Diwali Festival celebrated at Franklin Library

The Indian Diwali Festival was celebrated by around 400 people on Saturday afternoon. 4th District Congressman Jake Auchincloss along with District Director Dana Hanson joined the festivities at America's First Public Library. 

The significance of the Indian Festival of Lights Diwali is victory of Good over Evil.

The program started with prayer and followed by colorful Bollywood Dances and Indian traditional kid dances.

Yummy sweets and brunch boxes were served for Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians.

Photos and text submitted by community correspondent KP Sompally

Congressman Auchincloss poses with some of the gathering

Congressman Auchincloss gives remarks to the gathering

some of the sweets gathered comments

Franklin Garden Club to Sell Decorated Holiday Wreaths and Arrangements

(in person) The Franklin Garden Club will sell decorated holiday wreaths on Saturday, December 4 from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Daddario’s Hardware Store, 528 West Central Street, Franklin, MA.  

(online) In addition, holiday fresh floral arrangements will be sold on Instagram from December 6 – 20. The Franklin Garden Club Instagram handle is @franklingardenclubma (https://www.instagram.com/franklingardenclubma/). The sales will benefit several different club activities.

The real wreaths will be decorated in a variety of colors and styles and will include eye-catching bows and other ornamentation. Many will include a variety of greens.  They will be reasonably priced from $25 - $35.  The floral arrangements, created with fresh flowers and greens, will feature either holiday or winter themes and will be priced from $15 - $25.

Payment for the wreaths and centerpieces may be made through credit card, check, cash, or Venmo.

Club Co-Presidents Janice Cederquist and Mary Anne Dean stated, “We are very excited to offer area residents the opportunity to purchase beautiful holiday wreaths and arrangements created by members of the Franklin Garden Club.  This will help those who may not have the time to decorate their own wreaths or make arrangements, while also assisting the Club. All proceeds will benefit Garden Club activities, including the Club scholarship, pine tree seedling program for elementary school students, some of the Franklin Common and library plantings, and education programs open to the public. 

The Franklin Garden Club is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.   https://www.gcfm.org/franklin-garden-club

 

Franklin Garden Club to Sell Decorated Holiday Wreaths and Arrangements 

Franklin TV: Still Growing - The Only Constant is Change

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director, Franklin●TV & wfpr●fm 11/14/2021

There are brief moments when I believe (mistakenly) that at some point (Soon?) our technical facilities will be finalized and complete.  Silly me.

When Franklin●TV began in 2012 it was crude – steampunk compared to today’s digital world. We simply played back DVDs and video tapes over three standard TV channels provided by Comcast and Verizon. Done.

The decade has been a whirlwind of technical change and growth. It hasn’t let up. Today is about multimedia, multichannel, multiplatform publishing.  Multi-challenges.  (Yikes!)  Our old SDTV channels live on. Now we also stream our programs and live events over the internet in High Definition. We also provide Videos-on-Demand, we broadcast on the FM dial (102.9) 24/7. We produce and post many new podcasts each week on our radio website, wfpr●fm. We’ve also seen requests for copies of our shows shift from DVDs to High Definition Downloads.

Sooooo- what’s upcoming? What else are we working on? Instant On Demand Video posting immediately after each live meeting and event. Expanded government meetings and live location events coverage. Adding closed captions to many of our programs. This in turn will provide text of interviews and meetings via Franklin Matters.

We are also expanding our network to studios in nearby towns. More sports events are being cablecast regionally. Yes, we are still growing, and that doesn’t happen by standing still – not even for a brief moment.

And –  as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm 
And, thank you for watching

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf  or for archive purposes  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fb9bLbkIs2T0p52CiIvp9VRtY7FPftjX/view?usp=sharing

Franklin TV: Still Growing - The Only Constant is Change

Town Council - 11/10/21 - re-organization, open meeting law, council comments (audio)

FM #657-658-659 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 657-658-659 in the series. 

This session shares part of the Franklin, MA Town Council meeting held on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. 

