"increasing the fruit and vegetable choices"

Franklin's six elementary schools, as well as Remington Middle School and Horace Mann Middle School got salad bars. All three of Bellingham's elementary schools will have a new salad bar, and so will Uxbridge's Taft Elementary School. 

None of the salad bars are open to students just yet. 

"It is a good source of nutrition," said Franklin Food Service Director Clair Doyle. "We are hoping to get them operational by next week." 

The program is sponsored by the Whole Foods Market Foundation and chef Ann Cooper's Food Family Farming Foundation. The salad bars were paid for by Whole Foods customers who donated at local stores through a special school promotion as well as online donations.

Read more: Local kids to eat salad thanks to donations - Milford, MA - The Milford Daily News

Yes, I endorse this effort and thank the Whole Foods Market Foundation (and all the contributors) for this. We will live better when we eat better.

This effort ties in nicely with the Franklin Food Pantry, the Community Gardens, and other healthy programs.

Franklin, MA

Dean College - James Roosevelt, Jr.

Dean College invites the public to its

5th Annual Dean Leadership Institute Executive Lecture

James Roosevelt, Jr.

President and CEO, Tufts Health Plan

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

5:30 p.m. Networking Reception

6:30 p.m. Presentation

Dean College Campus Center, 135 Emmons Street, Franklin

RSVP to: alumni@dean.edu or 508-541-1612

James Roosevelt's presentation at the Dean Leadership Institute Executive Lecture will be on Social Security and Medicare. Mr. Roosevelt joined Tufts Health Plan in 1999 as senior vice president and general counsel, and became president and CEO in 2005. As general counsel he presided over the legal department and the company's compliance, privacy and government relations functions. In November 2008 President Barack Obama appointed Mr. Roosevelt to his transition team to co-chair a review of the Social Security Administration.

This was shared on the Downtown Partnership webpage

In the News - apartments rejected, police dog, gas leak

Proposal for eight apartments rejected in Franklin

by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin Police dog gets bulletproof vest

by Contributed photo

Franklin firefighters respond to gas leak

by Staff reports

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Community Gardens Committee Meeting

About 16 folks here tonight to get the low down on the developments for the community gardens

Where is it?
King St Memorial Playground - most families may have found this spot already due to the variety of sports played here but for those who need help positioning it is off King St, just past Forest St and before you get to the Remington-Jefferson complex.


View Larger Map


44 plots for raised beds is the first goal
4 plots for the 'giving garden'
4 plots for community groups
the remainder for first come first served

How would the plots be allocated?
Ideally, they would be assigned via the Recreation Dept website program (assuming it can be set up).
Worse case, it would be done via some sort of lottery to ensure appropriate allocation

A layout has been designed to optimize space
some of the plots will be on smooth ground to enable wheel chair access

The Steering Committee has worked with Tri-County to get some logos developed
there is a meeting Weds to review the drafts and see which one would work for the group

There is a meeting with Jeff Nutting, Town Administrator, to review the plans thus far
and to hopefully confirm some of the direction and planning

What size are the plots?
The plots are planned to be
Ideally 2' deep to ensure good root growth, with alternative plans for 16" or 12" deep beds
One reason to use raised beds on King St is to avoid the ground itself which has been treated over time with pesticides, etc and would not be good for growing organic foods.

Targeting for Apr 22, Earth Day, for the build - coordinated with the Town's Earth Day

each plot would have a 4' by 10' bed using 2" untreated pine
Yes, the beds would have an early life time but this is too get us started at a reasonable cost.

What else is needed?
Looking for another member for the Board
looking for fund raising ideas
looking to leverage relationships with building materials, etc.






Franklin, MA

In the News - Tri-County; FinCom Mtg Canceled

Four boys involved in fight at Tri-County

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin Finance Committee meeting canceled

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

As mentioned in the weekly summary, it is not surprising to see the meeting has been canceled.


Franklin, MA

FM #87 - Week ending 2/27/11

Let's take about 10 minutes to get up to speed on what matters in Franklin, MA as the week comes to a close Sunday, Feb 27, 2011

Time: 10 minutes, 1 second



MP3 File

Show Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 87 in the series for Franklin Matters.

We'll look back at the past two weeks as school vacation comes to a close Sunday Feb 27. Then we will look at what is scheduled for the week ahead.

The School Committee meeting on the 15th before school vacation was a full meeting.
Rep Vallee and Sen Spilka attended to provide an update on the overall budget outlook.
They did arrive in time to see the Franklin Arts Academy presentation which was quite impressive.
The school budget was reviewed and with minor discussion, approved.

