Yes, Franklin - the Town is improving its communications

In case you haven't noticed, there have been some significant changes to the Town of Franklin webpage. The page itself looks and functions much the same but the information placed there and the timeliness of the info there is what I think is worthy.

• On the Town Council page, instead of grabbing all nine emails to send them something, you can now do so with one click.

screen grab of Franklin Town Council webpage

• Franklin TV has enabled an RSS feed for the videos that get posted for the town meetings that are recorded. Yes, now you can get notified via RSS that the Town Council meeting video is available! (If you don't already have an RSS reader, you can find more about that here or here or here (video)).

top part of video webpage

bottom page of webpage with RSS subscription button

• But the best yet is that the Town is now using their "Town News" section to post meeting agenda and actions. The recent Town Council agenda and actions are seen here. Hopefully, the School Committee and others will appear there too!. (yes, one can hope!)

Town News is showing real highlights

To make it easy for you, here is are the actions from last Wednesday's Town Council meeting.



Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen asked me when we got together to compare notes recently, "if as the Town did improve their communications, would I be worried about not having something to do?" No, not at all I said. I would much rather have Franklin provide the timely and accessible information so all the citizens can get what they need easily. If that times does come around, I am sure I can find something else to do. Until then, I'll do what I think is needed to share the information.

FHS girls’ swimming program brought home its first Hockomock Championship title

"After back-to-back seasons of finishing in second place to its league rivals, the Franklin girls’ swimming program brought home its first Hockomock Championship title with a dominating performance on Saturday at the Milford High pool. 

The Panthers finished with an overall team total of 383, more than 100 points better than defending champion King Philip’s total of 264. The top five was rounded out by Taunton (230), Sharon (186) and North Attleboro (186). 

The championship meet was the culmination of a season of first for the Panthers, who also finished undefeated in the dual meet season and won the Kelley-Rex title for the first time in the seven-year history of the program. 

“This is a big deal,” said Franklin coach Jess Pridham. “For the last two years we’ve been runners up and I can’t take credit for their talent. I’m just the chessmaster. I put together the best meet possible and their talent has brought us this far.”

Continue reading the article online
http://www.hockomocksports.com/franklin-claims-first-hockomock-swimming-title/

Franklin girls swim team takes first Hockomock Championship

Franklin News from around the social media

• On Facebook, Jeff Roy posted about the FHS Mock Trial team winning their first case. FHS Teacher Mike Walsh added that 

"What Jeff Roy neglected to mention is that he has been volunteering his time to help us prepare for this complicated case. Meant a lot to the kids that you came to cheer them on today."

Delighted to see some talented young litigators from Franklin High School try a case in the Marlborough District Court....
Posted by Jeff Roy on Thursday, February 4, 2016

• The Franklin Chargers congratulated Eian Bain on getting the FHS football coaching position and posted Coach Bain letter to the FHS football community.

Coach Bain letter

• Have you heard about the "Helping Hands Florist"? Quality flowers prepared with quality attention by a group from HMEA. Hmm, Valentine's Day is coming!

Helping Hands Florist

MassBudget: Analyzing the Governor's FY 2017 Budget

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Analyzing the Governor's FY 2017 Budget  The Governor's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 is best described as an austerity budget. It contains small cuts and spending reductions across government and includes few new initiatives. Our newly released Budget Monitor analyzes the budget in detail. Many of the reductions are due to the early retirement program implemented this year. Perhaps the most important question this budget raises is how those cuts will affect the quality of services provided by our government. With fewer people working at the Department of Environmental Protection (where the Governor proposes a 7 percent reduction in funding), will our state's ability to enforce the laws that keep our air and water clean be degraded? With reductions at the Department of Revenue (where this budget proposes 13 percent less funding), will it be harder for honest taxpayers to get answers from the department and will it be easier for those corporations and other sophisticated taxpayers who seek to evade taxes to avoid paying the taxes they owe? Similar issues will arise across state government, and we won't know the answers until after the budget takes effect. On the positive side, this budget proposal continues efforts to hire more social workers at the Department of Children and Families so that caseloads will decline and our front line workers can better protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect. The proposal also funds new efforts to address the opioid addiction crisis, including an additional $9.1 million for the Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services to support increased prevention and treatment efforts. The budget reduces the state's reliance on temporary revenue and makes a small deposit into the stabilization fund. But six years into an economic recovery, the budget is still being balanced with temporary revenue, including $150 million that existing law dedicates to the stabilization fund. This continues a long-term pattern we have seen since the state cut income taxes by over $3 billion between 1998 and 2002: deep cuts in recessions, barely balanced budgets in the best of times, and chronic structural budget gaps. This pattern has real world consequences: our Commonwealth has not been able to make important investments in the education and skills of our workers and in the integrity of our transportation infrastructure that could strengthen our economy in the long run. This Budget Monitor examines the Governor's FY 2017 budget proposal in the context of these long-term trends. For the full Budget Monitor, click HERE. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

