In the News: briefs filed for against power plant, court decision stands

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

"Intervening parties and Exelon have filed briefs in opposition and in support of the company’s proposal to build a 200-megawatt expansion of an existing power plant on Summer Street. 

The matter has been before the state Energy Facilities Siting Board for approval for almost a year, and hearings took place in December and January. 

Medway, the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Eversource and Exelon filed initial briefs this week, with two of those groups filing briefs in opposition to the project."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160302/medway-exelon-interveners-file-briefs

"A U.S. District Court judge announced Wednesday that he will not reconsider the dismissal of a local family's civil lawsuit against the town of Franklin and several police officers, though the case remains on appeal. 

Plantiffs Amy and Jeffrey DeLucia had filed suit against the town, Police Chief Stephan Semerjian and five police officers in 2015, claiming several acts of misconduct, including a physical attack that broke several of Jeffrey DeLucia's bones. 

The case was dismissed without prejudice in February, however, after the DeLucias were unable to comply with the town's requests for evidence."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160302/judge-will-not-reconsider-dismissal-of-franklin-police-misconduct-case

Franklin, MA: Presidential Primary Results - Mar 1. 2016

From Town Clerk Teresa Burr, here are the total voters by party that cast a ballot for Tuesday's Presidential Primary.

Party	Voters
Democrat	5348
Republican	4415
Green	3
United Independent	23
	9789
Total Registered	21345
Percent Voted	45.9%

Here is the set of all the party results by precinct: 

You can also download a copy here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczOWwybWZZQm83Y3M/view?usp=sharing

the election day sign on the railroad bridge

Help celebrate Franklin's 238th birthday at the Historical Museum - March 6

The Franklin Historical Museum will celebrate the town's 238th birthday on Sunday March 6th with cake and coffee in the museum library. Stop by for a slice of cake, have a look around and learn a little bit more about your town's history. 

Did you know that our town was originally to be called Exeter? In the original draft of the town's charter, the name throughout the document was Exeter. But on the day that the town was to be incorporated, our founding fathers with familiar names such as Fisher, Metcalf, Lethbridge, Whiting, Hawes and Boyd were inspired to cross out the name Exeter and claim the name Franklin. But why the change? 

In Blakes' History of Franklin, written at the time of the town's centennial, Blake speculated: "It will be remembered that Benjamin Franklin, with two others, had been sent to France immediately upon the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to negotiate a treaty of recognition and alliance.' The news finally arrived on the shores of this newly formed country that "on the 6th of January Louis XVI entered into a treaty of amity and commerce with the colonies."

The news was welcomed and celebrated and as a tribute to the popular statesman and diplomat the gentlemen from the 'Westerly Precinct of Wrentham' promptly changed the name on the application of incorporation to Franklin. Many other States have since honored Benjamin Franklin in the same way, but we are of course, the first. 

Join us this weekend and be among the first to experience our new monthly feature, the Item of the Month! Each month we will spotlight a different item from our collection that we hope will be interesting, intriguing and will encourage our visitors to learn something new. The March Item of the Month is an 18th century 'calash'. Not sure what it is? Come on in and find out. 

The museum is open Saturdays 10:00AM-1:00PM and Sundays 1:00PM-4:00PM. We are located at 80 West Central Street and we are handicap accessible.

The Franklin Historical Museum ready to party!

For more about the Historical Museum visit them on the web at
http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/  

or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FHM02038


**In case you are interested, wikipedia lists 50 communities (cities and towns) called Franklin in the USA  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_places_named_for_Benjamin_Franklin

Hop into Spring at the Franklin Library, Friday, Mar 4

A spring celebration event for kids is scheduled for this Friday, Mar 4 from 1:00 to 2:30 at the Library.