While I can understand from the SchCom point of view that they have almost lived with the budget, some on the budget subcommittee more so than the others, and they had spent most of Saturday morning Jan 29th in the budget workshop. But as on that Saturday, the reporter from the MDN and I were the only members of the public, you would think that they would take some time to showcase the budget in this real public forum complete with live video which would be available later in the video on demand archive. But no, they went through it summarily and that is that. Shame on those in Franklin who did not come out to the meeting in person, that was your chance to step up and say something.

I do have links to the budget presentation and to the entire budget book available in the show notes
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/franklin-public-schools-budget-book-fy.html

Kudos to Jim Roche, Finance Committee chair, who did participate in the meeting for the budget discussion.

The notes from the full meeting can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/school-committee-021511.html


The Town Council had a short and relatively uneventful meeting. The meeting notes can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/town-council-021611.html

The only meeting of significance during the school break was the Long Range Financial Planning Committee which did meet on Wednesday, Feb 23. It was a smaller group than normal but they met the quorum requirements (4 of 7). The lower attendance was likely due to the school vacation. There was a special guest, Town councilor Steve Whalen. Steve reviewed his worksheets which had just been updated with Census Data for 2010. The updated data did not change the overall results, Franklin by all measures does get a great deal of quality services for what little it puts out of its own pocket.

Side note – as the documents Steve shared were legal size, I do not have the ready capability to copy them and share them.

My notes from the meeting including highlights from the Whalen updates can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/live-reporting-long-range-financial_23.html

The other significant item that came from the meeting was the revelation that both Whalen and Zollo will not be running for re-election. I have heard this before but there was still plenty of time for them to change their minds. I guess that is not about to happen. So there will be opportunity for folks to run for the Council. It would be good to see some real competition.

And while we are at it, I have no intentions of running. My approach to this situation has not changed, nor is likely to, so you won't have to worry about it. I'll continue reporting on what matters in Franklin. You can review my disclosure statement for the additional details.

Looking ahead:

The Community Garden Committee meets Monday evening at Stop and Shop. 7:00 PM 7:30 PM in the community room.

The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday. February's meeting you may recall was canceled. The Franklin website does not have an agenda posted but it may be on the Municipal Bldg window and I did not have time to go by and check. The Town Council meeting does not have any financial action items which FinCom would have approved first so not sure what's up. We'll find out Tuesday and not be too surprised if the meeting does get canceled.

The Town Council is scheduled to meet Wed March 2. A new liquor license for a Japanese-themed restaurant opening in the former Piccadilly Pub location is on the agenda for approval.

The Town Council agenda is posted here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-mar-2.html

The Franklin Cafe & Grill scheduled to open soon in the former KFC building on 140 has generated some conversation on the Facebook page. In particular about the sign requirements.

March 2 is also significant for two birthdays – Franklin's own birthday and that of Dr Seuss!
Franklin will hold a party on Sunday March 20th at the Museum to celebrate Mar 2 also with some of the 76 Franklin residents who share the March 2 birthday!

The Commonwealth released data by community for 2001 through 2009 on the senior circuit breaker tax advantages available to them. Franklin does quite well in that there has been an increase each year in the number of filers and in the average credit received. To paint a complete picture, I'd like to know how many are eligible and don't apply?
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/franklin-residents-gain-with-senior.html

The Franklin chapter of the Teenangels were in the news
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/teenangels.html

So as we close this week, welcome back. The snow hasn't gone yet. The budget cycle is getting into high gear in March. The time to be involved is now.


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

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin. I can use your help.

How can you help, you ask?

If you have an interest in covering the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and or the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings in Franklin, please let me know.

And as always -
If you like this, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like this, 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 and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

Franklin Public Schools - Budget Book FY 2012

The School Budget Book for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012) is ready for review. Each section is stored as it's own file.

1. Executive Summary
2. District Improvement Plan (DIP)
3. Achievement Profile
4. Enrollment
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Overview
7. ECDC
8. Davis Thayer
9. Jefferson
10. Keller
11. Kennedy
12. Oak St
13. Parmenter
14. Horace Mann MS
15. Remington MS
16. Annie Sullivan MS
17. Franklin High School
18. Central Office
19. Curriculum-Instruction
20. Pupil Personnel Services
21. Transportation
22. Grant Budgets

You can also review the folder of all the documents made public on Franklin Matters here


Franklin, MA

Where you born on March 2?

If so, guess what, you share your birthday with the Town of Franklin!

Although the Town of Franklin is much older (March 2, 1778), we thought it would be fun to invite everyone that shares March 2nd as their birthday to a “Birthday Bash” at the museum. From the looks of things, we will have over 70 people that share that date from children to adults.