MA State Budget Funding History

FHS girls and boys hockey team post wins on Saturday

Boys Hockey

• Franklin, 3 vs. Newburyport, 1 – Final 

– Sophomore Jeremy Miller netted a hat trick to guide Franklin to a big non-league win.

FHS Panthers

Girls Hockey

• Franklin, 5 @ Martha’s Vineyard, 1 – Final

Wrestling

• MIWCA D1 Dual Tournament (Franklin) 

– Franklin placed fifth overall. The Panthers beat BC High (38-28) but lost to St. John’s Prep (41-21). Franklin finished the meet with wins over Plymouth South (40-27) and Framingham (34-26).

For the other results around the Hockomock League on Saturday
http://www.hockomocksports.com/saturdays-schedule-scoreboard-020616/

NationalGrid: Snow Storm Restoration Update - 2/6/16 AM

To view this email as a web page, click here.

National Grid Storm Restoration Update A message to our customers — February 6, 2016 Good Morning, What a difference a day makes – skies are clear and the sun is shining. Yesterday's snow storm hit the region harder than originally forecasted, and the heavy, wet snow caused significant outages.  We are grateful for your patience as our crews work to repair downed wires and restore all outages. Less than 24 hours from the start of the storm, we had already restored power to close to 80% of impacted customers in MA, and 60% of impacted customers in RI. We intend to complete the vast majority of restoration by midnight today. If you are still without electric service, please let us know by calling 1-800-465-1212, or via Outage Central. Above all, please stay safe – watch for sagging wires, tree branches, and slick surfaces. For more safety tips, use your mobile device to visit us at www.nationalgrid.com. Stay connected National Grid provides multiple channels for customers to learn about service issues and interruptions during storms. Customers can follow the storm on their mobile devices by using the National Grid mobile app or texting the word STORM to NGRID (64743). The company provides real time outage information on its Outage Central web site. National Grid also provides storm and restoration updates through Facebook and Twitter Thank you for trusting us to help you meet your energy needs. National Grid Here with you. Here for you.   Connect Now Visit us online at nationalgrid.com/

This email was sent by: National Grid 300 Erie Blvd W Syracuse NY 13202 U.S.A.

NationalGrid outage map as of 8:00 PM 2/6/16

Reminder: Franklin Newcomers and Friends February Meeting Information - Feb 10

Please join the Franklin Newcomers and Friends for our version of Antique Roadshow, starring Lydia Kirchthurn, a Newcomers alum. We'll be upstairs in a private room at Restaurant "3" at 7:30pm on Wednesday, Feb 10.

Franklin Newcomers

Lydia Kirchthurn is an old soul, and she has always loved antiques and the stories behind them. So in 2005 when she left her career in education to raise her children she started her new adventures with antiques. First she started buying antiques at yard sales and thrift stores and selling them on EBAY. Then she started selling her friend's antiques on EBAY, then whole houses of antiques, eventually working at a high end auction house run by an Antique Roadshow Alum. While at the auction house she realized that her passion for antiques and their stories included something unexpected - a connection to the spirits of the people who owned them. 

In 2014 Lydia left the Auction business and enrolled in the Rhys Thomas School of Energy Medicine where she is currently studying and honing her unique gift. Now she is uniting her worlds and offering unique antique appraisals and communication with the spirits attached to them. 

If you have a small, antique, family heirloom, feel free to bring it. Lydia will examine as many pieces as she can to reveal their value and possibly a story! Something personal, like jewelry, would be best.

As always, we welcome all to join us. Heavy appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages are complimentary.

• To keep up with Lydia, you can read her blog here

http://lydiadustin.blogspot.com/