What would you like to know?

When you have an election ballot in front of you, you have a list of positions, a listing of candidates and a marker to fill in a circle next to one or more names. How do you decide to make a choice amongst the candidates?

To help you make your choice, I have offered to meet with all the candidates. My purpose is hear directly from them about their background. To listen and share their views on the issues that that they will work to resolve on our behalf for Franklin.

This is not an endorsement of any candidate. This is an information sharing exercise.

I’ll ask the same set of questions of each candidate so that you will have some common ground to make your decision.

The questions I propose to start with are as follows:

1 - Tell me a bit about yourself, your family and your life here in Franklin?

2 - What experience or background will help you to serve in this role? or What do you think makes you a good candidate to fulfill this role?

3 - What do you see as your role’s biggest challenge and do you have any suggestions on how we can resolve it?

If you have some questions you'd like to ask, I’d like to hear them. Send me an email or leave a comment here.

I may find during the course of the interviews that I 'tweak' the questions. If I do that, I’ll post the updated questions here.

I have five candidates lined up thus far. Up to 37 total for this election are possible so we'll see how many take advantage of this.



The Election 2011 collection of posts can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/08/election-2011-summary.html

Town Council and School Committee attendance records (Nov 2009 to present)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdEZSWlZLTFVqNmcxZWFTNDNxNk5PZkE&hl=en#gid=0

FIGHT HUNGER Paintball Challenge

FIGHT HUNGER Paintball Challenge
To Benefit the Franklin Food Pantry

Sat. Sept. 24th, 2011 -
9 am

FOX 4 Paintball Field
159 Milford St.
UPTON, MA

Donations of Non-Perishable Items will be collected during the Match.

Additional information can be found in the flyer:

Fight Hunger Poster


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document

In the News - choice of yard sales

First Universalist Society hosts indoor yard sale

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin academy holding yard sale

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Route 2 Closure and Detour Map

Be aware of road closures along Route 2 out in the western part of MA

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Route 2 Closure and Detour Map

via Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation by Klark Jessen on 9/20/11

MassDOT has assembled a map showing the closed portion of Route 2 that suffered significant damage due to flooding from Tropical Storm Irene and outlining the current posted detour.

Route 2 is closed from Mile Marker 21.6 in Florida to Mile Marker 27.5 in Charlemont, with damage including severe slope failures, roadway undermining and instability, eroded bridge approaches, mud slides, and culvert and retaining wall damage.

The significant damage and necessary repairs require an extended period of time to restore the roadway, and MassDOT is committed to an accelerated repair process.

Please review the Route 2 damage and detour route map to learn more and view photos of the damage.


The Detour Route is also listed below.

From North Adams: 
Route 8, Adams, to Route 116 through Adams, Savoy, Plainfield, and Ashfield,
to Route 112 through Ashfield and Buckland,
to Route 2, East Charlemont.

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November 8: Election Line up

The line up is being completed for the Nov 8th election. Candidates have until Oct 6th to change their mind and the Town Clerk's office has until Oct 4th to certify the signatures for each of the candidates are in fact valid and from Franklin.

Town Clerk:
Deborah Pellgri, Deborah Bartlett

Treasurer:
James Dacey, Mark Denommee

Town Council: 9 positions
Incumbents: Matt Kelly, Glenn Jones, Robert Vallee, Judith Pfeffer, Joe McGann, Tina Powderly
Challengers: Juan Ramon Rivera (Finance Committee), Jeffrey Roy (School Committee), Thomas Mercer (High School Building Committee), Ronald Calabrese (Planning Board), Andrew Bissanti and Robert Dellorco

(Parenthesis indicates previous board or committee position held)

School Committee: 7 positions
Incumbents: Cynthia Douglas, Susan Rohrbach, Paula Mullen, Edward Cafasso, Roberta Trahan, William Glynn (Glynn withdrew his name from ballot)
Challengers: Sean Donahue, John Jewell and Pamela McIntyre

Board of Assessors: 2 positions
Ken Norman, Vincent DeBaggis

Board of Health: 2 positions
Philip Brunelli, Richard Aucoin and incumbent Donald Ranieri Jr.

Constable: 3 positions
Incumbents: Robert Jarvis, Philip Brunelli, Richard Delfino
Challengers: Charles Delfino Jr. , John Power

Planning Board: 3 positions
John Carroll, Greg Ballarino, William David

Planning Board Associate
no one applied for (hence Town Council will need to approve appointment of someone)


Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x2137969832/Races-fill-up-for-Franklin-election#ixzz1YU9rWO49


The collection of posts related to Franklin's Election 2011 can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/08/election-2011-summary.html

Schedule changes

You may have noticed that there was a Long Range Financial Planning committee meeting scheduled for Monday, Sep 19. Notification that it was canceled appeared on the Franklin website Monday.

The Town Council meeting that had been scheduled for Sep 21 was announced at last week's meeting to be moved to Weds, Sep 28th

Resources for alcohol retailers

How convenient - The Bureau of Consumer Protection, part of the FTC just published this listing of resources for alcohol retailers.

 

 

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

 

 

Resources for alcohol retailers

via BCP Business Center | Blog Feed by Janet Evans on 9/13/11

Launching this year's "We Don't Serve Teens" campaign, the FTC and a coalition of private and public groups have materials available for businesses, parents, and others that support the legal drinking age of 21.  If you're an alcohol retailer — or have clients in the industry — you know that underage alcohol sales are illegal.  But how can store owners and managers build compliance into the day-to-day operation of their business?  Here are some tips from the FTC:

1.   Create and maintain a written policy that lists steps your staff has to take for every alcohol sales transaction.  Subjects to cover:  when an ID check needs to be done, what a valid ID looks like, and when — and how — to refuse a sale.

2.   Train all managers and staff on your alcohol sales policy. The best training includes role-playing on how to ask for an ID and how to deny a sale in a non-confrontational manner.

3.   Use tools that make it easy.  Program cash registers to recognize alcohol sales and prompt cashiers to require ID.  If electronic ID verification isn't possible, use a specialty calendar showing birth dates eligible to buy.

4.   Monitor staff conduct through review of point-of-sale videos and private "mystery shopper" inspections.

5.   Keep records that show training dates, unusual occurrences, and the results of compliance checks. Use these records during employee reviews to prevent recurring problems — and to give credit to employees that follow company policies.

6.   Communicate with the public.  Alcohol retailers help their communities when they post information about the legal purchase age and the importance of preventing teen access to alcohol.  Free signs in English and Spanish about the legal drinking age are available from the FTC's bulk order site.

7.   Looking for more information? Visit the Don't Serve Teens site and bookmark the BCP Business Center page for members of the alcohol industry.

 

 

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