Franklin Matters

Monday, November 12, 2012

Franklin, MA: Election Turnout Percent 2003-2012

The voter turnout results for elections from 2003 to the most recent November 2012 has been updated and charted as shown here:

Feed the Need - Turkey Trot - Nov 22

If you are a runner, or walker you can help the Franklin Food Pantry.

Registration, course map and additional race information can be found at http://www.feedtheneed.org/

If you would like to organize a collection in your neighborhood, you can print out this flyer to use

Girls soccer head to final four at State level

The Franklin High School Girls soccer team have advanced to the final four for the State soccer tournament. They lead Oliver Ames 3-0 before conceding two goals to make the final minutes a nail bitter.

Luckily for the Panthers, they did, winning 3-2 and clinching their second sectional title in three seasons. They will now travel to Lynn's Manning Field for a 5:30 p.m. date in the state's final four.

The Panthers are now 20-0-1, and their pursuit of an unbeaten season is still intact. Oliver Ames, the 2011 Div. 1 South champs, ends its season at 17-4-1.

"We never like to make things easy on ourselves," said a relieved Franklin coach Tom Geysen. "We came out with some formations that they didn't recognize and were able to get up early. We did a good job of staying hungry to close out the first half. We played okay in the second half for the most part and then made a few mistakes late that almost cost us. But at this point, a win is a win and now we'll look ahead to a very good Beverly team."

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Dean College Hunger Awareness Banquet (Free Event)

Losing power seems to be a random event. Your residence loses power and folks on the next block still have power. Frustrating? You bet. During the recent storms, you can drive around Franklin and see houses with lights and power, and then rows of houses in the dark.

Hunger can be like that too. It is usually less visible. The person next to you looks normal. How can you tell if they are hungry? Dean students have set up this event to discuss hunger and its effects.

Taking a “can drive” one step further, Dean College invites the Franklin and surrounding communities to a public “Hunger Banquet” on Tuesday, November 13, in which participants will experience a meal either as an Upper Income citizen, Middle Income citizen, or Lower Income citizen. Dean Community Outreach students conceptualized and will emcee this learning experience where guests will be assigned a class upon arrival and will experience life as a member of that class for the duration of the program. Upper income class guests will receive a scrumptious meal served to them in an upper class setting at a roundtable. Middle income class guests will experience their meal middle class meal at rectangular tables, while the lower income class experiences their meal on the floor.

This event is free. Participants are asked to bring a canned good for the Franklin Food Pantry

Tuesday, November 13, 7:00 PM

at the Dean College Campus Center

Info from the Dean College calendar
http://www.dean.edu/events/index.cfm?calid=4858

And Franklin Town News
http://franklintownnews.com/content/dean-college-hunger-banquet

FHS Girls Soccer - South Sectional finals - Sun 11/11 @ 5:00 PM

Hello Franklin Soccer fans!

The FHS girls won their semi-final game on Friday , 2-0 over Marshfield. It was a very physical game but the girls kept working hard to get their victory!

FHS Girls Varsity South Sectional final vs Oliver Ames @ Braintree HS, 5pm Sunday, 11/11/12.

A win on Sunday means that FHS would win their section and go on to the semi-finals for the state championship.

Oliver Ames is sure to have a large crowd so we need lots of Franklin fans to head out to Braintree on Sunday. It's supposed to be a great day for weather so come on out and cheer them on! Go Panthers!

Google Map showing Braintree High

View Larger Map

Trail Grants up for Discussion

You can almost feel the busy holiday schedule kicking-in! But consider taking a few minutes this Tuesday to discuss some critical issues facing the the development of the Rail Trail. The Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee will be meeting at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at the YMCA in Franklin. The meeting is open to all who are interested, and attached is an agenda and minutes from the last meeting.

Hope to see you there.

Marc Kaplan

Chair, FBRTC

Agenda for the November meeting:

Minutes from the October meeting:

Mission: The Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee (FBRTC) is a volunteer advocacy group dedicated to the development, maintenance, and financial support of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail as a multi-use, universally accessible recreational path.

FBRTC is a subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Trail Blazers, a recognized 501(c)(3), working in partnership with federal, state and local governments.

For more about the group you can visit their web page
http://www.franklinbellinghamrailtrail.org/

"they kicked over a hornet’s nest"

One of the medal recipients honored on Friday tells his story in the Milford Daily News:

On Oct. 7, 1967, as the Vietnam War raged on, Robert Gardner, of Franklin, was awarded the Bronze Star medal, a commendation given to U.S. Army soldiers who display valor on the battlefield.

Gardner was a first lieutenant commanding an armored cavalry platoon based in the area around the Bong Son River, in the western part of the country.

Below is a summary of the day that earned Gardner his medal. It began like any other for a soldier rolling through the rice paddies, creeks and streams, under the blistering sun of Vietnam.

You can read the reminder of Robert Gardner's story here: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x794467153/Franklin-recipient-of-Bronze-Star-tells-his-story#ixzz2BuezUlE4

In case you missed the story of the Veterans Day ceremony held at the Franklin Senior Center on Friday
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/11/i-think-of-guys-who-sacrificed-for-us.html