Friday, Mar 4 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM

This was shared from the Franklin Library webpage
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2016/03/hop-into-spring.html

Adult Education: Spring Registration Now Open

Franklin Public Schools                       Lifelong Learning Institute The Center for Adult Education and Community Learning * * * * * * * * * * *  Adult Education Spring Session REGISTER NOW    News Flash  Classes begin later in March     This spring, participants can choose from a very interesting variety of options. Course offerings include everything from Floral Design, Winemaking and a Wine Tasting Reception to establishing a new Senior Players Group and the introduction of Kids' Kornah!,where fun and learning meet.       You will find more exercise and sports programs than ever -Yoga, Zumba, Exercise class for Active Older Adults, and Community Walking.      In addition, once again we will be offering Country Line Dancing. Men's Basketball is back this spring along with Badminton and both have expanded to two nights. Intermediate and Advanced Volleyball classes round out the field.      Indian Street Food, a cooking demonstration and tasting for adults AND a 6-week cooking class,"Super Suppers", for kids ages 10 years and up, are also on the spring menu.    Expanded Private Music Lesson opportunities are available for adolescents and adults. Whether you are interested in Adult Chorus, Voice or Instrument lessons, we have them.    This spring you will find so many opportunities and all reasonably priced. Take a look at the spring brochure with its activated links,click here.     While you're viewing, you can register. You can also call The Center at 508-613-1480 for more information or check us out at                   www.FranklinLifelongLearning.com

Forward this email FPS- Life Long Learning | 355 East Central Street | Franklin | MA | 02038

Franklin Public Schools: Kindergarten Registration Reminder

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

• April 11th 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• April 12th 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Horace Mann Middle School – Cafeteria
224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA

http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_News/022F8177-000F8513

Oak St - Horace Mann School Complex

"questions over the legality of Eversource’s petition"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

"Eversource says a plan to build a natural gas pipeline across Massachusetts will save customers money; consumer and environmental activists say it will hurt ratepayers and the environment. But it ultimately will be up to the state Supreme Judicial Court to determine if it is legal. 

The utility wants to build the Access Northeast Project, an expansion of pipeline capacity to supply cheaper natural gas to fire the company’s electric generation stations. The plan includes a new liquefied natural gas facility in Acushnet. 

The proposed pipeline would extend through most of Massachusetts, including Medway and Upton. The company plans for ratepayers to finance the cost of the new pipeline project, which has been estimated to cost $3 billion."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160301/eversource-pipeline-plan-debated

screen grab of one of the slides from the Spectra Energy presnetayion

Eversource is the parent company of Spectra Energy. Spectra is looking to add a 30" pipeline to the existing 24" pipeline running through parts of Franklin. The Spectra folks made their presentation to the Town Council meeting on Wed Feb 24. 

• The video is available on the Franklin webpage 

http://view.earthchannel.com/PlayerController.aspx?&PGD=franknma&eID=331

• My notes are available here

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/02/town-council-022416.html

It Takes a Village: Jefferson Elementary

Wendy Kemper and Renee Tolonen, members of the Parent Communication Council at Jefferson Elementary School, let the public know about the powerful enrichment activities planned for the school and also make a plea for others to join them in their efforts to keep these invaluable opportunities going. 

See them on Franklin Cable Access TV this week:

• Tuesday at 9:00 a.m
• Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
• Saturday, 8:30 p.m.

Franklin TV

Verizon Channel 26; Comcast Channel 8

It does Take a Village....


For the full schedule of Franklin TV 
http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf

My notes from Chris Herren's powerful personal talk are captured here.

(be sure to scroll within the Storify widget to review all the entries)
Storify was an internet service that has gone away. I downloaded the files but need to spend time to re-do the posts.

Chris Herren tells the story behind August 1, 2008

Chris Herren tells it like it is

The SAFE Coalition featured Chris Herren at the auditorium of Franklin High School on Monday, Feb 29, 2016

1. 
   

   #safe-CH0229 Jim Derrick, President of the SAFE Coalition introducing Chris Herren pic.twitter.com/fOsmZ2IXvZ

   
   

   STEVE SHERLOCK@FRANKLINMATTERS

   ·

   3 YEARS AGO
   
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. There are a couple of videos that are worth seeing to hear Chris' message. The ESPN documentary is 80 minutes and well worth it vimeo.com/79305689 A 16 minute TEDx talk is also worthy  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAZ9aL30qOI
5. 
   

