"it's a wonderful community event"

The basketball game last year drew 1,200 people and raised $6,000 to fund field trips and cultural programs for students of the school.

"We're killing two birds with one stone," said Parent Communication Council Treasurer Erin Long. "Families get to go out for a great night, and we raise money for field trips."

Long, who is again organizing the event with former treasurer Karen Ayotte for the second year in a row, said the Harlem Wizards - a basketball show-team similar to the Globetrotters - will take on a group of students, teachers and community members at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School.

Sullivan Principal Beth Wittcoff said four students from each grade, five teachers, three alumni, Principal Paul Peri from Remington Middle School and School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy will comprise the Sullivan Rockets.

Franklin students to battle Harlem Wizards

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff



Franklin, MA

Artbeat closing Franklin store

The following email was received announcing the closing of the Artbeat store downtown:

Dear Friends,

We are closing our Franklin store at the end of March. Sunday, March 28 will be our last day of operation.

When we opened our store and studio here nearly three years ago, we were proud to be part of an effort to revitalize Franklin's downtown, bringing you our signature products and services: creative gifts and art activities to take home to share with family and friends or to make in our studio.

Because of today's business climate, it is not possible for us to continue in this location.

We thank you for your support, for using ARTBEAT as a creative resource, for bringing your families here to celebrate birthdays and create family memories, and for allowing us to support your school, church, and scout groups through our donations. We will miss the many friends we've made here.

While we are leaving the Franklin downtown, we are not closing our business. We invite you to visit ARTBEAT in Arlington (www.artbeatonline.com).  Our online store at www.artbeatshop.com will continue to supply the special selection of activities we are known for, like Creative Adventures™ sand art and Decopatch™ supplies. Our online selection will be growing over the coming months, and you can order products from us by phone at any time.

Our ART PARTIES will still be available to families in Franklin and surrounding towns. We will bring the party to your home or to another venue that's convenient to you. Click here for more information.

Gift cards will continue to be honored at our Arlington store.

As our parting gift to you, we are offering select items at deep discounts, including interesting fixtures that you might find useful in your home or studio. Please visit us to do some final shopping and let us say farewell.

Our best wishes to you,

Jan and Andrai

Franklin, MA

Rock the 80's Party

There is a "Rock the 80's Party coming up this month.

 

80's PARTY/FUNDRAISER FOR THE AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER

Get out your leg warmers, lace bra, IZOD shirt, and don't forget your mullet & can of hairspray as you get ready for the PARTY OF THE SPRING!!

For a minimum donation of $15 (you can certainly donate more!) come dance, laugh, and have a great time while raising money for a great cause!

DJ, h'dourves, desert, cash bar, and lots of raffles & gift baskets!

When: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:00pm

Where: Cole's Tavern, Washington St., Franklin MA

More info on Facebook here

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1284925398564#!/event.php?eid=301299519199

FM #60 - Week Ending 3/14/10

This internet radio show or podcast is number 60 in the series for Franklin Matters.
We close it out the week ending March 14, here in Franklin, MA and review the School Committee meeting, the Charter Revisions meeting and the Planning Board starting the review process for the Big Y Supermarket coming to RT 140.

Time: 10 minutes, 27 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:


This internet radio show or podcast is number 60 in the series for Franklin Matters.

A notable week this is as we close it out here in Franklin, MA on Sunday, March 14th
The mathematicians celebrated Pi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi

Monday, March 15th is the Ides of March http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ides_of_March

Wednesday, March 17th is St Patrick's Day for the wearing of the green, let the Irish luck be with us all!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick's_Day

enough of the special days, in this session I’ll cover the

• School Committee meeting March 9th 
• Special Town Council Charter Revisions meeting on Wednesday, Mar 10. 
• announcement about Big Y and the rumor about Price Chopper coming to town

Amongst the most note worthy events of the School Committee meeting on March 9th
the presentation of the budget, as previewed last week, it is not a level service budget as it adds back the late bus the full budget book can be found here
http://www.franklin.k12.ma.us/co/supt/budget/FY2011Budgetbook.pdf

The bullying task force was proposed and accepted to proceed. I had sent in some minor modifications to their wording and was busy with reporting so I did not pursue during the meeting. As the Task Force begins work, I hope to report on some of the meetings and will share that effort here. If you do want to get involved, please contact either Maureen Sabolinksi or Jeff Roy.

