Saturday, October 17, 2009

Franklin's Express Line

The current Franklin Express Line has just been published.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

You can subscribe on the Town website to receive your own copy here.

In the News - Pulaski Blvd, Tegra Medical

The update promised for "tomorrow" made it to the paper today

Pulaski Boulevard to be improved

from The Milford Daily News News RSS

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A good news story on the business front.

Franklin's Tegra Medical wins award

from The Milford Daily News News RSS


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Friday, October 16, 2009

2009 Election Collection

The collection of posts covering the Franklin election on Nov 3rd

Audio of Election Results in Franklin HS field house




Milford Daily News summary of the Town Council and Board of Health candidates

School Committee candidate - Jeff Roy

Town Council Candidate - Glenn Jones

FM #47 Tina Powderly
audio recording and text

Register to vote by October 14th

Town Council Candidate - Judith Pond Pfeffer

FM #46 - Scott Mason
audio recording and text

Town Council Candidate - Tina Powderly

Town Council Candidate - Glenn Jones

November Election Line up

 Note: this is not an endorsement of these candidates. This is an information sharing exercise to enable you, the voters, to prepare an informed decision when you enter the polling place (Franklin High School field house) on November 3rd.


Franklin: Library book sale Sat 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM


The sign says it all.

Franklin Library Book Sale

Saturday, October 17th

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

At the DPW facilties on
25 Public Works Way off Hayward St.

In the News - local aid cuts, Universalist music

In the details of this announcement local aid cuts are coming. 40% of the Franklin budget comes from local aid, from the State. Any dollar cut by the State will affect our services here.

Governor calls for emergency budget cuts

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Jim O'Sullivan/State House News Service

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Franklin's Universalist Society is a sanctuary for music

from The Milford Daily News News RSS





Thursday, October 15, 2009

Town Council Candidate - Glenn Jones

Glenn and I had the opportunity to sit together a couple of times (1) to discuss his candidacy for Town Council and (2) to discuss the four questions that follows. 



Franklin Matters:
1. - What is Franklin’s big issue? What steps should we take to resolve it?


Glenn Jones:
Franklin’s biggest issue is the budget. Every year Franklin tries to balance a budget of almost 100 Million dollars to support some 33 thousand residents.  It’s a daunting task.  Services are bare bone, schools are struggling to provide on less each year, and our residents are facing one of the largest un-employment rates in years.  If we intend to provide exemplary services to our residents it’s going to take a viable, well thought out, long-term plan. A plan needs to be presented to Franklin residents with hard understandable facts.  It should be the Town Councils goal to reach out to the people of Franklin and highlight the options that will help Franklin stay on track to a sustainable future.




Franklin Matters:
2. - What is your position on the proposed Charter Revisions?


Glenn Jones:
The Charter is Franklin’s Constitution and sets the guidelines for our form of government. For that reason alone any revisions to the Charter need to be taken very seriously.


The Charter Review Committee has noted several recommended changes. These potential changes are presented to the Town Council for review and if acceptable gets forwarded to the State Legislature for approval, it can then be presented back to the Residents of Franklin for their final approval.  


One of the many recommendations presented in a minority report is to change the position of ‘Town Clerk’ from an elected position to an appointed position.  I personally feel that the ‘Town Clerk’ should remain as an elected position.  The ‘Town Clerk’ is the main interface between the people of Franklin and the Town’s Administration. When you interact with our ‘Town Clerk’ you are truly talking to a person whose whole heart is for and from Franklin, MA.  She is not a cog in the Town’s administration; she is the face of all the residents of Franklin. It’s true our Town Clerk requires a certain level of expertise that our current Town Clerk has acquired during her tenure, but with diligent tutoring and proper procedures, any well intended intelligent Franklin resident can repeat her contributions and execute the job of ‘Town Clerk’.


One other potential change is that of ‘Town Treasurer’ from an elected position to appointed position.  On this issue I feel the “Town Treasurer” is not so much a public position as it is a professional one. So, with that being said, the position of “Town Treasurer” should be an appointed position.  However, I feel there should be a stipulation that all appointed positions should be offered to Franklin residents first.


