A Christmas Carol, Times Two! - Thursday, Dec 12

"A Christmas Carol Times Two!", a dramatic reading performance of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" combined with traditional 19th century English Christmas carols will happen on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7PM at the Franklin United Methodist Church, 82 West Central Street in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Al LePage performs "A Christmas Carol"

"Englishman Thomas Hutchinson, Traveling Thespian" portrayed by actor Al LePage, complete with English accent and Victorian-era clothing, will give his dramatic reading performance based on Dickens' very own historic script as a one-man show using only his voice, facial expressions and gestures to create some 18 characters.

Organist and local minister Rev. Dr. Dianne Carpenter will weave organ music between various scenes to set the tone for what's to come and entertain. This is a special benefit performance hosted by the Franklin United Methodist Church with all proceeds to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry.

Admission is $10 per person and the performance is best appreciated by both adults and children 7 years of age and older. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased in advance through BrownPaperTickets.com/, either on-line or by calling their 24/7 toll-free number 1-800-838-3006, and if still available, at the door the day of event. Doors for the performance open at 6:30PM, the fun begins at 6:45PM, and seating is general admission.

Tickets are also available at the Franklin Food Pantry during open hours 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Tues, Weds and Thursday.

"They have control over only so many dollars"

The Milford Daily News provides the story behind the MPO letter published to the Franklin website and shared here recently.

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said Franklin has benefited from past TIP projects. But recently officials have not seen the same value in the program. 

The communities competing for the funds have to pay the engineering costs associated with the project, which can mean millions of dollars, typically with no guarantee that they will receive any money in the end. 

"The issue that we face now is there are so few dollars available in comparison to the need," Nutting said Friday. "It’s hard for the town to justify paying the engineering costs only to then wait 10 years or 15 years to never get that road approved for construction because of the competition."

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x915451163/Franklin-officials-State-transportation-funding-system-needs-to-be-changed#ixzz2n4FuXSRv


You can find the Metrolpolitan Planning Organization (MPO) letter here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/metropolitan-planning-organization-mpo.html

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - Agenda - Dec 10, 2013

The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, Dec 10, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The published agenda for this meeting is shown below:

Franklin Municipal Building

You can also find this agenda on the Franklin webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_FinanceAgendas/Agenda%202013-12-10

Winter Weather Reminder for the Schools

Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski has updated the winter weather advisory process. This outlines how the decision is made, who is involved, what factors are considered, etc.




You can also find this on the Franklin Public Schools website here
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_News/01C2FD2F-000F8513.0/WEATHER.pdf

DelCarte Playground - December update

A walk around the new playground being set up at DelCarte Open Space along Pleasant St here in Franklin, MA.





Photos from the prior visit (includes links to prior DelCarte posts as well)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/11/delcarte-playground-construction.html

In the News: solar farm, Santa Foundation

Abbey sisters, politicians celebrate solar farm

The sisters of Mount St. Mary’s Abbey hosted a public celebration and ribbon-cutting for their latest green energy effort – an 8.6-megawatt solar farm off Upper Union Street. The abbey already has a 130-foot-tall wind turbine and a geothermal system underneath its chapel. As a result of their efforts, the sisters were awarded the Energy Leadership Award by the Mass Energy Consumer Alliance in October.

Franklin non-profit Christmas gift provider in need of donations

For the 28th consecutive year, Franklin small businessman Bob Sullivan shut down his own business to open up a Santa’s workshop that plans to bring the joy of Christmas to about 800 local families in need.

FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT: Update on Weather for Monday - Dec 9th

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT 

Hello 

The first snow of the season has been predicted for late this evening into tomorrow. We anticipate school opening as scheduled. We have been in contact with DPW and they will be treating roads and parking lots when the precipitation begins.  

As this is the first snow please drive slowly and allow extra time to drop your child/ children off at school. HS age drivers often have less experience driving in these conditions so please consider driving them to school. If they must drive please encourage them to leave some extra time and to drive slower. 

If the weather report changes and we need to delay school we will send out a Connect Ed message. Additionally we will post any change in schedule on our web site and announce to the media outlets. 

Please be reminded that all parents/guardians may keep children at home if  you choose to. If you elect this option please call the school to let them know about your decision. 

Stay safe. 

Thank You,
Maureen Sabolinski

This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT either IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at 508-613-1777.