Monday, February 2, 2009

Defibrillators coming to Franklin Line


Automated external defibrillators will soon be available to passengers on the commuter rail system, which includes stations in Attleboro, South Attleboro, Mansfield, Norfolk and Franklin, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Co. were expected to announce today.

Read the full article in the Attleboro Sun here

Failure to pay attention


Pay attention to what you ask?

There were approx. 30 in the Attleboro hall to view the movie “Escape from Suburbia” and the discussion that followed versus millions in front of their TV to watch the Super Bowl.

How much oil/coal was consumed to power the Super Bowl and all the TVs to watch the spectacle?

Oil that a short while ago had risen to historic prices generating lots of talk but now that the prices have returned to lower levels, the issue seems to have passed.

It hasn’t.

What can I do? The problem is so huge.

“Conservation is one answer… conservation is economically more sustainable.”


Reduce your household energy use. Change out regular light bulbs for the energy saving kind. Take one small step at a time but keep at it.

“Action encourages optimism”

Take the 2 Mile Challenge!

Walk or use a bike (in the warmer New England weather) to the store for those small item errands rather than take the family vehicle.

“Community is our solution. We need to help one another.”

Get active in your community. There are a number of groups in the area that are working to address this issue. The Franklin Area Climate Team is one. Check out the sponsor listing for the Green Reel series for other groups in our area.

Talk with your neighbors, share the tips and tricks you pick up with each other.

Do something today!

Note: this was also posted today at Steve's 2 Cents

Note: The quotations in Bold were from the movie "Escape from Suburbia" as I took notes Sunday night.

Both measures would only affect sewer fees

For the first override, Medway's share of next fiscal year's budget would rise 23 percent to about $327,000, for example, according to information provided by the control district. The override, which would be the district's first since 1988, is mainly needed because the state has required two more people be hired at the treatment plant, and to pay for higher maintenance and chemical costs.

The debt exclusion override would raise Franklin's capital payments in 2015 from $102,000 annually to $1 million a year for the next 20 years. In Medway, the increase would be from $25,000 to $260,000 per year.

The Charles River Pollution Control District's treatment plant mainly serves Franklin and Medway, but also handles Bellingham's and Millis' sewer systems and septage tanks from Dover, Sherborn, Norfolk and Wrentham.

Only Franklin and Medway have votes on the increases. Their representatives on the district's commission unanimously approved them last month. District officials presented the plan to Medway selectmen last week, though they have not yet voted on it. The Franklin Town Council will hear a similar presentation in the next few weeks, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.

Read the full article on the proposed Charles River fee increases in the Milford Daily News here

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Early word on Franklin local aid cut

Officials in Franklin, which lost $299,676 in the local aid reductions, don't yet know where they will make cuts, said Council Chairman Christopher Feeley, "but we know it should not affect schools."

The news was not as painful as Feeley anticipated, he said.

"I thought it was going to be more dramatic. We've known this was coming, so there are some municipal positions that haven't been filled. Three hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money, but it's not a lot of out a billion," Feeley said.

Read the full article about the effects of state aid cuts on local communities in the Milford Daily News here.

Friday, January 30, 2009

"why they would mean something to people 50 years from now"

GHS
Posted Jan 30, 2009 @ 12:49 AM
Last update Jan 30, 2009 @ 01:08 AM

FITCHBURG —

When the curtain rose on the set of "Public Speech, Private Thought," student actors slowly, silently crossed the stage, while overhead, electronic voices sang, "What are we? What the hell is going on?"

Justin Perry, the "rebel" college student played by Dean College student Joe Firicano, was the first to speak, the entire cast motionless around him. "Nobody is right all the time - nobody - not even if you know everything," Firicano said, preparing listeners for one of the play's star players, a narcissistic, dictatorial professor.

Read more about the performance by these Dean students and their chance for another performance later this year in the Milford Daily News here


Building Committee suggestion

As the Building Committee looks into either renovating or building a new high school, as well as what work should be done on the other three older school buildings (Davis-Thayer, Parmenter, and Kennedy), this slideshow should be something to keep in mind.

What kind of design will foster the education environment to prepare our children for a future that is unknown?




What do you think?

What questions would you ask?

If you wanted to know about social media, or Twitter, or blogging, what question(s) would you ask?

I am looking to solicit some input to tune up my presentation on Blogging 101 for the NewBCamp 2009.

Add a comment or send me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com).

Thanks!


BTW - Info about NewBCamp 2009 can be found here.

Meeting Presentations - Updated

Two quick notes on the presentations from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 27.