“Staggered terms for our elected officials” is also a topic that has come up during the charter review.  All Town Council members should be able to sit no longer than 3 years before having to be re-elected.  Maintaining continuity in our government is paramount and some restructuring is probably necessary in the future in order to better meet the needs of the Town of Franklin and its residents. A workable plan will need to be efficient and effective in order to preserve the stability of our form of government.




Franklin Matters:
3 - What use do you envision for the Open Space Fund?


Glenn Jones:
With potentially millions of dollars in our Open Space Fund, we as a Town should be concerned about the preservation of any open space we can acquire.  Franklin has seen enough development in the past 2 decades to make anyone’s head spin. So, if we have the means and funding to keep a reasonable amount of open space in Franklin we should. However, since the Open Space Fund is a capital fund, many people have wondered if that money could be better spent on other important, under prioritized, capital issues in town, such as the school facilities, roadways, library, and other town assets. It will be a large responsibility of the new Town Council to review all available funds and decide which items are more of a priority than others. The people of Franklin should indeed voice their opinions on these matters and require transparency and accountability of their new Town Council to act in their best interests. If elected to the Town Council I will be honored to help shoulder this responsibility and bring the topical results back to the people. 


Franklin Matters:
4 - What is your position on the Financial Planning Committee report?


Glenn Jones:
First off, let me say the Long-Range Financial Planning Committee (LRFPC) has done a tremendous job of trying to bring all of the major issues that do and will affect our community to the citizens of Franklin.  I think Franklin as a whole greatly benefits from superb municipal services with a comparably low tax burden. As the report indicates we are the #1 recipient of State Aid to schools, comparable to 31 peer towns, and that aid amounts to a large portion of our budget. Without this aid, we would be in a considerably difficult place. That being said, it is well known that the Massachusetts is also having some of the most difficult budget issues that it has ever had and as the trickle down effect dictates we would chance to lose a good portion of our state aid. That is a portion of our budget we can not afford to lose. We will, as the data suggest in the report, have to maintain a minimum level of school spending in order to meet state mandates. We as a town will have to find that money or the services we enjoy everyday, like plowed roads, clean town, and public safety will start to deteriorate. That is a serious shock. 


This all leads back to my further point of a ‘plan’. We lack a viable, sustainable plan that holds our government accountable to the decisions that it makes. I feel that there should be no further tax increases until such a plan is in place. In these trying times it will take all of the hard working citizens of Franklin to step up to the plate and decide what ‘we’ want our standards to be and how ‘we’ intend to get ourselves thru some of the most trying times in our history. 


I want to be the voice for these citizens and this is why I chose to run for Town Council. I always express a certainty to my young children: “Never give up, never give in”. Together the people of Franklin will persevere.




Biographical Info:


My Campaign Slogan: “Leadership through Teamwork”


Parents: William and Mary Jones
Youngest of 4 children


Wife: Nicole
Children: 4


Age: 39


Born: Cambridge, MA
Raised: Watertown, MA
Franklin Resident: 11 years


Education:
Watertown High School
Northeastern University – Electrical Engineering


Profession: 
Electrician and Sr. Engineering technician


Specialties: computers, energy management, audio/visual and automation


Volunteering:
Franklin Youth Soccer – Coach
Franklin Youth Softball – Coach
New England Chapel – Facilities Team Leader
Davis Thayer Elementary School PCC events and activities


Website: www.glennfjones.com




NewBCamp - Saturday - October 17th

NEWBCAMP AT NEW ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY


Date: October 17th, 2009


Time: 9am to 3pm


Where: 

New England Institute of Technology, Student Union
2840 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02888


Cost: FREE (Donation of $10+ is helpful)



Registration is available here


Note: This link will bring you to the page with more information on the event and the link to register.


