Turkey Trot Family Fun Run 5K

Have a good excuse for some second helpings by running or walking the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning.

Details for this event can be found in the flyer here or on the race webpage http://feedtheneed.org/races/112813.html



Registration is 20 non-perishable food items or $20.

Flyer updated 11/7/13 to fix a typo

2013 Fall Art Exhibit and Sale

Franklin Art Association

2013 Fall Member’s Art Exhibit and Sale

Bellingham Library
100 Blackstone Street
Bellingham, MA 02019

Follow I-495 North to Exit 17 (Route 140). Take a left off the exit ramp to Route 140 North. Follow Route 140 North through 4 traffic lights, past the Rapid Refill Plaza. At the 5th traffic light, take a left onto Blackstone Street. The Library is located less than a 1/2 a mile down Blackstone Street, on the left hand side of the road.
508-966-1660

http://www.bellinghamlibrary.org

Saturday November 16th 10 am to 8 pm
Sunday November 17th 12 pm to 4 pm

Franklin Art Association

The exhibit is free and open to the public and includes:

• The exhibit and sale of fine art paintings and photographs
• Bin sales of original works of art and prints
• A silent auction of small works
• A scholarship raffle
• Complementary food and beverages

Since 1971  www.franklinart.org

Franklin Food Pantry Receives Grant from Darden Restaurants

Funds Earmarked to Support the Healthy Futures Initiative - Grant is one of more than 850 awarded through Darden’s 2nd annual Restaurant Community Grants program

The Franklin Food Pantry was selected as a recipient of a $1,000 grant as part of the Restaurant Community Grants program from the Darden Foundation, the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants Inc. The grants program, now in its second year, empowers each restaurant in the Darden family of brands to help award a $1,000 grant to support local community programs.

Chosen by the LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant in Franklin, The Franklin Food Pantry has earmarked Darden’s funds to supply fresh fruit to its clients through its recently launched Healthy Futures Shelf. 

In Photo from left to right:  Linda Sottile, Director of Operations at the
Franklin Food Pantry; Jodi Morgan, Kitchen Manager, Jessica Studley,
Culinary Professional, and Jason McHenry, Managing Partner from LongHorn
Steakhouse in Franklin;  Tony Kucich, Volunteer at the Franklin Food Pantry,
and Jon Morse of The Big Apple in Wrentham.

“With this grant from Darden and support from The Big Apple in Wrentham, The Pantry can supply approximately 240 apples each week for 4 months, a welcome item on the shelves at The Pantry this Fall”, stated Linda Sottile, Director of Operations for The Pantry.

Healthy Futures Franklin is part of Mass in Motion (MIM), a statewide movement that promotes opportunities for healthy eating and active living. MIM programs work with communities, schools, childcare centers, and businesses to create changes that make it easy for people to eat better and move more. “Together, we can create healthier communities, and a healthier Commonwealth. We have received funding through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to continue the work in Franklin, and the Franklin Food Pantry has been an instrumental partner in these efforts”, said Marissa Garofano, Director of Community Wellness for the Hockomock Area YMCA.

According to Erin Lynch, Director of Development at the Franklin Food Pantry, “Providing nutritional advocacy and access to fresh fruits and produce is a priority for The Pantry in its role as a Healthy Futures partner. The high cost of perishable items is a barrier to wholesome nutrition for many families. We try to supply these items to our clients whenever affordable and available. We are very grateful to Darden Restaurants for their contribution to this community effort.” The Pantry has also received support from MetroWest Health Foundation, Stop & Shop, and the community to enhance the variety and quality of healthy items and nutrition resources that they can offer.

Darden’s Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille and Eddie V’s brands participated in the grant program. Many restaurants and brands worked together to award one nonprofit organization with a larger grant and make a greater impact in their community. The restaurants will award more than $1.9 million to more than 850 exceptional nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Nonprofits receiving grants support one of Darden’s three key focus areas: access to postsecondary education, preservation of natural resources and hunger. 

“Our employees are incredibly passionate about the communities where they live, and our restaurant teams are in a position to understand and help address the needs of their communities,” said Drew Madsen, Darden Restaurants’ president and chief operating officer. “We’re all proud to build on that passion through the grants program and bring real, local citizenship to life by enabling each restaurant to make a difference in their backyard.” 

For more information about the Darden Foundation, please visit www.dardenfoundation.com. For additional information on The Franklin Food Pantry, please visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org. For more information on Mass in Motion, please contact Marissa Garofano at marissag@HOCKYMCA.ORG or visit www.healthyfuturesfranklin.org for information on the Healthy Futures Initiative. 

About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, owns and operates more than 2,000 restaurants that generate over $8.0 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 190,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. In 2013, Darden was named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the third year in a row and is the only full-service restaurant company to ever appear on the list. Our restaurant brands – Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House – reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want. For more information, please visit, www.darden.com.