  • The presentation overview for the Strategic Plan was really slow loading from Slideshare, so I have removed the presentation and provided a link to the Slideshare site to view it there. At least until I figure out why such a small presentation (only 5 pages, no significant graphics) is doing what it is doing.
  • The Life Long Learning presentation was added to that segment of the meeting. You can view that presentation here.

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The Green Reel: "Escape from Suburbia"

The Green Reel: a series of films for sustainable living will be shown on Sunday evenings this winter.

What: "Escape from Suburbia"

When: 7:00 PM on February 1, 2009

Where: Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St, Attleboro or directions here


Free and open to the public. For more info: 508-695-2389


read more about the file "Escape from Suburbia" here

Sponsors:
Agudas Achim
Crystal Spring Center
Simply Keep It Local
Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary
Citizens for a Sustainable Local Economy
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
Green Committee of First Universalist Society of Franklin
New Dawn Earth Center
Oake Knoll Ayrshires
Franklin Area Climate Team
White Barn Farm
St Mark's Episcopal Church-Foxboro

Thursday, January 29, 2009

"if Obama fails, we all fail"

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

FRANKLIN —

In 1992, Rush Limbaugh was a supporter of Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican Party's nomination for president of the United States. Buchanan was taking on sitting president George Herbert Walker Bush, and did a number on him in the voting booth in the New Hampshire primary election that winter.

Bush saw that Limbaugh's influence with the Republican Party's base was quite strong and had to be neutralized. To that end, President Bush invited Limbaugh to the White House for a nice little dinner and a sleep-over in the Lincoln Bedroom.

After his night in the White House, Rush dropped Buchanan and climbed aboard the doomed Bush presidential bandwagon and rode it to defeat in the election.

Bill Clinton won, and this really upset poor old Rush for the next eight years. This may likely be why he took all of those drugs. In October 2003, he started his five weeks of drug rehabilitation, and then he returned to the airways in November proclaiming himself "cured." The state of Florida wasn't quite sure or convinced that this was the case. Authorities in Florida engaged in a three-year investigation of Limbaugh, and in 2006, Rush was arrested for his abuse of prescription drugs.

Read James Johnston's full article about Rush Limbaugh in the Milford Daily News here


Storm wrap up

Franklin Police assisted with three minor accidents on East Central Street, on Lincoln Street near Daniels Street, and on Upper Union Street by Independence Way, said Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

No one was injured, he said.

"Whenever there's no school, there's always less traffic, few pedestrians and no buses, which makes it easier for us," said Semerjian.

The roads were getting slippery mid-afternoon, he said, which is when they're most dangerous.

"The DPW's trying to keep up with it, but it's not easy," Semerjian said.

Read the full article on how the area fared with Wednesday's storm in the Milford Daily News here.

"better way, a less expensive way"

GHS
Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:29 PM

FRANKLIN —

For years, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting has sung the praises of regionalizing services, updating archaic laws and making reforms on the state level to save towns like Franklin big bucks.

Now that the Massachusetts Municipal Association has elected him its new president, Nutting gets to advocate for such changes directly to the governor, six times a year.

The MMA elected Nutting on Saturday.

The MMA is an organization of town officials that advocates for municipal policies before the Legislature, the executive branch, regulatory bodies, and the courts. The association's board of directors meets with the governor six times a year to discuss issues facing cities and towns, according to the MMA Web site, www.mma.org.

Read the full article about Jeff and the MMA's efforts in the Milford Daily News here


quarterbacks and teachers

... effective mentoring of a new teacher can make an enormous difference in that person's ability to become a "star" teacher. But the problem, he argues, is that the process of mentorship is much too haphazard. As he says, "It's like training NFL quarterbacks by randomly sending them out to teams - some CFL teams, some Division III teams, some Division I College teams, some community teams, and a few to NFL teams."

...

If Matt Cassell can thrive in the NFL, after essentially zero college quarterback experience, what exactly is New England doing right? And what can the rest of the league learn from them?

I would go further and ask "What can school districts learn from this?" Teacher development will even tougher in times of lean budgets when mentoring stipends are not allocated. Teacher development is tough already with much of the community not appreciating or fully understanding "professional development days". These "professional development days" are looked for by many parents as "get-away days" for long weekends.

You should be involved in the discussion on the cost benefit analysis of each school budget dollar. With budget cuts looming, what stays in the budget will be critical to maintaining a healthy learning environment.

Read more of this article about "teachers and quarterbacks" by Malcolm Gladwell here.

Be active in the school budget process.