Vallee set local office hours for Friday 10/16/09

State Rep. James E. Vallee, D-Franklin, will hold monthly local walk-in office hours on Friday, Oct. 16, at two locations in his legislative district. Vallee, or a member of his staff, will be available

at the Medway town administrator's office, 155 Village St., 9-10 a.m., 

and his Franklin office at 4 West St., 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Vallee welcomes and encourages residents to visit him during these times to voice concerns or questions they may have regarding any state-related issue. He encourages those constituents unable to attend the district hours to call his State House office to schedule a more convenient appointment.

Vallee and his staff may be reached at 617-722-2600 or Rep.JamesVallee@hou.state.ma.us.
This was initially posted in the Franklin Gazette here

Bellingham's Pulaski Boulevard construction receives funding

King St runs south into Washington St which in turn runs into Pulaski Blvd. Three different names, two towns, one road. For anyone taking this southern route to Woonsocket or RT 146 to Providence beware of construction to resume.



Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:









via The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Melanie Graham/Daily News staff on 10/12/09

The Pulaski Boulevard road improvement project has received $13 million in state and federal funding. The project was included in the 2010-2013 Traffic Improvement Plan (TIP).

Pulaski Boulevard was one of many plans in eastern Massachusetts considered for state roadway improvement funding, including hundreds of projects in Boston. If Pulaski Boulevard had not been placed on fiscal 2010 list, the town would have had to wait until 2014 for funding.

The $13 million will be in addition to the $4 million already invested by the town.

The estimated two year project plans to rebuild 2.3 miles of Pulaski Boulevard, spanning from the Franklin town line to Orchard Street, including work at the Crooks Corner, Lake Street and Center Street intersections.

Also in the construction plan is road widening, added sidewalks and storm drain improvements.

MassHighway is currently in the bid process for the Pulaski Boulevard projects.
For more details on the project, read tomorrow's Milford Daily News.



Things you can do from here:



Note: While the article references more information in tomorrows Milford Daily News, that particular tomorrow has not arrived yet. Stay tuned for an update sometime.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Last day to register to vote on Nov 3rd - Today!

If you want to vote in the Town Election on November 3rd, you need to register to vote by the close of business next Wednesday, October 14th.

You can go to the Town Clerk's office at the Municipal Building. As you walk in the main entrance, bear to the left. There is a short corridor and at the end of the corridor is the door to the Town Clerk's office.

If you are going to be out of town on November 3rd, you can still vote via absentee ballot. Absentee ballot applications are also available at the Town Clerk's office.

When I called Debbie Pellegri to check on the ballot for the November 3rd election, she said that there had been no changes in the slate of candidates announced previously. All were officially certified. No one had withdrawn their application.

There does remain one open ballot spot for election of a member of the Board of Assessors. If someone would like to run for that spot as a 'write-in' candidate, please contact Debbie Pellegri (508-520-4900) for details on how to conduct that type of campaign. It is important to have the name added by the voters in the same manner. These write-ins will require a manual count and it would be easier if they all were entered the same.

Additional information on voter registration process can be found here


School Committee Mtg 10/13/09

The collection of posts reported live from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday October 13, 2009 are as follows:




In the News - swim team?

The proposal and discussion at the School Committee meeting last night as covered by the Milford Daily News today:

Franklin High may add swimming

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS







3rd Thursday - October 15th

Franklin Downtown Patnership

3rd Thursday in Downtown Franklin

Theme:  It's All About Style
Thursday, October 15th
5:00PM-8:00PM

Host for October: Pretty is Pink, 9 Summer St,
 
A night of fashion and fun at "Pretty Is Pink", an upscale boutique for woman and teens with style.
Featuring new styles for fall/winter 2009 including name brand jeans and designers mostly found in Nordstroms and Urban Outfitters.
Enter drawing for a $100 Pretty Is Pink gift certificate.
Take an additional 40% off any one markdown item for this night only.
Our new fall and winter styles including designer clothing will be modeled live.  Come join the fun!

Artbeat, the Creativity Store, 9 Summer St. Kids are invited to ARTBEAT Your Creativity Store for a free adventure with spooky sand art. You'll also find face paints, costume helpers and fun, unusual Halloween crafts.
 
