MA Candidates for Governor

Only a week remains before the Sep 9th primary election. There are a pack of candidates running for governor of MA. WBUR's website provides an intro to each candidate:

http://www.wbur.org/2014/08/04/massachusetts-gubernatorial-candidates


The campaign sites for each candidate are as follows:

Denocrat

Martha Coakley -  http://www.marthacoakley.com/
Steve Grossman - http://stevegrossman.com/
Donald Berwick - http://www.berwickforgovernor.com/

Republican

Charlie Baker - https://www.charliebaker2014.com/
Mark Fisher - http://www.markfisher2014.com/

Independent

Evan Falchuk - http://www.falchuk2014.org/
Jeff McCormick - http://www.jmacforgov.org/
Scott Lively - http://www.livelyforgovernor.com/

From the Milford Daily News we find:

Since Jan. 1, the gubernatorial candidates have spent a combined $9.16 million. Grossman has spent $1.78 million, followed by Coakley ($1.61 million), Baker ($1.40 million), Berwick ($1.16 million) and Fisher ($290,000). 

United Independent Party candidate Evan Falchuk has spent $865,000, while independents Scott Lively and Jeff McCormick have spent $9,400 and $901,000, respectively.

Continue reading the article on campaign spending here (subscription maybe required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140902/NEWS/140909738/1994/NEWS


Absentee ballots are available to the Town Clerks office

Primary election notice for Sep 9, 2014

Riding-mower tuneup promotion

Hello Steve,

Below is a late-summer incentive for you to keep your riding mower in top shape. If you don't own a riding mower, please ignore and sorry for the trouble. 

The rates below are for routine preventive maintenance for a fully operational machine with no known problems. Repairs extra.

Riding mower or commercial walk-behind up to 42": $30 off = $169 ($199)

Riding mower or commercial walk-behind over 42": $40 off= $199 ($239)

Extended area charge (where applicable): $10 off = $19 ($29)

Must be booked on-line by September 8, 2014.

Book now (Use promo code (RM914)

See what's included

Mower n More

http://www.mowernmore.com/

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Franklin Public Schools: Welcome Back

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

September 1, 2014

Welcome Back to our Students, Parents and Faculty!

As the 2014-2015 academic year begins let me welcome back our faculty, students and families. We will continue to offer opportunities for excellence and will reaffirm the importance of public education through our work with the children of Franklin. When we open our doors on Tuesday, our administration, faculty and staff will share their commitment, talent and passion to inspire your children to achieve. 

This school year will welcome the Class of 2018 to the new Franklin High School. Much of this short summer was spent completing the new school and preparing for the transition. The new high school is an amazing gift to our students from the community and we invite you to join us for a tour when we officially dedicate the facility. Dedication weekend will be September 20 and 21. (Details to follow). 

The Facilities Department and DPW personnel engaged in a number of summer projects. Anyone who traveled down Lincoln Street this summer will know that the town completed an expansive project and it include renovation and addition of sidewalks. Also the concrete curbs at the Keller/ASMS complex were replaced with granite curbs thus making the entry much safer. 

While students were vacationing many of our educators engaged in rigorous professional development. About 50 of our staff attended the Building Learning Communities (BLC) conference in Boston. Many of us learned much about using technology to support learning. We will be developing a Digital Learning Committee of educators and administrators to design a comprehensive plan to use digital learning. 

Also this summer our elementary teachers worked on developing lessons to support the implementation of the new mathematics program Envisions. We will be setting up a series of math programs aimed at parents to review the program and to understand the mathematical content in K-5. 

On September 4 and 5 all of our kindergarten teachers will attend a mandated training by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This training will teach the educator how to use the MKEA, the Massachusetts Kindergarten Educational Assessment tool. As we accept state funds to implement free full- day kindergarten we are mandated to complete the assessment and staff must be trained. We will report back to the School Committee as the assessment of students begins in late fall. 

The Franklin Public Schools has gone global and you will be hearing from FHS teacher Mike Walsh and his students who visited China in early summer. Also our Director Art Education, Jane Hogan and Director Instructional Services Pre K-12, Joyce Edwards spent two weeks in China visiting schools and learning about education in China. We look forward to hearing about their journey at a School Committee meeting in late September. 

