"Am I disappointed they're dropping the U.S. history MCAS? Not at all," said Dennis Wilkinson, test coordinator at Franklin High School. "We test the heck out of (students) in English language arts, math and biology."
He said he understood why the state would consider dropping the test, given the cost and the financial situation the state finds itself in.
Read the full article on the proposal to slide back the addition of history to the MCAS test suite in the Milford Daily News here
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
Faced with the options of making students go to school and teachers work on either a Saturday, Good Friday, or another day in late June to make up a missed school day, the School Committee is still mulling its options.
The committee has been trying to find a viable way, but each option presents some problem.
The state education commissioner denied Superintendent Wayne Ogden's waiver request for the day of school that students at the Oak Street School complex missed when a pipe burst the Tuesday after Labor Day and shut down Horace Mann Middle School, Oak Street Elementary School, and Early Childhood Development Center (a preschool).
School Committee member Ed Cafasso has suggested the district take its chances and keep its existing school calendar instead of adding another day or half day.
"Unless I hear something that changes my mind, I am going to oppose school on Good Friday or creating an extra school day in June," Cafasso said.
"The circumstances justify a waiver, especially since Franklin students already exceed the minimum hours for instruction. Disrupting families and creating new costs for taxpayers just so we can check off a bureaucratic box doesn't seem fair to me," Cafasso said.
Read the full article about the make up day for the Oak St/Horace Mann school complex in the Milford Daily News here
Robert R. Vallee Sr., owner of Vallee Jewelers in Franklin, knows the key to surviving an economic depression.
"You just work," said Vallee, a sentiment echoed by others whose parents or grandparents pulled their local businesses through the Great Depression.
From their point of view, today's society has lost sight of what is important, letting greed and excessive living plunge them into debt.
The world will get through the economic crisis, and whatever's around the corner, they say, by returning to a more simple way of living and a stronger work ethic.
"My father (Emile Vallee) worked two jobs. He learned watch making and worked at a textile mill" in Manville, R.I., said Vallee.
Read the full article with stories from other business owners in the area in the Milford Daily News here
On any given day, municipal departments are just beginning, trying to begin, or trying to finish, time-consuming projects on a tight budget.
Today, the School Department can sit back a bit and start adding up all the savings wrought by the completion of 65 energy-saving initiatives, an effort that took 10 years to finish.
Michael D'Angelo, the facilities director for the schools and the town, takes pride in Franklin taking the lead in using technological advances early in the game.
"We were doing it before it was popular," said D'Angelo, who is constantly researching ways to make the schools as energy-efficient as possible - he's currently eyeing the installation of solar panels three years down the road, when he says they will be cost-effective.
"We're almost as technologically advanced as you can be, without getting into solar or wind," D'Angelo said.
Read the full article on how energy efficient Franklin's schools are in the Milford Daily News here
More than a dozen young adults who were at the October underage drinking party where 17-year-old Taylor Meyer of Plainville was last seen alive must take part in a drug- and alcohol-awareness program, in addition to fulfilling other requirements, a Wrentham District Court judge ordered Thursday.
Fourteen people ranging in age from 17 to 20 appeared before Judge Warren Powers for a probable cause hearing, each facing a charge of underage possession of alcohol, said David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William Keating.
All were charged following the Oct. 17 post-Homecoming party at the former Norfolk Airport. Meyer, who wandered away from the group, became lost, and drowned in an adjacent wetland. Her blood alcohol level was .13, according to autopsy findings.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
In continuing discussions about presenting a three-year fiscal plan for the town, the Financial Planning Committee last night generally agreed that without some kind of structural change the town's expenses will outpace its revenue indefinitely.
Most towns in the state are contending with the same problem, even affluent communities such as Newton, said Town Councilor Shannon Zollo, who is also a planning committee member.
"Our budget goes up a lot more than 2.5 percent every year, it's more in the 4 or 5 percent range," said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
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
Under the draft regulations, the DEP is proposing a $200 fee for the initial certificate and a $200 annual certification fee. Those seeking a variance could have to pay $3,000, Civian said.
During a mid-morning break, several local developers and business owners shared their worries about the proposal.
Sherry Clancy, project manager for National Development, threw out several questions yesterday.
"I think it's something we have to get educated about and understand," Clancy said. "If there is something troublesome or cumbersome, that comment should be made now before it's too late."
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Another information session is scheduled for Wednesday at the DEP's Central Regional Office at 627 Main St., Worcester, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The DEP has extended the comment period on its proposed Statewide Stormwater Management Program until March 11. All comments should be submitted in writing to Mass DEP, 1 Winter St., 5th floor, Boston, MA 02108, attention: Glenn Haas or by e-mail to DEP.Waterpermitting@state.ma.us.
The proposed regulations and program details are available at the DEP Web site at www.mass.gov/dep.
Read the full article about stricter storm water management in the Milford Daily News here
Read the full article on the team in the Milford Daily News here
Franklin High School's Varsity Cheerleaders: They are the second FHS cheerleading team to take home first place at a national competition; the first title was won in Providence in 2006.
Franklin School Committee Chairman Jeffrey N. Roy told Tri-County School Committee members, "One reason I came here tonight is to ask you to do what you appear to be doing - level-fund your budget."
"I want to thank you for doing that because in the Franklin school district we know a lot about cutting," Roy said. Franklin schools cut more than 40 teachers and staff last year to make up for about a $2 million budget gap.
Read the full article on the Tri-County Vocational Technical school budget in the Milford Daily News here