We are planning to have a cake, beverages and certainly balloons. Who knows, we may also have some special birthday presents for everyone.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk and Chairman of the Historical Commission at 508-520-4900 or email me at dpellegri@franklin.ma.us

Remember, family and friends are all invited and certainly welcomed.

We look forward to hearing from you real soon

Your Birthday Celebration

At the Franklin Historical Museum

Sunday, March 20th, 2011 

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Invitation to all

Franklin, MA

In the News - Meghan Dean, pickup accident

PHOTO: A great distinction in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by John Tarantino/for Daily News and Wicked Local

Pickup injures woman in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Mar 2, 2011

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - February 2, 2011

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
New All Alcoholic Beverages Restaurant License
– Ichigo Ichie Franklin, LLC

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

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

Franklin Cafe & Grill - "now hiring - opening soon"

The former KFC is getting transformed. New signs are up announcing the Franklin Cafe & Grill. There is also a banner announcing "now hiring, opening soon"!

The liquor license was approved at the Jan 12, 2011 Town Council meeting.

Franklin, MA

Franklin residents gain with the Senior Circuit Breaker

The MA Dept of Revenue released numbers on the Senior Circuit Breaker program for all communities in the Commonwealth on Friday. Franklin does well with this credit. There has been steady growth in the number of filers, total credit received, and as a result the average credit per filer. The data released covers the tax years from 2001 through 2009. Now that the data is available, I'll watch to see when each new year is added to the table and update the numbers.

Tax Year	Number of Filers	Amount of Credit Claimed	Average Credit
2001	87	$28,251	$325
2002	109	$66,448	$610
2003	150	$90,818	$605
2004	171	$107,020	$626
2005	202	$122,377	$606
2006	234	$158,800	$679
2007	248	$173,524	$700
2008	302	$217,429	$720
2009	324	$240,692	$743

Of the 335 communities where residents did receive the credit Franklin ranked 90th in the total number of filers. Franklin ranked 89th in total credit received but dropped to 175th in average credit received.


What is the Senior Circuit Breaker?

No other refundable tax credit equals the Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit for putting money into the wallets of average taxpayers 65 and older. In tax year 2009, more than 77,000 senior taxpayers who were either homeowners or renters received credits of nearly $60 million. 

Yet it is safe to say that many eligible taxpayers have never heard of the credit. If you are reading this and have older relatives or friends who might benefit, pass on the word. The maximum credit, after all, is worth $970 in the coming tax year. 

The Department of Revenue has just released the rules and regulations for the Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit in tax year 2010. The credit is based on the actual property tax or rent paid by the eligible taxpayer who is either living in their own home or paying rent. 

A taxpayer's total income may not exceed $51,000 for a single individual; $64,000 for a head of household; or $77,000 for married couples filing a joint return. The assessed valuation of a residence may not exceed $764,000. Many taxpayers 65 and over fall within these limits. 

The credit is equal to the amount by which the taxpayer's property tax payments in the current tax year, including water and sewer charges but excluding any abatement or exemption, exceeds 10 percent of the taxpayer's total income. 

The credit also works for renters. It is equal to the amount by which 25 percent of the rent actually paid during the taxable year exceeds 10 percent of the taxpayer's total income, with the credit capped at $970.

For additional info on the credit, check the State website here

To view (or download) the data from the state, check the web page here

The table of Franklin's data is also posted as a Google document and can be found here. I pulled from each year, the data specific for Franklin to make this table. The info in this table drove the chart and table found above.

Related post on credits or abatements for seniors
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/03/fmw-59-week-ending-3710.html


Franklin, MA

In the News - top dog

Mr. Bear is Franklin's Top Dog

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

Worst Ice Skater Ever!

Let's make this a video Friday!

Not sure if I have shared this groups exploits here before, I know I have shared them where I write elsewhere. I became aware of ImproveExverywhere several years and their exploits are rather good. This one is perhaps a little less dramatic or impressive than some others but it handles what could be a dangerous situation and turns it into a couple of moments of grace.





Enjoy!

For more of a full write up, the full back story and behind the scenes info click through here to the ImrpovEverywhere website



Franklin, MA

Better searching for just the recipe you need!

Google has some wonderful news to help find recipes for special days, to use specific ingredients, or even for how long it will take to prepare! This brief video shows how:





Yes, the Franklin Food Pantry is pulling together a set of recipes for publication on the web as well as in a cook book that would be a possible fund raiser for the Food Pantry. Google's search enhancements will make the recipes you create and share easier to find!

If you have a recipe or two you want to share, please let me know or contact Michelle Clay who has graciously volunteered to head up this effort for the Food Pantry.


Franklin, MA