Franklin Matters

Saturday, December 24, 2011

"the celebration of Hanukkah"

The lighting was part of the temple’s annual celebration of Hanukkah, the eight-day holiday meant commemorating the Jews reclaiming Jerusalem from the oppressive Syrian Greeks.

“Hanukkah is most often a home celebration in Judaism,” Widzer said. “What we’ve developed as our tradition here is we take one of those nights and celebrate with the (congregational) family.”

About a dozen families came to see the candles lit on the fourth night of Hanukkah, the men and boys wearing yarmulkes, the traditional cloth skull caps, of various colors. One man even wore a yarmulke with the Patriots logo emblazoned on it.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Ninja cookies

Christmas cookies

simple sugar cookies, some shape makers, different color frosting and some time

given the time, creativity will flow and maybe the ninja cookies will be delightful!

Have the kids (both big and little) gathered in your house for cookie decorating?

The following press release confirms the last step in the process for Hamilton Storage Technology to get the tax incentive that the Town Council approved. Hamilton Storage has purchased 3 Forge Parkway for its new headquarters facility.

The tax incentive allows the company to pay a smaller amount initially on the improvements they are making and gradually the amount increases over ten years. So whatever the tax would be on the base value they pay full and then only 5% for the first year on the improvement amount. The improvement amount increases to 10% the next year and ten percent each year thereafter.

Franklin gets revenue and an increasing amount of revenue over time. The company gets to develop their property bringing jobs to the area. A good win-win proposition.

Press Release - Hamilton Storage Technologies

Related posts on Hamilton Storage Technology

June http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/06/needs-to-open-its-doors-in-franklin.html

Sep http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/09/real-time-reporting-legislation-part-1.html

Sep http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/09/hamilton-storage-technologies.html

Update on trash and recycling pick up week of 12/25 and 1/1/12

Holiday Calendar

Important note - Trash and recycling will be NOT be picked up on Monday December 26th and Monday January 2nd. The schedule will be delayed one day with Friday pick up on Saturday.

The Recycling Center will be open from 8 AM to 12 Noon on Saturday December 24th and Saturday December 31st.

Originally posted on the Franklin website here

Thursday, December 22, 2011

"dictates the path the town should follow"

The town is still looking for two to three members of the public to serve on the committee.

Members appointed to the Master Plan Committee last night were Town Councilors Andrew Bissanti, Matthew Kelly and Jeffrey Roy, Planning Board member John Carroll, Conservation Commission member Jeffrey Livingstone, Public Land Use Committee member Timothy Twardowski, and James Esterbrook from the Department of Public Works.

“It would be nice to get two to three more people, to have diversity on the committee,” Town Administrator Jeffrey Roy said, noting that the various town committees are acceptably represented.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1481469559/Members-picked-for-Franklin-master-plan-panel#ixzz1hG7DqN5v

Related post on the Master Plan
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/12/what-is-franklins-master-plan.html

Updated 12/22/11
Per email from Town Councilor Judy Pfeffer, Steve Whalen was also added to the Master Plan committee as a citizen member during the meeting last night.

“We’re approaching this with a very open mind”

“The grant is going to be used to do a deep examination of our general education curriculum,” said Melissa Read, assistant vice president for academic affairs. “It’s all about the student learning. Are students learning what we want them to and what we believe they need to know in order to prepare for their next step?”

Read said that Dean College begins the process of re-examining its general education courses every five years, and rolls out the resulting changes so that there is continuous progress.

The difference this time around is that the $100,000 grant allows Dean to spend more time debating the advantages and disadvantages of changes, with faculty members as well as administration, and of helping faculty become adjusted to those changes with week-long summer and winter training sessions, called “institutes.”