The third item slipped by me during the meeting. Tucked away in the listing of the action items was the Franklin Arts Academy. The action item had been removed from the agenda of the 2/23 meeting to be brought for further discussion at a future meeting.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=w%2fkMd8zDPRPv8O4nCbU6og%3d%3d

Well it appeared here, came up for vote, was not discussed and passed unanimously.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=MWYnjQjW1LRBYWUjvTPCPw%3d%3d

What occurred during the time between the meetings for the item to have moved from a discussion for future to no discussion? Anyone with insights on that? I haven't a clue.

Let's move along to the Special Town meeting to review the Charter Revisions.

For something as important as the Charter revisions, I was disappointed with the lack of notification for the meeting. As mentioned last time, it wasn't mentioned during the prior TC meeting when there was plenty of opportunity for a short meeting to do so. Nothing was posted to the Town website until Monday when after some prompting, the changes were posted.

http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?ecm=634042645862047645&indexSessionSKU=m3Pu2/LKnH5Ic7kDprt0hw%3D%3D&siteSKU=L7qhQ46xin/r3Z0jcDVCNw%3D%3D


The discussion during the meeting was enlightening as usual. Some councilors spoke carefully and thoughtfully about the issues, some were content to create soundbites with no sustenance. We'll get a chance to review the changes again at this week's Town Council meeting as the listing of changes is up for discussion. The Council should come to some consensus on which way to proceed on which items so the document can be drafted for approval and vote.

The process seems to be the following:

• Council determines changes to be pursued 
• Document drafted for review and approval by Council
• Approved document submitted to State Legislature for approval
• Assuming the Legislature approves, the document returns to the Franklin voters to decide at a future election (i.e. Nov 2010)

As this document defines our way of governing ourselves, I would approve of the following.

Moving the following elected official positions to appointments
Town Clerk, Treasurer/Collector
Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Constables

This would ensure the City of Franklin (while continuing to choose to call itself a Town) would at least be better prepared to handle the future. The future being a state of affairs where it is much more critical to operate as a business with the appropriately qualified people in the proper roles.

• The Town Council (elected by the voters) would have an oversight on all appointments. 
• The Town Administrator should be provided guidelines for determining the qualifications.
• The job requirements for each position would be spelled out with appropriate success measures and periodic performance reviews.

The Planning Board heard the proposal for a new supermarket, The Big Y to come in to the Chinese Buffet restaurant location across from the Municipal Bldg. You can view the full session (approx 1 hour) via the video archive at this link
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=55FJjJb0jPfz1ZmnwcdVbw%3d%3d

It was interesting to hear as the meeting goes into a recess, someone says “I heard Price Chopper and Middlesex Bank”

March 22, the hearing and process will continue at the Planning Board meeting that night. There are also Design Review meetings and Conservation Commission meetings on aspects of the proposal.

Stay tuned to the developments along RT 140.

In summary, this week, we talked about the School Committee meeting nd the FY 2011 budget, Charter revisions and the Planning Board review underway on the Big Y supermarket

Looking ahead, this week the Charter revisions continue at the Town Council meeting on Weds

For the full schedule of Franklin Meetings, check out the town website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_MeetingsCal/?formid=158


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that

• If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
• If you don’t like something, please tell me

Thank you for listening!

------------

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 music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

Town Council - Agenda - 3/17/10

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - January 20, February 3, February 10, & March 3, 2010

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS –
1. Discussion of Proposed Charter Amendments

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION –
1. Resolution 10-10: Acceptance of Law Chapter 479 of the Acts of 2008
2. Bylaw Amendment 10-642: Amendment to Chapter 181-6:Wetlands Protection; Notice and Hearings – 1st Reading
3. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-639: Amendment to Chapter 185-5 Zoning map- 2nd reading
4. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-640-: Amendment to Chapter 185-42: Biotechnology Uses- 2nd Reading

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



Franklin, MA

"defense system attacks myelin"

The Franklin resident works as a full-time pharmaceutical quality control specialist. She is earning her MBA degree online. She is pregnant with her first child, a girl. And, she has multiple sclerosis, or MS.

"There are a lot of misconceptions out there," the 32-year-old said recently. "I guarantee you everyone knows someone who has it, they just don't know."

Residents like Hoar and area doctors dealing with MS point to acquaintances, colleagues and, as of last week, a discount furniture maven with children.

