The Health Department is providing this downloadable poster for essential businesses. Find it here and on our website. https://t.co/tsqPt2qsHP https://t.co/v2jAYFyeyQ
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| Town of Franklin - Health Department: Poster for Essential Businesses |
"Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and HHS Secretary Marylou Sudders provided an update on the Commonwealth's response to COVID-19, including the latest on the Community Tracing Collaborative, the Reopening Advisory Board, and a new request related to FEMA reimbursements"
"Our phone calls will use the prefix 833 and 857 and your phone will say the call is from “MA COVID Team.” Calls will be made daily from 8 a.m. to 8 PM"
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| COVID-19 Update on Contact Tracting |
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| FM #253 Senior Ctr Nurse Trish Collatos 4/23/20 (audio) |
A new Department Spotlight is available! Find it here and stay informed and connected with Town operations and services! #spotlight #finance #treasurercollector #learnmore
"This Town of Franklin spotlight will cover two departments that work together very closely, the Finance Department and the Treasurer/Collector. Department Heads Chris Sandini, Finance Director and Kerri Bertone, Treasurer/Collector, manage and oversee all of the financial aspects of doing business in our Town.
Chris has been Franklin's Finance Director since January 2018, having worked in the role for 23 years and as an auditor of municipalities for 10 years prior. The main functions of the Finance Department are to maintain the general ledger, manage payroll across the municipality payroll and handle all accounts payable.
Kerri Bertone has been the Treasurer/Collector since August of 2017. Prior to her employment in Franklin, Kerri worked in the private sector at Putnam Investments for 21 years as a senior operations manager. She joined Franklin's team in 2016 as an assistant.
Franklin is known for being pro-active with staff succession planning, and Kerri was completely prepared to assume the role after the legendary Town Treasurer/Collector, Jim Dacey, retired after nearly two decades in the position."
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| Department Spotlight: Finance Department and the Treasurer/Collector |
"The Senior Center is collecting cards, notes and protective masks to distribute to our elderly and disabled community members. A donation box will be made available beginning this afternoon. Thank you in advance!"
@FranklinSrCntr #community #seniors #connections https://t.co/IFoB1y4eaN
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| Senior Center is collecting cards, notes and protective masks |
"MRN Diagnostics, a Franklin-based company and a member of the Franklin Downtown Partnership, has developed a rapid COVID-19 antibody test. Last week, Dr. Greg Chiklis and other researchers at MRN Diagnostics received emergency FDA approval for a tool that could be key in combating the coronavirus. The tests can determine whether you've been exposed to the virus and how much immunity you may have.
Thank you to Dr. Chiklis and his team for being part of the solution. We are excited to report this positive news story."
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| Dr. Greg Chiklis and MRN Diagnostics in the News |
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"Alexis Forgit, a Milford High School special education teacher, said some of her pupils have been automatically putting their backpacks on in the morning, not understanding why they are not going to school.Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
Several weeks ago, Alysia Butler’s sons could step out of class if they felt overwhelmed. One-on-one paraprofessionals, shared aides, behaviorists and other support staff helped them navigate the tough situations that would surface throughout the day.
Class has since shifted onto the online video-conferencing app Zoom in wake of the coronavirus. For the four boys and other children on the autism spectrum, the video calls can be draining.
“Fifteen minutes in, they have to check out,” said Butler, of Hopedale. “They can’t do that (on a Zoom call). You are expected to be there and present.”
"UMass Medical School plans to furlough 100 employees for up to six months in an effort to rein in costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school announced the move in an internal memo on Wednesday.
The furloughed workers account for nearly 2% of the medical school’s workforce of around 6,000 employees. They could be brought back sooner than six months, and will still receive their health care coverage while they are furloughed, according to school spokeswoman Sarah Willey.
The furloughs are expected to go into effect next week. Willey did not have any information on Wednesday about which departments would be affected; Wednesday’s memo said they would happen “across all business units.”
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| State Rep Jeff Roy in one of the UMass Medical classroom with an interactive system of the body |
"After three years of searching for a new home, the Franklin Food Pantry has finally found it - and it’s not too far from where it is now.
On Monday, the Franklin Food Pantry announced that it had purchased the former Dante’s Motors Inc. building at 138 East Central St. and that it intended to make that location its new home. The existing pantry is at 43 West Central St., just a mile away.
“It works - it’s close to where we are now and it’s an empty shell,” said pantry Executive Director Lynn Calling of the new building. She said it allows the pantry to continue serving those who find the current location convenient. The new location is just as accessible and has sidewalks leading to it, she said.
The price to acquire 138 East Central St. was $465,000, according to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. The building is 5,360 square feet, according to real estate website Loopnet.com. By comparison, the current space where the pantry operates is 3,600 square feet."
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| Franklin Food Pantry lands new home |
"A regional planning agency has developed a new tool to help communities streamline the way they catalog greenhouse gases emitted in their communities.
The Boston-based Metropolitan Area Planning Council has launched its so-called “Community Greenhouse Inventory Tool” - an Excel document that provides a template for municipalities to track greenhouse gas emissions by sector and year.
Accompanying the Excel document is one that outlines how municipalities can use it.
The agency hopes that by providing centralized documents that outline the state’s approach to calculating greenhouse gas emissions, municipalities will be better equipped to accurately, consistently and uniformly track how residents are emitting greenhouse gases."
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| MAPC provides Community Greenhouse Inventory Tool |
Note: Yes, this is different from the notice made earlier this week about the PTC Project and I would have hoped that there would have been a little more coordination about the two announcements. For those looking to take the train to Boston on the weekend, take it from downtown's Dean Station and not Forge Park.https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/04/mbta-starting-saturday-may-2-franklin.html
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| shuttle buses will replace train service on the Franklin Line between Franklin and Forge Park |
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| screengrab of Board of Health meeting April 27, 2020 |
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| screengrab of broadcast on announcement |
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| VFJ Renovations, Inc. |
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| Veterans Virtual Coffee Social - May 6 |
