@RattleCity tweeted: It's official, best fans in the state. Parade and banner ceremony date to be determined #MIAABOTF

From the Twitter feed we find another award for Franklin to celebrate this week. Rattle City, the student cheering section has been recognized as the best in MA by the MIAA

It's official, best fans in the state. Parade and banner ceremony date to be determined #MIAABOTF

— Rattle City ™ (@RattleCity) May 8, 2015

Congrats to @RattleCity and all Panther fans for winning 2015 MIAA "Battle of Fans" contest #neverquit #gopanthers

— FranklinAthletics (@FHSSports) May 8, 2015

Franklin selected by MIAA as the winner of their "Battle of the Fans" contest. #hockomock https://t.co/EUdZg52XdI

— Ryan Lanigan (@R_Lanigan) May 8, 2015

And the video that won for Rattle City:



View the MIAA twitter feed for additional submissions and tweets with the tag #MIAABOTF

You can folllow Franklin Matters on Twitter  https://twitter.com/FranklinMatters

You can follow Rattle City at https://twitter.com/RattleCity

screen grab of Rattle City Twitter profile page

Friendly reminder - Comment policy

The comment policy was established in Dec of 2007 and it's time for a friendly reminder.

I welcome your comments here at Franklin Matters. To maintain a respectful dialogue, I've posted the guidelines of the comment policy below.

• Stay focused. All viewpoints are welcome, but comments should remain on the topic set by the original blog post, discussion question or other type of initial entry.
• Be respectful. Ad hominem or personal attacks, profanity, and aggressive behavior are prohibited. Instigating arguments in a disrespectful way is also prohibited.
• Tell the truth. Spreading misleading or false information is prohibited.
• No spam. Repeated posting of identical or very similar content in a counter-productive manner is prohibited – this includes posts aggressively promoting services or products.

I retain the discretion to determine which comments violate this comment policy.

I reserve the right to remove violations.

I expect all contributors to be respectful.

This comment policy is valid for all discussions hosted on this Franklin Matters website and/or the Facebook Franklin Matters page.

Thank you for taking the time to review our comment policy. I encourage your participation in a healthy and respectful discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.




The comment policy is also located here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2007/12/comment-policy.html

Dean College Commencement - May 9th

The schedule of events for the Dean College Commencement can be found here
http://www.dean.edu/commencement_may2015.aspx#

Best bet would be to avoid the Dean/Main St area between 10:00am and 1:00pm

Dean College gets ready for commencement 2015

To the Dean graduates, best wishes on the road you choose to follow!

Listen to your mother

Dear StoryCorps Friend,     Sunday is Mother's Day and the perfect gift is already right in your hand! Why not take a short break from the brunches and barbecues and record a conversation with your mother using the new StoryCorps app? You can download the app here. Together, you'll create a lasting memory that you can preserve forever.   Ask your mom...   How has being a mother changed your life? What are some special memories you have of your mom? What are your hopes and dreams for my future and yours? What songs did you sing to me as a child? Using the app's step-by-step directions, it's simple to honor your mother while preserving her wisdom, memories, and voice forever at the Library of Congress.   If you're unable to be with your mom this weekend, get together with a sibling, friend, or spouse and share some stories about a woman who means a lot to you. Listen closely--you never know what you'll learn about the extraordinary women in your life! Warmly, Robin Sparkman Chief Executive Officer   P.S. Click here to listen to some amazing Mom stories other StoryCorps app users have shared! P.P.S. In honor of Mother's Day, please add the tag thanksmom to your stories.   Amplify the voices of women everywhere. Support StoryCorps today.

Forward this email StoryCorps | 80 Hanson Place | Brooklyn | NY | 11217

Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA Area: FRI 5/8/15 - THU 5/14/15

FRI 5/8   1:30pm   Adult Coffee and Craft: Zentangle. Franklin Public Library
FRI 5/8   2:30-4:30pm   Game Day at the Franklin Public Library (Wii, board games, crafts) - all ages
FRI 5/8   6:30pm   Mother Daughter Fancy Tea Party at The Cake Bar, registration required
FRI 5/8   8-9:50pm   Frozen Friday DJ Public Skate at Pirelli Arena

SAT 5/9   8am-1pm   FHS Bottle and Can Drive to benefit All Night Party, FHS parking lot
SAT 5/9   9am-12pm   SNETT Cleanup Day, meet at South School in Bellingham, bring gloves. Come learn about the rail trail and help out. Great way to earn community service hours too.
SAT 5/9   10am-3pm   Stamp Out Hunger Drive - leave non-perishable items by your mailbox or visit Franklin Food Pantry to drop off
SAT 5/9   10am   Elks Care Elks Share 5K Road Race & Walk, Elks Lodge, Franklin
SAT 5/9   1-3pm   Zentangle Workshop at Franklin Art Center
SAT 5/9   8pm   Rebecca Loebe and Jesse Terry Concert at Circle of Friends Coffeehouse

TUE 5/12   7:30pm   Franklin and Bellingham Rail Trail Committee Meeting at the Franklin YMCA. Public welcome.