Berry Insurance, 9 Main Street, will collect new Halloween costumes and accessories for kids of all age groups as part of the 3rd Annual Halloween Costume Drive benefiting Children's Hospital Boston.  Anyone who wants to donate costumes (nothing scary or violent) can drop off items at the downtown office before October 19, or call Kaitlyn Pintarich at (508) 440-2290 to schedule a pickup.
 
Café Dolce, 17 E. Central St will host an artist opening for pastel artist Catherine Haynes.  Everyone is invited to view her work and meet the artist.
 
Facial Rejuvenation, 11 Main St, all Jane Iredale mineral makeup is 15% off for 3rd Thursday!
(Jane Iredale is "THE" mineral make up.  Recommended by Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists and skincare professionals around the world)


Hair at Nail It, 20 Main St. Free wash & blow dry & new customer coupon

Jane's Frames, 11 E. Central Street, a special night to help you  create and define your personal style through artwork and framing and more.

"Whether it's traditional, contemporary, shabby chic, provincial, eclectic or undefined, we are all on different paths regarding our style," says owner Jane Curran.  "We invite customers to come look at some expressions of different styles and how colors work in creating their style. We can help them define and refine their look, all while listening to some wonderful guitar music and enjoying the company of friends old and new."


The Franklin School for Performing Arts' Spotlight Shop, 34 Main Street,  Box office is open for Third Thursday patrons to purchase tickets for its October 16 and 17 dinner theater presentation of the Kander & Ebbs musical Cabaret,  performed at the Franklin Country Club. Anyone buying tickets that night will receive a free FPAC sweatshirt while supplies last. Tickets for dinner and the show are $55 each and reservations are required.

H & R Block, at 9 East Central Street,  a Tax Talk: Making Work Pay Credit. Other specials include free "Forward Looks" tax checkup and "Second Looks" for prior years, a $29 value.  Third Thursday customers can enter to win a free tax return, and the winner will be drawn at the Holiday Stroll event in December.

Rick's Restaurant , 28 W. Central St. SHAKE IT UP at Rick's by wearing something to Spook Rick!   If you are successful, Rick will treat you to a piece of  Mudd Pie: Coffee ice cream in a chocolate cookie crumb crust, with hot fudge and real whipped cream. It's scary how spectacular this is!  (One per table, but big enough for all.)

Sarapaan Beads &Jewelry 19 East Central Street offers "Buy one pair of earrings get the second pair of equal or lesser value 50 % off" deal for Third Thursday patrons.

Salon Sorella, 9 Summer Street, hosting Tarot card readings (three cards for $5, six cards for $10), as well as $10 Halloween nails with complimentary nail art, and all children will receive complimentary Halloween hair.
 
Get more details at each participating business

So much is happening Downtown/Uptown Franklin
Come join the Fun!




Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Live reporting - closing items

FEF Casino night November 20th

Motion to go into Executive Session not to return to open meeting
Passed 6-0




Live reproting - Superintendent's report

5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
 
a. DESE Update - regionalization at the State level underway, recent approval for Districts to receive assistance, accountability number currently at #1, the top ranking. In the Greater Boston region, better for us demographically.


b. H1N1 - sent out survey, received positive feedback from families. Administrative helpers for clinics being looked for. Training tomorrow evening at Horace Mann.
 
c. MASBO
d. Transportation
e. Administrative Professional Development
f. Enrollment Comparison 9-26-08 – 9-25-09


Live reporting - Action Items

4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,000 from the Keller PCC for the 1st grade field trip to Jane & Paul’s Farm Stand and the 3rd grade field trip to Plimouth Plantation.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,000 from the Jefferson PCC for field trips for grades 1 to 5.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $10,000 from the Davis Thayer PCC for field trips for grades K-5 as detailed for the school year.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $107.14 from the Remington PCC for a nurse for the 6th grade field trip to the YMCA.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

e. I recommend approval of adding a 0.5 position ELL Teacher.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

f. I recommend approval of the Horace Mann Middle School field trip to the Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama from July 11-16, 2010 as detailed.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

g. I recommend approval of the FHS Art Department’s request for a field trip to New York City on Saturday November 14, 2009 to the Museum of Modern Art as detailed.  Motion to approve - passed 6-0

Live reporting - ASMS Book Recycling Program

3. Discussion Only Items

ASMS Book Bins

Memo with proposal:
REQUEST OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE

AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROVAL FOR KEEPING BOOKS RECYCLING DONATION BOX ON ASMS SCHOOL GROUNDS.