"To know you can still do everything you want and have everything you want is good to hear," Hoar said, referring to the move by Phyl Rubin of Bernie and Phyl's Furniture fame to disclose her MS though a public service announcement after nearly 40 years.

Living with the uncertainty of multiple sclerosis

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Michael Morton/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

State Senate: Special Election for Franklin Precincts 2 - 3 - 4

Franklin voters in precincts 2, 3 and 4 will have an opportunity to vote for Sen Scott Brown's replacement on April 13th.

There are two Democrats in a primary on the 13th and the winner will face the Republican candidate in the election on May 11th.

Read about the candidates themselves in the Boston Sunday Globe West edition here



Franklin, MA

"the whole school rallies around the teams"

Aside from Franklin's wrestling team, which included New England champion Dan Telhada and is coached by Carmine Colace, the Panthers got standout seasons from both their boys and girls hockey and boys and girls basketball squads. The track and swimming squads put their best feet forward as well.

Coach Dean O'Connor's boys hoops squad reached the Division 1 South quarterfinals, finishing 18-6 after winning a tournament game. John Leighton's girls basketball team was 16-7, and like the boys went 1-1 in the tourney.

On the ice, Chris Spillane led the boys hockey team to a 16-3-3 mark and the Division 1 South semifinals. Margie Burke's girls hockey team was 13-8 after a preliminary-round loss to Medway-Ashland in the Division 1 tournament.

What is the common thread between the teams, aside from winning records and "FRANKLIN" on the chest? The fact that the coaches come back each year and have built the programs and, as far as one can tell, will continue to.

High School Notebook: Franklin heats up in winter

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by Tim Whelan Jr./Daily News staff



Franklin, MA

Pulaski Blvd - Seek Alternate Route

For those traveling down King St, if you think you have successfully negotiated the construction around the i495 interchange, beginning March 29th, you'll need to consider an alternate route if you want to get to Bellingham, Woonsocket and other points south.

King St turns into Washington St at Cole's Tavern and becomes Pulaski Blvd as you cross the town line into Bellingham. Bellingham received a sizable amount of stimulus money to do the reconstruction of the road down into the intersection of RT 126.

I'll consider bailing out on either Forest St or Spring St to the back roads.

What will you do? Share your short cut here

Franklin, MA

"It is very difficult to think straight about well being"

The difference between our experience and our memory is fascinating. The colonoscopy patient example is a wonderful story. Not so much about the colonoscopy itself but for what the ending is and how it determines the memory. A story is a combination of changes, significant moments and endings. The ending determines the remembering self not the experience self.

Daniel Kahneman shares his insights on this in this TED Talk.

"Below an income of $60,000 per year, American people are unhappy."




Now moving from happiness to optical illusions. If the visible error can be seen, how can we deal with those other logic errors that don't appear so visible?

Dan Ariely asks "Are we in control of our decisions?"



Why explore these studies on irrational behavior, experience and memory? We are in the budget season. There are a number of discussions underway around priorities. We also have a significant discussion underway on the Town Charter. The charter changes should be done with a good deal of thought for the future. Those who seem to be stuck with people in roles, or people making proposals, are falling into the traps outlined in these talks. Their thoughts are being colored, even coerced in ways that if they were to reconsider, there might be a different result.

Will taking the time to think about this change the way we do things?

There is always hope.


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the two videos here.


Franklin, MA

Safe Schools Package = unfunded mandates

Senator Spilka Votes in Favor of Safe Schools Package

BOSTON - 03/11/10 - Senator Spilka voted on Thursday to advance a pair of bills aimed at promoting a safe, healthy and productive learning environment for all students through banning bullying and updating nutritional standards in schools.

Senate anti-bullying legislation prohibits physical, verbal and written acts that threaten or cause harm to another student, including Internet "cyber-bullying," while a separate school nutrition bill establishes new standards for fresh food options in school cafeterias and vending machines.

"Both of these bills will help create a secure, healthy and beneficial school environment," stated Senator Karen Spilka.  "Kids need to know that the adults in their lives will back them up when they participate in positive behaviors, like healthy eating, and won't tolerate deplorable behaviors, like bullying.  These bills go a long way towards setting new and important standards for a productive learning setting.

"These two bills working together will make a dramatic difference in our school environment," Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) said. "We all know there's a strong connection between health and safety and learning. By striking out fear and improving nutrition, we're going to provide students with a more valuable and rewarding educational experience."