WED 5/13   7:30pm   Franklin Newcomers Club Monthly Meeting at ‘3’ Restaurant with a special guest Jeff Nutting. Prospective members welcome!

THU 5/14   6pm   Kindergarten Info Night at Kennedy and Parmenter Schools
THU 5/14   7pm   Small Shop Co-Op Meeting at The Cake Bar

For all the Town of Franklin Public Meetings click HERE.

For event details click HERE.

*If you have any suggestions or events for the calendar, please email Renata@BetterLivingRE.com

Sidewalks, beer/wine license, and RFPs draw large crowd to Town Council meeting

There was almost a full house at the Town Council Meeting on Wednesday evenings. The coincidence of the agenda drew many members of the community for their particular interest along with the major department heads for their capital budget needs.

Neighbors along Chestnut St who had signed a petition looking for sidewalks got a commitment to be included in the design process. Sidewalks were approved for Pleasant St (from St Mary's down to Miller). The design study would look at a sidewalk from Griffin all the way up Chestnut to 140. Another phase of work would look at sidewalks along Washington St. These sidewalks were all identified as desired in the Master Plan published in 2013

Neighbors along Pond St gathered to see the discussion and vote by the Town Council to approve two RFP's. One to offer the land for lease for a potential solar farm. The second would be offering the land for sale for a multi use development including some residential but not apartments. Both RFPs were approved. This is the first of about an 8 step process according to Town Administrator Jeff Nutting. Responses to the RFPs will be reviewed by the Economic Development Committee before being brought to the Council for discussion and decision.

National Small Business Week

The Lenzi family and supporters of small business also gathered to participate in the discussion around a beer/wine license for the Big Y. After hearing arguments for an against the proposal, the Council voted 8-1 to award the license to the Big Y. Councilor Dellorco was the only 'no' vote. The 'yes' votes were essentially won over by the financial benefits that the Big Y has brought to Franklin (new construction, road improvements, and substantial tax contribution) as well as the license is only for beer/wine. The other two small businesses (Franklin Liquors and Davitas) have full liquor licenses. The argument of providing a convenience to the Big Y customers won the day. The Big Y is a MA based family owned company.

For the other license transactions on the agenda, British Beer Company did not show up so their item was continued to the next meeting. Guru now doing business as Chinese Mirch received approval for their DBA change.

The Council spent less time approving $1.7 million dollars for a variety of capital improvements. This continues the financial practice of using 'free cash' to fund the capital needs of Franklin. From putting money aside for new fire truck, adding money to the fund to replace the turf fields, to funding the removal of the modular units at Davis Thayer, protective vests for the police, emergency air units for fire fighters to highlight a few. In Capital Subcommittee Chair Matt Kelly's words, it was like Christmas morning. Everybody got something on their wish list.

In the last minute juggling of the agenda to make progress while waiting for the 7:10 time for the public hearings to begin, Alan Mercer provided an update on the Franklin Cultural District and this summer's Franklin Cultural Festival. 

Franklin TV was also scheduled for an update on the cable operations and ended up rescheduling for next time.

Tucked among the action items is a surprise rate reduction for the Trash/Recycling. The current rate is $216 and it will be reduced to $200. All the work with the single stream trash/recycling is continuing to pay off. Literally in our case with the savings coming to the rate payers. This is the lowest the rate has been in years. It may still go up some time in the future but not some much each time and maybe not for a couple of years. We all can enjoy the savings in the meantime!

My set of notes recorded live during the meeting can be found here

• Live reporting - Closing
• Live reporting: Legislation for action
• Live reporting: License transactions
• Live reporting: Town Council - Agenda - May 6, 201...

Franklin Library: Adult coffee and craft - Game day

There are two events at the Library today. For the adults, the coffee and craft series will feature Zentangle. For the kids, the next iteration of Game Day.

Coffee and Craft starts at 1:30
Game Day starts at 2:30

Zentangle for the coffee and craft today at 1:30

game day for the kids at 2:30

These events were shared from the Library pages here
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2015/05/adult-coffee-craft.html

http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2015/05/game-day.html