We, the Parent Communication Council (PCC) of Annie Sullivan Middle School, are seeking approval to retain the “Big Hearted Books”- (BHB) (http://bigheartedbooks.com ) bookdrop which is currently located at the edge of the lower parking lot. “Big Hearted Books” was formerly known as Community Book Drop until their merger this past summer. ASMS PCC has been selective in our choice of fundraisers, in our effort to balance the need for funds to enrich each student’s experience at ASMS, with the demands that each fundraiser would place on individuals and families. We have also tried to seek fundraising opportunities that would encourage students to “think GREEN” as a way to be accountable to their community in which they live. The ASMS PCC would hope that the School Committee will consider the benefits of keeping this book donation box at ASMS, and that if there are specific concerns about its location, that we will be able to find a way to resolve them while still keeping this great resource available for ASMS families.

WHY A BOOKDROP?

In the past we have collected print cartridges and cell phones, which had required a lot of time from parent volunteers to return mail items, and profited the PCC anywhere from $150-400 a year. The book drop requires no effort on behalf of a parent volunteer and pays an average of $100 or more per month, which will add up to over $1200 per year. Profit to the PCC is only one of the benefits however, as BHB is also willing to take requests for book titles and authors that would help to enlarge the private in-classroom libraries of the teachers. If any of those items are found at their main sorting center, BHB is willing to donate them to ASMS, free of charge. This is a particular benefit to our younger teachers, as well as to the students. Lastly, having a book recycling drop onsite has had a positive influence in the community at ASMS as the students and families are grateful for the opportunity to recycle their books and to focus on the benefits of reading.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

BHB collects unwanted media (books, records, audio cassettes, VHS tapes, CD’s and DVDs) and redistributes them to people who can use them to prevent them from ending up in landfills. The bin is emptied by BHB at different times during the month as they are collecting books from other bins in the area. Collections are donated and weighed and a profit is determined base on 7 ½ cents per pound. The average monthly profit check is just over $100.00. Of all collections made to BHB 85% is given to charities and organizations that are in need, 5% are recycled, and 10% are sold to cover operational expenses. Nothing gets thrown away.

POSSIBLE AREAS OF CONCERN:

The ASMS PCC understands that the DPW may have concerns about the current location of the box as it is located on the asphalt corner of the lower ASMS parking lot. Big Hearted Books is willing to either relocate the box to a level spot on the grass area, or to shovel out any remaining snow around the box after each storm. Shoveling out boxes is a regular maintenance item that BHB have already had the practice of doing at all of their bins.

Submitted by ASMS PCC: Jennifer Maire, Chair and Erin Long, Treasurer

This can be a good fund raiser. Estimated to be about $1600 revenue for the full year.
It is a win-win situation.

It was a purple box, now it is a white box. "Big Hearted Books"

We are willing to work with any objections that there may be. The company is looking to expand this to other schools.

Q - How long has the company been in business?
A - A couple of months before they started with us and then merged with Big Hearted Books over the summer. The company picks up after hours.

Q - If they go under, what would happen to the bin?
A - It is contractually their bin.

Q - If there is an overage?
A - We can call the company for an immediate pickup.

C - I think it is a great idea.

C - I don't think it is a School Committee issue. It is an operational issue.

C _ I hate to see books tossed. I like the fund raising initiative. The Committee is supportive. We will make an effort to find the policy in question.

It is very hard to go to the right source.