The anti-bullying bill requires all school districts, charter schools and non-public schools to develop prevention and intervention plans by December 31, 2010 that include procedures for investigating bullying incidents, notifying parents and determining appropriate disciplinary actions.

"The anti-bullying legislation passed today provides a framework for schools to adequately address the damaging impacts of bullying in all its forms," said Senator Robert O'Leary (D-Barnstable), Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Education. "Equipping teachers, students and parents with more information and education on bullying and outlined steps on how to handle it provides a community solution to a community problem."

Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) said: "This is comprehensive, prevention-oriented legislation that will work to end the persistent cycle of bullying we've seen in the Commonwealth's schools for years,

leading to tragedies like those in South Hadley, Springfield and too many other communities. Every student deserves to feel safe in their own schools, and this bill is a strong step in that direction."

The bill requires school principals to notify local law enforcement of bullying incidents if there is reason to believe criminal charges may be pursued. It also allows Individualized Education Programs for children with special needs to include provisions that will help them handle and respond to incidents of bullying. The bullying ban extends to all school facilities, school-sponsored functions, school buses and bus stops.

The Senate also passed a bill establishing new nutritional standards in schools to address the problem of childhood obesity in the Commonwealth. Food and beverages in school cafeterias, vending machines and other locations in public schools separate from federal meal programs must be

in compliance.

"The fact that the current generation of children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents is simply unacceptable," said Senator Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln), lead sponsor of the bill. "Families demand and deserve that their children be offered food that is healthy, wholesome and safe. The School Nutrition Bill makes certain that parents have the final word on what children eat at school and makes it a requirement that schools maintain healthy standards in the cafeterias."

The standards, to be implemented by the 2012-13 school year, will be developed by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and include requirements for the availability of free drinking water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and nutritional information for non-packaged foods. The use of deep fryers is banned.

The regulations do not apply to bake sales, concession stands and other school-sponsored events.

The nutrition bill also requires issues of nutrition and exercise to be included in the educational curriculum, and it establishes a commission to make recommendations related the management of childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes and eating disorders.

"I applaud the Senate for taking an important step in combating what has become a childhood obesity epidemic in the Commonwealth, and across our nation," said Sen. Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge), Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. "By limiting the availability

of unhealthy foods and promoting the infusion of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, we're not only curbing bad habits among our children, but improving the general, healthy outlook of wellness in

Massachusetts."

As a way to further promote wholesome food options and locally grown products, the bill encourages statewide adoption of the successful "Farm-to-School" program, which creates contracts between local farms and public schools to provide fresh fruits, vegetables and ingredients.

The bill also adds state colleges and universities to the requirement that state agencies or authorities give preferential treatment to local farms when purchasing agricultural products.

Finally, capitalizing on the fresh food trend, the bill requires the study of Boston's "Chefs in Schools" program, which teaches schools to create healthy, cost-effective meals that kids like to eat, to see how it could be effectively implemented in other school districts.

The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for further action.

I would prefer to see more of a focus on how to cook and prepare good meals. Jamie Oliver's talk and the actions he proposed I think would be a better longer term solution than "unfunded mandates."

Why?
The State is addressing a major issue (societal obesity) via a mechanism it can control (school lunches) that doesn't get to the heart of the matter (the family dinner table).

In the News - regionalization

The proposal would also look at the merits of a regional dispatch or communications center.

Such a system would not only save money, but use manpower more efficiently, Thompson said.

"For the police side, it's an opportunity to reduce liability, particularly for holding prisoners," he said.

In a regional lockup, deputies would pick up prisoners from all the police departments, bring them to the facility, feed them, and then drive them to court the following day, or the next time the court is open.

The communications center would also be for all the police and fire departments, with trained emergency dispatchers working the phones.

Public safety officials say regionalization worth considering

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Norman Miller/Daily News staff



Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Trash Collection

The collection of posts on the new curbside trash and recycle process that will begin July 1, 2010

Trash/Recycle survey results one month after the service started

Trash/recycle tips for good service

Trash/recycle recycling

Trash/Recycle video of process in action

Trash/Recycle cart placement

Trash/Recycle what goes, what doesn't

Trash/Recycle bin ownership

Trash/Recycle Frequently Asked Questions

Trash/Recycle bins start July 1

The Trash Announcement Flyer and FAQ documents

Trash pickup in action (video)

Survey says: new trash/recycle process - not a goo... 

