Franklin Matters

Thursday, February 4, 2016

In the News: Pond St condos?, SAFE creating drop-in service, regionalization takes a step, voter registration deadline

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

Town Council members at their meeting Wednesday night voiced support for a condominium development on a town-owned 33-acre piece of property on Pond Street.

The council, in a nonbinding straw poll, voted seven to one in favor of the development, which would likely involve about 85 units. A formal resolution will now be drafted and officially voted upon in a future meeting.

The project would involve the developer purchasing the land for approximately $1.65 million. The development is estimated to bring in about $300,000 a year in tax revenue and result in a 600-car-a-day increase in traffic.

rendering of Pond St condo proposal from Town Council meeting in January 2016

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160203/franklin-council-to-explore-pond-st-condos

The Support for Addicts and Families by Empowerment (SAFE) Coalition announced this week that it would be looking to create "drop-in" treatment events - in which a number of services for addicts and their families would be brought under one roof.

James Derick, SAFE's president, announced the initiative before a Tuesday night talk by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam. The events would feature mental health professionals, substance abuse counselors, support groups for parents, lawyers, treatment centers and Narcan training - all in one accessible place.

"A key component to this would be engaging people in long-term recovery, or 'Recovery Angels,'" Derick said Wednesday. "They would shepherd people through detox, in-patient treatment and beyond."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160203/franklin-treatment-events-eyed-by-safe

When a small police department makes an arrest, it can put a stress on manpower and financial resources.

The answer to those problems, Middlesex County Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian said, is the creation of regional lockup facilities run by the sheriff’s offices.

Last week, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security moved a bill that would allow regional lockup facilities to be opened by sheriffs to the state Senate’s Ways and Means committee.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160203/regional-lockup-facility-bill-passes-hurdle

The deadline to register to vote to participate in the Massachusetts Presidential Primary on March 1 is Wednesday, Feb. 10.

This is also the deadline for registered voters who wish to change their party enrollment to another party or to unenrolled, commonly referred to as independent. This should not be confused with the United Independent Party (UIP), a party that will have ballots available but with no candidates printed on them. Voters registered in UIP will not be eligible to take a Democratic, Republican, or Green-Rainbow ballot.

To vote for a candidate in a different party from the one in which you are now registered, the voter must switch to the other party or to unenrolled status by 8 p.m. on Feb. 10.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160203/deadline-next-week-to-register-to-vote-in-presidential-primary

REMINDER: Greater Franklin Node meeting this Thursday, Feb 4, 2016

Hi everyone,

We had a great node meeting last week! It had been postponed one week due to the Spectra Open House.

To recap, we briefly reviewed the Spectra Open House experience and spent the bulk of our time focusing on figuring out possible details of a Q1 Loop-wide Public Forum for the end of March.

As we discussed, Sharon and Walpole are fairly centrally located along the length of the proposed pipeline route, so we decided I'd ask Sharon if they'd be interested in hosting the forum in their town. It turns out they just recently started organizing a forum for the same time frame, the end of March, to which they were going to invite all the towns in the Q1 Loop! They have already invited speakers from the Attorney General's Office and the Conservation Law Foundation, so far. There will be an extensive Q and A afterwards. A specific date has not been set yet, but stay tuned!

one of the Franklin lawn signs

This Thursday, February 4, at our next meeting we'll focus on how we can ramp up outreach in each of the towns for the next two months which will include inviting town officials and town citizens to the forum.

So come to our meeting this Thursday night, Feb 4, at 7:00 pm, at First Universalist Society in Franklin, 262 Chestnut Street, Franklin.

See you Thursday!

Carolyn

Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive - Sat Feb 6

Jennifer Felicetti is a loving wife, mother and friend with a passion for life. Just this past Christmas Eve, she was admitted to her local hospital, unaware that her life was about to take a drastic turn.

A few days later, Jennifer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). While she is currently undergoing aggressive treatment, her doctors believe Jennifer’s best shot will likely be a bone marrow transplant. With no matching donor in her family, Jennifer will be forced to enter the nerve-wracking search for an unrelated donor.

Jennifer currently resides in New Jersey, but she still maintains close relationships with her friends and family in Franklin. Her supporters have teamed up with Delete Blood Cancer DKMS to host a bone marrow donor registration drive in her honor, hoping to register more potential matches for her and every other patient in need of a donor outside of their family.