As we open school please extend your thanks and appreciation to the Facilities Staff and DPW who worked tirelessly to open all of our schools. Also as we now have busses, vans and students on the road again, we ask that you leave some extra time for traffic and to be mindful of all crosswalks. We want all our students to get to school safely.

Warm Regards and All the Best for a Successful Year,

Maureen Sabolinski
Superintendent of Schools

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. 

Franklin High School

For more information about the Franklin Public Schools you can visit their webpage via the Franklin Town site or directly here  http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/index

Labor Day and 'back to school' week

The wikipedia entry for Labor Day reads in part:

To take advantage of large numbers of potential customers free to shop, Labor Day has become an important sale weekend for many retailers in the United States. Some retailers claim it is one of the largest sale dates of the year, second only to the Christmas season's Black Friday.^[7] 

Ironically, because of the importance of the sale weekend, some of those who are employed in the retail sector not only work on Labor Day, but work longer hours. More Americans work in the retail industry than any other, with retail employment making up 24% of all jobs in the United States.^[8] As of 2012, only 3% of those employed in the retail sector were members of a labor union.^[8]

Parmenter School sign with opening schedule for 2014-2015 school year

Labor Day is also the traditional end of summer and return to school. Franklin schools got out early in June 2014 in part due to the snow days but also deliberately to assist with the move out of the old FHS building. Schools are also opening after Labor Day this year to provide the time for the new FHS building to get completed (construction has been) and the facility moved into (by faculty, etc.).

In elementary, Grades 1-5 report on Sep 3

Friday Sep 5, there is a one hour Kindergarten orientation and on Monday, Sep 8th, Kindergarten will start their full day schedule.

The K schedule is different this year due to a new state requirement for an assessment of all kndergarteners.  The K teachers are being trained on the assessment process, Weds and Thur (Sep 3-4).

Middle school and high school opens for all grades on Sep 3

31 thermal totes collected and delivered

You may recall that Megan DeKing posted about collecting some thermal totes for new born infants at the intensive care unit of an area hospital. With your help she collected 31 totes and delivered them last Friday. She posted the following to our Franklin Matters Facebook page

Thank you so much to those that helped collect NICU totes! Just dropped them off and the moms there were so thankful!

Megan DeKing (far right) delivering the totes

The totes were delivered to the NICU at Newton Wellsley Hospital

The fund raising was initially posted here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/07/fund-raising-thermal-totes-for-infants.html

September is Campus Fire Safety Month

Did you know that September is Campus Fire Safety Month? With students returning to college campuses within and outside the state, including Franklin's Dean College, it makes sense.

Summer is coming to an end and a new school year is about to begin. As students return to campus and off-campus apartments across Massachusetts, the state designates September Campus Fire Safety Month. Through fire safety education, the Commonwealth aims to reduce occurrences of fire and the resulting losses of life or property damage. 

According to the Department of Fire Services (DFS), 39 Massachusetts civilians died due to fires in 2012. In fact,69% of all residential building fires originated in the kitchen due to unsafe cooking practices that year.

MA.gov blog on fire safety

Continue reading the MA Gov blog article here to find out the fire safety tips they provide http://blog.mass.gov/blog/safety/campus-fire-safety-month/

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Sep 3, 2014

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS

Election Workers

Jeanne Blanchard
Joyce Pedersen

Advisory Committee

Bruce Hunchard
Nancy Rafter

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Special Permits – Beth Wierling

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 14-50: Chapter 61B – 1st Refusal Option – Property Located Off East Central Street
2. Resolution 14-51: Chapter 61B – 1st Refusal Option – Off East Central Street
3. Resolution 14-52: Appropriation – Recreation – Tot Lot
4. Resolution 14-53: Prior Year Bill
5. Resolution 14-54: Authorization to Issue Request for Proposals – Pond Street Property
6. Bylaw Amendment 14-741:Chapter 65, Collection Containers – 1st Reading

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN

Franklin Municipal Building - site of Town Council meetings

The full set of documents released for this agenda can be found on the official Franklin page here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2014/090314.pdf