Live reporting - MCAS Growth Model

d. MCAS Growth Model
      1. Michele Kingsland-Smith
      2. Bob Lima
      3. Maureen Sabolinski

The presentation used:
Franklin was part of the pilot at the State level to participate in this program. The State is gearing for some federal funds and this data pilot was a good step to gain that.

The comparisons amongst the students at a data level to compare apples to apples has not been available previously. This look at the data should help to answer this question.

The test is different year to year, the standards are different. Comparison year to year becomes difficult. How much grown really occurred in the learning? This could not be answered previously.

SGP - Student Growth Profile
CPI - Current Performance Index

One couldn't predict future performance from MCAS results. The value of the new growth model is that this growth can now be forecasted.

The MCAS scores enabled a comparison amongst the Franklin students. Now with the SGP, the comparison can be made statewide. This comparison can truly be made on a cohort statewide level.

Each year, the growth would be re-calculated to produce a new cohort based upon similar performance over three years of testing.

The score for the SGP would be calculated for every subject area in the MCAS environment.

20% rule of thumb, this breaks out the range of growth over 100% into five groupings: 1-19, 20-39, 40-59, 60-79, 80-99.

Data previously was descriptive, now the data can be predictive.

The data shown in the slides is from the pilot and not Franklin District student data.

What this allows us to do is ask questions. What we need to do is to ask the right questions?

This will be a learning year for the District. The Pilot was a great thing to benefit from.

Q - One challenge has been the bar has been raised year to year, does this also measure district growth?
A - You can do a district level report, by grade, by building, a variety of perspectives. At the moment we can only access Franklin data. The ability to do a district level analysis is possible but likely at the State level. What will be presented to the public is still open. We do not know yet. There is no definitive answer yet.

A - Anyone can take data and show issues with it. The strength of the data will be to allow us to show student growth and target assistence to specific groups of students.


Live reporting - Literacy update

c. Literacy Update – Michele Kingsland-Smith

The presentation used:


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to view the presentation.

The amount of time kids are spending reading has increased 100%. I have no doubt about it.

There is always a connection between the reading and what they learned. The consultants are working on building a collegial learning environment so that the entire building feels comfortable.

Last year all teachers reached the "launch" training.
This year 4 and 5th will be working on learning how to do the "Group Reading Assessment and Evaluation (GRADE)" process.

"Key Three" strategies are being implemented throughout the middle school classrooms.

Grade 6 teachers will also pilot GRADE (as outlined above).

The "managing complex change" slide is most interesting. It can be used to understand other changes.

Some technical difficulty in trying to present a movie from a DVD. Choice Literacy, a national program, made a DVD using the Franklin program and personnel.


Live reporting - swim team proposal

b. FHS Swim Team Proposal – Brad Sidwell


Had a sign up interest meeting a couple of weeks ago, 15 girls, 5 boys.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io



Positive meeting with YMCA, pool time has been offered for free.
This would not be a full fledged varsity team the first time through.

I think there is a need there. It would grow fast here.

Q - Tom, what would the SBA say to a pool?
A - good question

Q - Where are the other towns doing their teams?
A - Private clubs, and many are in the Hockomock Area Y.

Q - Do you have someone who could be a coach?
A - I have a number of options but I didn't want to go anywhere until I had talked with you.

Q - What would happen next year? We would have kids as part of a pilot and not knowing what next year would be like?

Q - The number piece is important, it looks like you could do this at about 6-7,000 for this?
A - Yes, that is correct.

Q - It is another opportunity for keeping and attracting kids at the high school.
A - Yes, I have heard from a number.

Q - When gymnastics was cut, how much was it costing?
A - It was a different dynamic, the numbers were dropping. The members were going to private gyms and not wanting to give up their time.

Q - When would you need to know?
A - As soon as you can, we would not be officially part of the league this year. That time has passed.

Q - So if we have a decision for next meeting?
A - That would be good.

Note: the $11,000 shown on the doc would be reduced by the pool cost, increased by the number of swimmers (from 12 to 20) and the coach cost would be reduced by about $700 to bring to the toal as discussed about 6,000.