The event will take place on Saturday, February 6th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Franklin YMCA at 45 Forge Hill Road in Franklin, MA.

Every day thousands of patients search for a bone marrow donor match, but less than half will find a match and receive a transplant. Registration is quick and simple, involving the completion of a registration form and swabbing the inside of the cheeks. Most in good health between the ages of 18-55 are eligible. For those who cannot make it to the drive, you can find more information and register online at DeleteBloodCancer.org.

About Delete Blood Cancer DKMS

Delete Blood Cancer DKMS is part of the world’s largest network of donor centers. Our mission is to build the number of suitable bone marrow and stem cell donors, because we believe that no life should be lost due to an inability to find a donor match. We have registered more than 5.9 million potential donors and facilitated more than 53,000 transplants around the world. But we’re not stopping there. We lead the fight against blood cancer by working with families, communities and organizations to recruit donors and provide more patients with second chances at life.

blood stem cell registry process

For more information or to register as a bone marrow donor, please visit DeleteBloodCancer.org.

Franklin Commuter: new features on mbtatrains.com

mbtatrains.com now has alerts to give you more information about what's happening on the commuter rail!

More details here. Happy riding!

You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website https://mbtatrains.com.

This has been my prime app to keep up with the issues on the wonderful Franklin Line. The only issue with the app (thus far) is that when things get real bad (as in the last couple of days), the app is good in showing the trains stack up. Unfortunately, once the trains run too late, the MBTA stops sending an update. So the app is stuck with no data on a late train and all of a sudden the line clears when it is not really clear. The app folks are aware of this....

image from 2/2/16 with 4 trains stacked up at Ruggles

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Franklin School for The Performing Arts Presents GREASE

Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) presents an all-student production of the hit musical GREASE this Saturday, February 6, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Performances will be staged at THE BLACK BOX, 15 West Central Street, in downtown Franklin.

The powerhouse Broadway musical, with book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, became a Hollywood movie classic starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. With iconic characters, '50s pop culture, and electrifying rock 'n roll style, the original high school musical includes high energy dance numbers and the hit songs “We Go Together,” “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightnin'” and “Born to Hand Jive.”

Performances are this Saturday, February 6, at THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin

Performances are Saturday, February 6, at THE BLACK BOX

The production features FSPA students in all levels of musical theater as the memorable teens of Rydell High, including greaser Danny, girl-next-door Sandy, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. FSPA’s production of GREASE is directed by Raye Lynn Mercer, with music direction by Hallie Wetzell.

Featured cast members include Brian Barrett (Eugene) of Foxborough; Jason Barney (Roger), Julia Buccella (Patty Simcox, evening), Brooke Collins (Rizzo, afternoon), Kendra Dombroski (Sandy, evening), Aaron Frongillo (Danny), Collin Hancock (Vince Fontaine), Jocelyn Jones (Miss Lynch), Catherine LeClair (Frenchy, afternoon), Akira Ontsuka (Kenickie), Deanna Rivera (Jan, evening), Katharine Waples (Marty, afternoon), Caitlin Woodcock (Jan, afternoon), and Melissa Wyner (Cha-Cha, afternoon) of Franklin; Caroline Merten (Cha-Cha, evening) and Joey Soares (Sonny) of Hopedale; Sam Evans (Johnny Casino) and Colie Vancura (Sandy, afternoon) of Medfield; Maddy Williams (Frenchy, evening) of Medway; Katie Gray (Marty, evening) of Milford; Nicholas Steiner (T-Bird) of Millis; Mairead Nee (Patty Simcox, afternoon) and Griffin Wilkins (Doody) of Walpole; and Jenna McDermott (Rizzo, evening) of Wrentham.

GREASE is one of several FSPA all-student productions that will be staged at THE BLACK BOX from February through May. Others include the plays Metamorphosis and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; the ballets Class Concert, Graduation Ball and Western Revelries; and a program of Opera Scenes and Arias.

Tickets are $24 for adults and $20 for students and seniors. For more information, call (508) 528-8668. To purchase tickets, visit www.FSPAonline.com. GREASE is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.