Trash Research - What the other communities do

Solid Waste Pros/Cons - Updated

Solid waste - pros/cons

The Town Council authorizes the new curbside rate and the finance of the new totters

Live reporting - Legislation

The initial presentation to the Town Council Jan 20th


Live reporting - Solid Waste

Live reporting - Solid Waste Q&A

New trash recycle containers 







Franklin, MA

"Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own"

"Curiosity killed the cat" is an old saying probably based upon some truth, passed down and now lost. The message though is one of caution, don't go too far, don't explore, don't learn what is at the edges. Not a good message for a world where life long learning is becoming a requirement.

James Cameron tells the story of how following his curiosity has resulted in Avatar! His learning about leadership and teamwork built upon a bond of respect is wonderful.



"Failure is an option, fear is not"

Let's move from curiosity and fear to dance. The body is a wonderful thing. It possesses such great moves. Some moves were recently seen during the Olympics when the snowboarders showed off their flips and twists, the ice skaters performed their Triple Lutz and Quad jumps. Watch this piece on what these dancers can do.

Just imagine if some of these moves worked their way on to a snowboard or the ice rink? What would it be like?



The advances these dancers have made exploring the limits of what their bodies can do, has been fostered by the internet. Easy access, cheap video, "keeping up with the Jones"... driven by curiosity.


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the two videos shown here.


Franklin, MA

HMEA 5K Race/Walk - May 23rd

The Horace Mann Education Associates - HMEA, Inc. is located here in Franklin, MA but their effective service delivery is to over 100 communities in MA.

HMEA has a long history of providing innovative services in school, at work, at home and in the community and now serve over 2400 children and adults with developmental disabilities. Services include: Residential, Day and Family supports, and services for children.

HMEA's Employment Programs provides people with disabilities the opportunity to pursue meaningful employment either on a full- or part-time basis. For people in the Employment Program who work part-time, HMEA encourages volunteering for community organizations, or leisure and recreation activities to supplement their day.

HMEA's Employment Programs serve people 22 years of age and older who live within the commuting distance of program locations in the following cities and towns: Bellingham, Clinton, Hopedale, Plainville and Worcester

The annual fund raiser for HMEA is the 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day scheduled for May 23, 2010.

SAVE THE DATE...Sunday, May 23, 2010 HMEA's 9th Annual Independence 5K Walk/Run in the Park - MARK YOUR CALENDARS and grab your sneakers to participate in this "Fun-filled Family Day fundraising event...

This event, which is hosted by our good friends at EMC2 Corporation in Franklin, MA gathers 2,000 or more people to help HMEA continue its mission to make a difference in people's lives. AND, all the money raised is returned to the many programs at HMEA, which supports 2,400 children and adults with intellectual challenges and developmental disabilities.

Once again we have Gene Lavanchy from Fox News25 and tentatively Gail Huff from WCVB-TV Channel performing hosting duties for us. And our great friends and inspiration to many, "TEAM HOYT", Dick and Rick will be on hand again this year -- plus we're pretty sure there will be a few other celebrities and mascots on hand as well!

So come on down and participate in the fun...there's raffle prizes, food, tee shirts for participants (while they last), prizes, a Kids Corner filled with games and activities, a Kids "FUN RUN" and so much more... 

In addition to working the road race registration table (and providing splits at the 2 mile mark), I have decided to help HMEA do some fund raising this year.

I love the quote from Horace Mann that they use on their History page:

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"

You can help the HMEA make a difference with a donation. I have a widget in the center column of this and my other blogs, should you choose to donate an amount within your means.

I will appreciate it.
The HMEA clients you help will too!

-----

If you would like to register for the race you can do so here
http://www.hmea.org/events.html

If you'd like you can contribute in one of several options directly through the HMEA website here
http://www.hmea.org/donations.html

Franklin, MA: Library Tour (video)

How many styles of Greek columns are used in the Library building?
The answer to that can be found by taking a tour of the library. The tour will help you understand more about how the Franklin Library is really one of our treasures.

Have you taken the tour?
I haven't but when I stopped by recently to get some Dr Seuss books, I found out about a video tour that was available on DVD. Could the video be converted to share on a website? Yes, it could.