The Darden Foundation
The Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation is the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants, Inc. The Foundation’s mission is to maintain a spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy as defining characteristics of Darden Restaurants. Since 1995, the Darden Foundation has awarded more than $60 million in grants, with $7.2 million given in fiscal year 2012. The Darden Foundation carries out its mission by focusing philanthropic efforts and resources on the following program areas: Access to Postsecondary Education, Preservation of Natural Resources and Good Neighbor Grants. For more information, please visit, www.dardenfoundation.com. 

About The Franklin Food Pantry
Established in 1987, the mission of the Franklin Food Pantry is to provide immediate hunger relief and healthy sustainable solutions, by empowering the community through resources, education and collaboration. It is part of the Greater Boston Food Bank network and depends entirely on support and donations from volunteers, corporate partners and the community at large. The Franklin Food Pantry is located at 43 West Central Street, Route 140 and can accept donations during business hours, Tuesday - Friday, 9am -1pm. Non-perishables may also be dropped off after hours in the bin by the front door, or monetary donations may be mailed to Franklin Food Pantry, PO Box 116, Franklin MA 02038. For more information, visit us at franklinfoodpantry.org, like our page on Facebook, or call us at 508-528-3115. The Franklin Food Pantry is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization FEIN # 04-3272663.

"people need to consider how it is going to be paid"

Representative Jeffrey Roy is putting his experience dealing with unfunded mandates to good use.

Drawing from his experience in local government, Roy has co-sponsored a bill to establish a commission to study unfunded mandates imposed on public schools. 

A section in the 1993 education bill was similar to what Roy and other sponsors want - a commission to review and evaluate all legislative requirements related to education and to make recommendations to eliminate or reduce some of the mandates. 

"No commission was ever formed since 1993," Roy said. "We are not asking you to discontinue this practice, what we are asking you to do is study the practice.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

A list of the unfunded mandates required for schools as of 2009 can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-1.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-2.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/03/state-education-mandates-part-3.html

The Mass Association of School Committees (MASC) document listing the unfunded mandates is now located here:
http://www.masc.org/advocacy-center/position-papers/131-getting-ready-for-a-difficult-budget-setting-process

Farmers Market - Town Common - noon to 6:00 PM

The Farmers Market is open every Friday through the end of October.

farmers market sign downtown

Stop by to get fresh produce!

farmers market on a sunny day

Grand Opening Celebration for Fred Astaire Franklin

Fred Astaire Dance Studio Franklin Hosts Grand Opening on Saturday, November 23, 5-9 p.m.

The new Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Franklin welcomes dance enthusiasts of all ages to swing into the studio's grand opening party for refreshments and performances. The event will be held on Saturday, November 23, from 5-9 p.m. at the new studio located in Franklin Village Shopping Center, 475 Franklin Village Drive. Refreshments will be served and guests can participate in a raffle to win free dance lessons.  

The evening will be filled with fun and entertainment for all ages, including professional dance performances by Olaf Pries and Mona Hofmann, national American Smooth champions, as well as local dance students just getting started in ballroom dance. Whether you can heat up the dance floor with salsa moves or a graceful waltz, or are getting married and want to impress your guests with a romantic first dance, Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Franklin teaches students that ballroom dance is a great way to relax, stay in shape, and learn the art of social dancing in a fun, low-stress, non-competitive environment. 

Everyone from the community is invited to attend the celebration and tour the new location. Please RSVP (508) 528-6200 or email dance@fredastairefranklin.com. The studio is online at www.fredastairefranklin.com, and on Facebook as well. 

Franklin businesses on the news wire for plastics and wireless

In the world of plastics, Dynisco has made its mark

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY — Walking around K, it’s all “green” this, “blue” that and “eco” the other. But when Franklin, Mass.-based Dynisco LLC introduced Vertex, its mercury-free melt-pressure sensor in October 2012, Matthew Carrara, vice president and general manager of Dynisco Plastics, didn’t intend the “green” connotations of the brand. 

“We didn’t realize until afterwards that “vert” was French for “green.” I thought of the name “Vertex” meaning “apex,” the top of the pile. And the “ex” in the logo symbolizes the diaphragm flexing,” he said.

Read the full story here
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20131024/NEWS/131029941/dynisco-eliminates-mercury-in-sensors#

Visit the Dynisco webpage for more about this Franklin based company  http://www.dynisco.com/


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In the wireless space, CTI Towers is growing

FRANKLIN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CTI Towers, Inc., a wireless tower operator with more than 800 wireless towers throughout the United States in its portfolio, today announced the company has secured up to $30 million in debt financing and closed its first third-party acquisition, purchasing five towers from a major wireless carrier.

This acquisition continues CTI Towers’ growth strategy outside the Comcast portfolio – from which the company has acquired 230 towers to-date – and secures towers within strategic, high-demand regions. The debt facility will allow CTI Towers to accelerate its acquisition pipeline as it continues to enhance its position as one of the top 10 largest wireless tower operators in the U.S.

Read the full article about CTI Towers here
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/10/9/cti_towers_inc_secures_30_million.htm

Visit the company webpage here to learn more about Franklin based CTI Towers
http://www.ctitowers.com/