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Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108 |
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
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Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108 |
Roughly 80 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 went to nine different places to paint, rake, mulch and pick up litter.
The conference, which ran from Thursday until today, brought together 11 wards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Catherine Thacker, co-organizer and Franklin Stake Young Women's president, was one of 25 adults overseeing the "Forever Strong" conference.
"We want to teach our youth to reach out into the community, to learn that they can make a difference," Thacker said.
The fee is for students who live less than two miles from school, under the assumption that the child could walk to school.
School administrators said this week the changes are the result of upgrades to maps used to organize bus routes.
Students in kindergarten through sixth grade who live more than two miles from school can take the bus for free. Other students must pay $325 to ride the bus. There is a family cap of $975.
That policy has not changed, but the updated maps show more details, allowing administrators to more accurately determine where a student's home is and how far it is from school.
That means some families that weren't assessed a fee will now have to pay; others that used to pay can now ride for free.
Administrators will now discuss the terms of a contract with Whitsons. A contract would ultimately be signed by Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting and does not need to be approved by the School Committee, Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said.
Hoping a private company could better meet new federal and state nutrition requirements and have greater purchasing power than the current district-run program, the committee in April authorized the administrators to seek proposals to operate the food service. Whitsons, Sodexo, Aramark and Chartwells submitted proposals.
Administrators told the committee last night that they were impressed with Whitsons' dedication to cooking many foods from scratch, using less processed foods than competitors, selling competitively priced food, training cafeteria workers and offering allergy-free products and organic foods. They were also impressed with a visit to Attleboro schools, where Whitsons operates.
"We really felt they have the (capabilities) to meet the needs of all our students and offer a variety of foods," Sabolinski said.
"It's nice to know that things aren't going to waste," she said. "Fresh produce is expensive and it's nice to know that it can go back into the community and help someone stretch their food dollars."
Hoping to get other gardeners involved, she worked with the pantry to start Franklin's version of Plant a Row for the Hungry, a program by Garden Writers Association that encourages gardeners to plant extra crops each year and donate their surplus to those in need.
The pantry also gets fresh grown food from Grateful Farm in Franklin, which it distributes to clients Saturday mornings. Acevedo said produce grown over the summer months and donated by local gardeners will add to that bounty.
STATEMENT FROM SECRETARY JAY GONZALEZ
Governor Patrick filed an interim budget of $1.25 billion today to ensure that state government has the means to continue providing critical services through July 10, 2011. This funding will ensure that core services such as health care payments to providers for services to children, families, unemployed adults, and the disabled as well as cash assistance for low-income families and seniors did not run out. This interim budget will also fund emergency and first response services including State Police operations, and will provide funding for state obligations for debt service which must be paid early in FY12. We remain hopeful that the Legislature will be able to resolve their differences and submit the FY12 budget to Governor Patrick for review within the next few days.
Alex ZaroulisDirector of CommunicationsExecutive Office for Administration and FinanceState House, Room 373Boston, MA 02133
“Learning the tools is much easier, because no one can help you lead.” http://j.mp/l0TKFK goodness from @lizstrauss #sobcon #the5Liz Strauss tells a good story about Hunter S Thompson and suggests a rewording of one of his sentences to make her point.
"These people believed in you, now tell them what you are doing with their investment" http://j.mp/iJG2AK #the5 @geofflivingGeoff Livingston previews the findings of a study on non-profit fund raising that will be discussed in a webinar. The findings have good info to help reinforce some of what we'll be doing at the Franklin Food Pantry.
“Anything, everything, is not only possible, it’s probable. No one person has more value than another" http://j.mp/iAqopV #the5Deb Brown writes a summary of what she saw and heard at the 140 Conference last week in NYC. The quote is from a talk by Ann Curry.
"People don’t internalize depressing images; they tune them out" http://j.mp/iH8lZf goodness from @tomasacker #the5Tom Asacker shares his insights on the new FDA anti-smoking ad campaign. I think he is spot on!
"For too many elders, a cut as small as five or ten dollars makes a negative difference in their lives" http://j.mp/kx1WX0 #the5Ronni Bennett shares her views on the AARP position statement about Social Security that was announced last Friday. If the AARP position has truly changed, this could be a big deal!
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