While a real 'in person' tour, is the best way to view the library, you can take a tour of the library from the luxury of your own computer. Click a view the video, it will be a well spent 35 minutes!



The video will also be posted to the Library website.

The video was put together by The Preservation Committee for the 100th Anniversary celebration of the library in 2004. Many thanks to the great time and effort put into this by Donna Estey, Ann Arpin, and Hugh Bolton in particular amongst the many involved in the production.


Note: for email subscribers, you will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video.

Business After Hours

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce held a "Business After Hours" networking event at Dean College Thursday evening.

Dean College was a gracious host, with good food and refreshments in their newly renovated Library and Learning Center on the Dean campus. President Paula Rooney was amongst the several Dean representatives present.

Jack Lank, President of the United Regional Chamber, welcomed everyone. Jay Leiendecker, Vice President at Dean gave some brief remarks as did Jeff Nutting, Franklin Town Administrator.

A number of business people from outside Franklin came to the event to meet business folks from Franklin and help share what they do to spread the word and expand their business.

With as many people as were at the event, I could not get to talk with all. Those whom I did get to talk with were interesting. Some highlights were:

Did you know that Digital Credit Union is developing an application to take a picture of a check with your smartphone to create a deposit into your account without having to actually bring the check to the teller or ATM machine? I will talk further with Thomaz Demoura, Branch Manager of the DCU office on RT 140 to understand how this will work.

Did you know that if you'd like to hold an outdoor wedding in the area that Country Gardens, a bed and breakfast with a special events facility would be a good place to consider? Located approximately two miles from LaSalette Shrine, I will be talking with Ralph Arguin to find out more about their services.

You may recall a conversation with Linda Waters, President, Back to Business, that I reported here from the Harvest Festival last September. The Confidence Beads that were in development are now ready and available. I will be finding out more to bring back and share here.

This is just a sample of the conversations available at Business After Hours. Consider finding out more about the United Regional Chamber of Commerce and their operations by visiting their website, calling one of their offices, or contacting me. You don't have to be a member to attend their Business After Hours, you can attend as a guest.

Why do I spend time at such events? You may have heard me say/write that something like a split tax is not a solution to our budget problems. A split tax rate creates two classes of taxpayers and attempts to shift the burden from the residential to the commercial/industrial base. That simply makes it harder to do business in Franklin. What we really need to do is not split the pie but make the pie larger! Increasing business opportunity in Franklin is one way to help our overall budget issues. The opportunity to meet and talk with the business folks is priceless!

Creating opportunities for business to operate successfully in Franklin is what matters.



Franklin, MA

"take advantage of the opportunity"

Months before they even get a diploma, some Franklin High School seniors are preparing to head into the real world.

Beginning its second year, the school's senior project course gives 35 seniors a taste of being part of the work force before they graduate.

"Senior project is the smartest and best thing that Franklin High School has done for its students," said 2009 graduate John Congdon, who participated last year.

Franklin students get a taste of the real world

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff


Franklin, MA

2nd Fund Raising Event for Abbey Candy House

FRIENDS of the ABBEY
In 

SPORTS AND SONG

Come join with us in Sports

MATT LIGHT

PATRIOTS Offensive Tackle

(Six Division Championships, Four Conference Titles,
Three Super Bowl Championships)

AUTOGRAPH SIGNING –  PATRIOTS MEMORABILIA

Come join with us in Song

AYLA BROWN

– former American Idol finalist from season 5:
(Boston College Eagles Basketball)

SILENT AUCTIONS, RAFFLES, DOOR PRIZE

ADMISSION: ADULTS $10.00

Children Free - Cash/Checks only

Where: Lake Pearl Luciano’s

When: April 11, 2010

2:00 to 4:00 P.M.

Creek St., Wrentham, Ma.

Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey – 300 Arnold St. – Wrentham, Ma. 02093

Phone: 508 528 1282 Web www.msmabbey.org

solar compactor down at the track

The solar powered trash compactor has been moved to the Franklin High School Track. As I recall this had been positioned downtown, opposite the Post Office, under a tree. I recall musing, would it get enough solar attention under the tree? Maybe it wasn't or maybe it was decided that this would be a better place.

Either way, as I ran my workout at the track today, I noticed it there. It may have been positioned here earlier. With the winter weather this was the first time for me to get to the track this year. I look forward to getting there more often now that the weather is breaking.


Franklin, MA