   #safe-ch0229 Chris Herren brings his talk to an almost full house. "I never believed it would happen to me" pic.twitter.com/mAtVDpTQYM

   
   

   STEVE SHERLOCK@FRANKLINMATTERS

   ·

   3 YEARS AGO
   
6. 
   

   #safe-ch0229 "I did not know that one pill was going to change my life" pic.twitter.com/DjdBRw8nki

   
   

   STEVE SHERLOCK@FRANKLINMATTERS

   ·

   3 YEARS AGO
   
7. 
   

   Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

   #safe-ch0229 "I don't remember hearing my name announced as starting guard" only 1 of 7 born in NE to hear that

   
   

   3 YEARS AGO
   
8. 
   

   #safe-ch0229 "I was 24 and a drug addict." pic.twitter.com/4dVydCwCZM

   
   

   STEVE SHERLOCK@FRANKLINMATTERS

   ·

   3 YEARS AGO
   
9. 
   

   Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

   #safe-ch0229 "at 18 I had all the answers, at 27 I couldn't answer my 5 yr old's question"

   
   

   3 YEARS AGO
   
10. 
    

    Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

    #safe-ch0229 "we push them athleticly, we push them academically but we don't challenge them emotionally, check in with them socially"

    
    

    3 YEARS AGO
    
11. 
    

    Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

    #safe-ch0229 "most parents are afraid to ask why? Why is the question that hurts"

    
    

    3 YEARS AGO
    
12. 
    

    Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

    #safe-ch0229 "I think parents forget how awkward high school is"

    
    

    3 YEARS AGO
    
13. 
    

    Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

    #safe-ch0229 "hopefully health and wellness will be a core class one day"

    
    

    3 YEARS AGO
    
14. 
    

    Steve Sherlock@FranklinMatters

    #safe-ch0229 "the wealthier the community, the worse the drugs are. Poor kids can't buy drugs"

    
    

    3 YEARS AGO

Tri-County Regional Rolls Out Summer Camp Offerings

Registration is now open for Tri-County Regional’s summer camp offerings.

The high school’s summer program, formerly known as “Summer Camps at Tri-County”, underwent a rebranding this winter and is now known as “Tri-County Summer STEAM Camp”. School administrators felt adding the word STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, would better encompass the true nature of the program offerings.

“Tri-County Camps are unique because each one was developed by experts in the industry and aligns with required skills for entry-level employment in each of the industries represented. Campers will work in laboratories that closely mimic the real world workplace and will perform tasks that are not only challenging, but fun,” explained Jean George, Director of Vocational Education at Tri-County.

Tri-County Steam Camp

Tri-County’s licensed teachers use their industry expertise to teach campers about everything from Engineering Technology to Cosmetology. During the week-long camps, students will learn how to program a video game, build like an engineer, or cook like a chef. These creative activities allow campers to hone valuable STEAM skills during the summer months.

“STEAM Camp at Tri-County will get kids excited about learning in an environment that doesn’t feel like ‘school’,” said Jean George. “Summer is the best time to delve deeper into something that truly interests each student, and our camps will not disappoint!”

Several of Tri-County’s most popular camps, including Minecraft Camp and Engineering Camp, will make a comeback this year. New offerings include Cyber Camp and Kerbal Space Program Camp. Full camp descriptions are available on the high school’s website.

Camps will be offered in five, one-week sessions beginning on July 18 and ending on August 19. The cost of each camp will be $210. Enrollment in each program is limited to students entering grades 6, 7, and 8 in September 2016. Students living in the Tri-County District are given preference for enrollment. Early registration is highly recommended as the camps are expected to fill up. All programs are subject to adequate enrollment.

A completed registration form and payment in full must be received in order to be registered. To learn more or to register, please visit www.tri-county.us