In the News: Milford schools exploring panic button; Master Plan progress noted

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"School officials are targeting a February date to debut a smart phone panic button program to better alert faculty, staff, students and families in the event of an emergency. 

The Rave Mobile Safety program will be implemented sometime in late winter, said Superintendent Kevin McIntyre at Thursday's School Committee meeting. 

IT Director Matthew Joseph has taken on the rollout of the program, working "hand-in-hand" with the Police Department and Chief Tom O'Loughlin. 

Joseph, O'Loughlin and school administrators have been working throughout the school year on the program, which is essentially a smart phone app that allows a faculty member to alert authorities with the click of a button."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170105/milford-schools-smart-phone-panic-button-program-coming-in-february

"Town officials said Franklin has made good progress over the past year toward its master plan goals, but the town still needs less costly housing. 

The Town Council considered the matter at its Wednesday night meeting as part of a yearly review. 

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said one of the highlights of the town's 2016 efforts involved improving the DelCarte Conservation Property, which helps fulfill a goal that the town protect natural resources. 

"A management study for the DelCarte property is out," he said, adding that the town was beginning its efforts to combat invasive weeds in the ponds there."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170105/franklin-council-reviews-master-plan-progress

frozen pond at DelCarte

Senior Center: January 2017 - Franklin Connection Newsletter

Please note the new Issue of The Franklin Connection newsletter has been published -->> January's Newsletter (PDF)

Read more: http://www.franklinma.gov/node/72413

expanded parking lot at the Senior Center will accommodate more
parking when the 2nd floor and renovations are complete

Empty Bowls Club Needs Some Helping Hands: Register now to make bowls to fight hunger March 4

The Franklin High School Empty Bowls Club will hold a bowl-making event on Saturday, March 4 to help make ceramic bowls in preparation for the 2nd Annual Empty Bowls Dinner on May 2. Anyone 8 years or older is invited to this free, community event to create bowls out of clay which will be used in the May 2 fundraiser benefitting the Franklin Food Pantry.

The event, held from 10 a.m. to Noon in Room 138 at FHS, is limited to the first 25 people who register. All materials and instruction are provided for free. Pre-registration is required and can be done online at franklinfoodpantry.org/give-help/volunteer/empty-bowls/.

Event participants will make bowls out of clay that will later
be painted and glazed for the 2nd Annual Empty Bowls Dinner

“We are opening our studio to engage the public in a worthwhile project that addresses hunger in our own community,” says Brenna Johnson, FHS art teacher and instructor for the Empty Bowls Club. “It’s a great opportunity for families or friends to experience a craft activity together while supporting a meaningful cause.”

The clay bowls will be fired, painted and glazed in preparation for the Empty Bowls Dinner to raise money for the Pantry. Dinner attendees choose one of the hand-made bowls to take home as a reminder that “somewhere, someone’s bowl is empty.” The May 2 fundraiser, which includes a simple meal of soup and bread, is meant to remind guests of the many “empty bowls” that exist in the lives of those who experience hunger.

About the Franklin High School Empty Bowls Club

Franklin High School is participating in an international charity project called Empty Bowls, which supports hungry people in local communities. The first part of this project is to make ceramic bowls with students, faculty, district K-12 art teachers, and the Franklin community. Then, the Empty Bowls Club and the Franklin Food Pantry co-host a community meal of soup and bread. All funds raised at this event are donated to the Franklin Food Pantry.

About the Franklin Food Pantry

The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities once a month to 504 households, including more than 300 children. Clients have access to bread and fresh produce daily during Pantry hours. As a nonprofit organization, the Pantry depends entirely on donations, and receives no town or state funding. Other programs include a Mobile Pantry, Cooking Matters classes, a Healthy Futures Market, emergency food bags and holiday meal packages. The Pantry is located at 43 W. Central St. in Franklin on Route 140 across from the Franklin Fire Station. Visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.

FHS girls indoor track post win; boys indoor track and girls basketball lose on Wednesday

From HockomockSports we share the results from the FHS winter sports action on Wednesday


Girls Basketball = Franklin, 38 vs. Bishop Fenwick, 47 – Final 

– Bishop Fenwick used a 17-8 run in the third quarter to turn a four point lead into a double-digit advantage. Carli Koffinke led the Panthers with 13 points while Ali Brigham added eight points, Kate Morse had six points and Bea Bondhus chipped in with five points.

Boys Indoor Track (@ Reggie Lewis Center) = Franklin, 18 vs. Mansfield, 82 – Final

– Mansfield picked up first place finishes in nine events and swept first, second and third in four of them. Nick Horn won the 300M, Mike Shannon was first in the 600M, Sean Lanzillo crossed first in the 1 Mile, Kevin McCree won the shot put and Jack Olsen won the high jump. Kevin Crawford, Nick Rispoli and Jackson Murphy swept the 1000M, Paxton Howard, Cullen Lancaster and Eric McQuiggan swept the 2 Mile, Aidan Sacco, Jareme DiLorenzo and Cameron McIntyre swept the 55M hurdles and Kyle Haley, DiLorenzo and Sacco swept the long jump. Franklin’s Tucker Cherry won the 55M dash.

