department settled their contract with the Town. They had been working under an expired contract since June 2007. This one will cover through June 2010.

The new contract, which expires in June 2010, gives officers a 2 percent raise retroactive to October 2007, a 2.5 percent raise as of October 2008 and a 3 percent raise in October 2009, Nutting said.
Sergeants' pay will increase to 17 percent above the top patrol officer salary step in the first year of the contract, to 18 percent in the second year, and to 19 percent above in the third year.

This was reported in the Milford Daily News and Franklin Gazette this week.

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This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Where have all the flowers gone?

It is that time of year!

To read more about "Where have all the flowers gone?" click here

Sunday, November 2, 2008

In the news - redistricting, online video lectures

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Oct 31, 2008 @ 11:49 PM

FRANKLIN —

In recent meetings, the School Committee has broached the possibility of redistricting local schools, but officials say it is a long way off, and any changes will be minor.

"The most important thing for parents to know is, neither the School Committee nor I anticipate any redistricting this year or next year," said Superintendent Wayne Ogden.

Leaders are considering redistricting because some schools, such as Sullivan Middle, are overcrowded, while others like Jefferson Elementary, have available space. The imbalance has resulted in the need to ship some kids around, said School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy.

"It's just trying to balance out the schools and make sure we're maximizing space in every building," said Roy.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

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Want a free education? A brief guide to the burgeoning world of online video lectures.

By Jeffrey MacIntyre November 2, 2008

RESERVE ANOTHER LAUREL for Edward O. Wilson, the Pellegrino University Professor emeritus at Harvard, serial Pulitzer winner, and prominent intellectual: online celebrity.

Forget Charlie Rose - Wilson has Google for a soapbox. Amid the amateur-hour piffle of YouTube "talent" and skateboarding dogs, the famed botanist stands in bold relief, with more than 500 Google video search results to his credit: Interviews ranging far afield of TV shows to a spate of appearances on several Web-only video platforms such as Meaningoflife.tv, Bigthink.com, Fora.tv, and the online home of the Technology Entertainment Design (TED) conference.

Read the full article in the Boston Globe here