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Dean College hip hop team to perform Friday
Rain barrels, composter available to Franklin residents at discount
Franklin, MA
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VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FORTOWN-WIDE CLEAN UP AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXHIBITS AT BEAVER POND
Franklin will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 16th with a roadside clean up, spring plantings, and new environmental activities for all ages with activities based at Beaver Pond.
Earth Day kicks off "rain or shine" at 9:00 a.m. when volunteers start a town-wide roadside clean up of litter and set out plants and flowers. After this winter's snowfall, many of the town's most scenic streets can be quickly restored to an attractive roadside with just a few hours of time. Please bring gloves for each person and rakes.
All volunteers are asked to sign in at Beaver Pond between 9:00am-11:00am, so that the areas most in need of a spring clean up get attention. To nominate a town road which needs a cleanup, please call or email the DPW as soon as possible.
This year, volunteers will be given a trash bags for collecting cans, glass bottles, trash and litter. Volunteers simply leave the bags along the roadside by 12:00 p.m., after which Franklin DPW trucks will pick up the bagged trash.
Last year's clean up brought out about 200 volunteers and the trash picked up filled one 40 yard dumpster. Over one ton of litter was collected.
Community service certificates are issued to youths and adults who need them. Earth Day t-shirts are given to the first 300 volunteers and there will be free pizza and beverages starting at 12:00 p.m. for returning clean up crews.
Volunteers are also needed to help pick up donated goods, help run events at Beaver Pond.
Also on site will be Waste Management recycling demo, environmental booths, and demonstrations. Dean Radio WGAO, will be on site to broadcast live from the event.
Sponsoring groups and businesses this year so far include: Waste Management, Comprehensive Environmental, Inc., CDM, Malcolm-Pirnie, Garelick Farms, Aubuchon Hardware, State Forest Advisory Council, Metcalf Materials, Hillside Nurseries, Domino's Pizza, Bimbo Bakeries, Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Various boys and girls scouts, Hillside Nurseries, Franklin Garden Club, Franklin Citizen's Rail Trail Committee, Green at Dean College, Dean Community Outreach program, Coles Tavern, and Metacomet Land Trust.
For information on how you can get involved, visit the DPW webpage at:
Town Council Chairman Scott Mason said the budget deficit probably will not be as bad as the $4 million to $6 million councilors predicted last year. He said he does not expect the council to seek an override this year.http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/04/does-not-expect-council-to-seek.html
”We have been trying to take care of the environment and minimize the Franklin tax dollars in the process.“The good news from the Council meeting was their action to create a “Community Gardens Committee.” Five members were appointed all from the group that has been working on this for the past several months. This is a great step forward. The King St Memorial Fields will be the site for about 40 raised bed gardens to be set up in May. You can follow the events on the website
if not now, then when?
if not me, then who?
if not now, then when?
if not me, then who?
"When teachers or adults talk to students, it seems like they're talking down to them," Loureiro said. "We're talking to them as peers."
The program, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Dean College Campus Center, is targeted to college and high school juniors and seniors. But it is open to the community at large, organizers said.
Speakers will educate attendees about the causes of distracted driving, stress the importance of keeping two hands on the wheel and discuss ways technology - often at the root of the cause - could play a role in the solution, organizers said.
"The answer isn't turn off the technology," said Parry Aftab, a lawyer who founded the Teenangels initiative in 1999 and runs the Internet safety website WiredSafety.org. "It's let's make the technology safer, smarter and better. You're not going to drive in a quiet car all by yourself."Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x1302185156/Teenangels-in-Franklin-driving-young-motorists-to-safety#ixzz1JCsBF9Lr
Gene Lavanchy, Fox 25 morning News anchor, and New England Patriot Steve Nelson will host the 10th Annual HMEA Independence 5K Walk Run Roll & Stroll on May 22 at EMC, 50 Constitution Blvd, in the Franklin Industrial Park.This video provides a good recap of what the events of the day are like.
Milford's Chapter 90 funding would increase from $627,000 in fiscal 2011 to $812,000 in fiscal 2012. Mendon's would increase from $208,000 to $270,000. Upton's would rise from $239,000 to $320,000. Hopedale's would jump from $136,000 to $174,000 while Bellingham's would go from $392,000 to $510,000, according to a spreadsheet on the Department of Transportation website.
Franklin's road funding would grow from $713,000 to $923,000, while Medway's would jump from $318,000 to $413,000. Those are both nearly 30 percent increases that Vallee said would make a dramatic difference.
"I think this year was extraordinary with having the significant, record snowfalls and deterioration of roads," he said. "... There's never enough money for any specific need, but from my standpoint, this is a good use of taxpayer money. It goes directly to infrastructure and I think the increase was needed."
"It's a step in the process," Foss said. "I agree that ideally the work would be done more quickly. But, (we're planning to hire) a licensed contractor to do the work and that takes time and money."
Contaminants, including lead and chlorinated volatile organic compounds, have been detected in some soil and groundwater at the site. The property was taken by the town through the tax title process in 2002 and 2005.
The volatile organic compounds could pose a risk to indoor air quality if the 1-acre parcel is redeveloped. The parcel also includes part of Mine Brook and a parking lot built by a neighboring property owner with permission of the town.
The town could have spent money itself and possibly cleaned up the property sooner, but Franklin is trying to save taxpayers' money by seeking outside funding, Town Adminstrator Jeffrey Nutting said.
"We inherited this property," Nutting said. "People are making it sound like the town is doing something wrong."
Current projections show the town would have to cut 25 jobs, including 14 school positions and possibly some police spots. The estimates have some officials worried as they hold off on a budget vote until final numbers are solidified.
Lingering uncertainty has forced the Finance Committee to push its five budget meetings into early May. The Town Council typically holds its budget hearing over two consecutive nights once the Finance Committee makes its recommendation.
"Oftentimes, we try to go out with the best info we have and then the state (numbers are better than expected) and it makes us look like we found money," Finance Committee Chairman Jim Roche said. "We're trying to get as close as we can, so it's definitely later than usual."Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x719609467/Franklin-taking-it-slow-on-budget-discussion#ixzz1IjddGXoW