Boys Indoor Track (@ Reggie Lewis Center) = Franklin, 67 vs. Mansfield, 33 – Final

– Franklin and Mansfield split with six first place finishes apiece but the Panthers came through win the win. Jess Kroushl won the 55M dash, Halle Atkinson was first in the 300M, Nicole Clermont won the 1 Mile, Katherine Hartnett crossed first in the 2 Mile, Lauren McGrath won the 55M hurdles and Miranda Smith won the shot put. Mansfield’s Caitlin Whitman won the 600M, Lauren Duggan was first in the 1000M, Amanda Mangano took first in the high jump and Angela Corkery won the long jump.

For the remainder of the results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/wednesdays-schedule-scoreboard-010417/

FHS Panthers

Details on each event at the Hockomock indoor track meet can be found here

• Boys

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/ma/Jan4_Hockom_set2.shtml

• Girls

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/ma/Jan4_Hockom_set3.shtml

Economic Development Committee - endorsed storage use proposal, to set joint workshop

I used Twitter to capture my notes from the short (approx 15 minutes) Economic Development Committee meeting on Wednesday.

EDC meeting: discussion on storage use per zoning; currently only allowed in CII and not in industrial zone. #edc0104

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 4, 2017

EDC meeting: motion to endorse the zoning change for storage use in industrial zone, passed unanimously #edc0104

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 4, 2017

EDC meeting: proposal for joint workshop with Town Council, Planning Board, and Planning Dept to be scheduled #edc0104

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 4, 2017

REMINDER: 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node meeting - Thursday, Jan 5, 2017

Hey, climate fighters,

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays that suited your needs!  I knew I wanted a break and I got exactly what I needed.

Now that we've had our respite, it's time to ramp up and wake up our climate spirits by participating in some exciting and fun actions coming up.  If you received Katherine Anderson's Climate Movement Weekly Update yesterday, you have an idea of what they are.  Links to sign-ups are in the newsletter (you should be receiving it--let me know if you aren't), so let's have a good showing at these events!  It's always a blast when 350 Mass activists get together! 

• Mon, Jan 9   Day Against Denial rally, Park St. T, Boston Common
• Sat, Jan 14   Bill McKibben and Tim DeChristopher forum, First Parish Church, Harvard Square, Cambridge
• Sat, Jan 14   #NoDAPL Solidarity Fundraiser Sing-Along, Arlington
• Wed, Jan 25  Mass Power Forward Lobby Day, State House
• Sat, Jan 28   350 Mass day-long Organizing and Advocacy Training, Boston (TBD)

We shouldn't be lulled into thinking there's nothing to do since Spectra has hit the Pause Button (for now!); we have the gift of time to make our numbers even stronger!  More grassroots outreach and publicity, Con Comms, Mass Power Forward business outreach, legislative work--we'll talk about details at the meeting.

Part of the Spectra fight will likely be in the legislature, convincing our legislators to say NO to the pipeline tax and YES to other non-carbon solutions. 

New Volunteer Opportunities: If you'd like to work on 350 Mass' legislative goals, you could be part of the 350 Mass Legislative Team either as a State Legislative Team member for the node OR a Point Person for your own legislator (see the link for more details).  And since this node covers 17 towns, that's a fair number of legislators to work with!  We'd like to have people fill these roles for each of the nodes.  I'll be happy to answer questions how that would work, or if I can't, put you in touch with Andy Gordon, the 350 Mass Legislative Coordinator.

I've also done some outreach to the Nipmuck Nation to see if they'd like to work with us to pressure the Dakota Access banks, so we'll see what comes of that.

So bring your calendars to the meeting THURSDAY and we can put our heads together and get things rolling! 

Same time, same place: 7:00-9:00 pm, First Universalist Society, 262 Chestnut Street, Franklin.

See you then!

Carolyn Barthel, Coordinator

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node
508-473-3305

In the News: empty bowls adds workshop; Town Council decides "no" on joint hearings

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Early response to the second annual "Empty Bowls" dinner has already exceeded expectations. 

The event - held by the Franklin High School's Empty Bowls Club - looks to raise awareness of hunger by bringing in community members for a simple meal and auctioning off hand-made bowls to remind them that "somewhere, someone's bowl is empty." Proceeds from the dinner benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. 

Brenna Johnson, an art teacher at the high school, said the club restarted operations last year after several years of inactivity. 

"We approached the Franklin Food Pantry and worked together, hand-in-hand, to construct the event," she said. "We raised over $6,000 that night - it blew us away."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170104/franklin-empty-bowls-event-exceeds-expectations

Event participants will make bowls out of clay that will later
be painted and glazed for the 2nd Annual Empty Bowls Dinner

"The Town Council will not hold joint public hearings with the Planning Board on zoning matters. 

The council Wednesday night considered a proposal to streamline the public hearing process by convening hearings with both the council and board present. 

The idea was first raised by Councilor Deborah Pellegri, who asked at a prior meeting for a discussion. 

Pellegri said she believed such sessions have been held in the past.
"For myself, I think it would be very helpful," she said. "We might be asking questions that, perhaps, we can't answer. The Planning Board could be right there (to answer)."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170104/franklin-council-opts-against-joint-meetings