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Town Council and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, some members of the public participated in person, some via the Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

I’ve split the just about one hour and fifty minutes (1:50 total elapsed time) into three (3) logical segments:

• Part 1 -> covers the opening, Town Clerk swearing in, Town Council swearing, organization vote to select Chair, Vice-chair and Clerk, citizen comments, appointment approvals of four for the Cultural Council and multiple license transactions (~34 mins) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/f43eaefe-d2ea-4926-a275-074746a41c9f

• Part 2 -> covers the Open Meeting Law, Ethics, and Records presentation and Q&A session led by Attorney Mark Cerel (~ 43 minutes)  https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e54c21c9-2901-4d32-8ab3-b87e725b095e

• Part 3 -> covers the Legislation for Action, Council Comments, then they enter Executive Session not to return to open meeting (~ 33 minutes) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0ebadfc4-56b9-4ac7-8a40-57f0e4479b08

The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda. Let’s listen to this segment of the Town Council meeting of Nov 10, 2021

--------------

Agenda document -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/franklin-ma-town-council-meeting-agenda.html

My notes from the meeting  ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/recap-town-council-reorganizes-sort-of.html

Town Council Quarterbacking session (a short recap with Council Chair Tom Mercer) ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/town-council-quarterbacking-111221-audio.html

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

 

For additional information, please visit www.Franklinmatters.org   or www.franklin.news 

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Chair Tom Mercer, flanked by Vice Chair Bob Dellorco (left), Clerk Glenn Jones (right)

Franklin High School - yes, there are THREE final four games scheduled this week!

First up FHS field hockey takes on Andover on Tuesday, Nov 16

Full MIAA bracket ->  http://miaa.statebrackets.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=5764

FHS field hockey takes on Andover on Tuesday, Nov 16

Then FHS volleyball takes on Needham on Wednesday, Nov 17

Full MIAA bracket -> http://miaa.statebrackets.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=5756

FHS volleyball takes on Needham on Wednesday, Nov 17

And last but not least, FHS football takes on Springfield Central on Saturday, Nov 20

Full MIAA bracket -> http://miaa.statebrackets.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=5746

FHS football takes on Springfield Central on Saturday, Nov 20

Franklin, MA: Industry in Franklin - video by Joe Landry

This video highlights the many mills and factories that were in Franklin over the years.

video link -> https://youtu.be/AlVAnMVnQ_M

YMCA - Open House for Group Exercise & Personal Training Programs - Nov 19-20

Join us on Friday, November 19th and Saturday, November 20th for an Open House to experience our Group Exercise and Personal Training programs at the Y! This is a 2-day health & wellness celebration at our Y to try something new and challenge yourself. Bring your friends (for free) to the Open House, too! No registration required.

We will have personal trainers, wellness floor staff, and our nutritionist available to welcome you and answer your wellness questions. See you at the Y! 

For more information visit the Y online -> https://www.hockymca.org/wellness-open-house/ 

YMCA - Open House for Group Exercise & Personal Training Programs - Nov 19-20

Thanksgiving Pop-up!! announced by Night Owl Farm

Thanksgiving Pop-up! Thanksgiving Pop-up! We may have closed the farm stand for the season, but that doesn't mean the season is over! We still have veggies growing in the greenhouse, they are just growing MUCH slower now with the reduced heat and daylight. This inspired our decision to have "pop ups" as the veggies mature rather than have a less than stunning selection for your each week. Our very first pop-up is live NOW! Our pop ups are all pre-order only, and the ordering window for this pop up is Monday, November 15th to Friday, November 19th at 7:00am. This gives us time to pack orders and then have your orders available for pick up by Sunday morning at 10am! We have LOTS of delicious veggies for sale (all organic!) as well as all of the items we had for sale in the stand. If you're interested, place your order using the link here -> https://night-owl-farm.square.site/   or below (in the button) Shop our Pop-up Sale Fall Farm Update I had these grand visions of sending a monthly update about the farm to our Newsletter sign-ups…. But seeing as it's now November, that clearly didn't happen! Haha So, instead, I'll just share a little bit about how this season went. This season was (and continues to be!) so much better than I could have hoped. We have had some struggles throughout the season, but that's to be expected with any first year farm. The good news is it was nothing we couldn't come back from. We've had some support and mentorship from really talented farmers in the area. I couldn't imagine doing this without them. Special thanks to Grateful Farm, Ramble On Acres, Upswing Farm, and White Barn Farm for the endless support, and for helping beef up my CSA when I've needed it! The truly incredible thing is that you all have been so supportive. I've been absolutely blown away by the amount of interest and encouragement I've received from the community. I'm so lucky to be starting a business like this in a community that cares so deeply about the local economy and great food. We have some VERY exciting plans in store for next year. More on those details as we get closer, but we are thrilled to be seeing the farm grow and expand so quickly. At the end of the day, this first year experience was better than I could have imagined. I am so thankful for you all for the support that's allowing me to do what I love. 2022 CSAs We had an overall excellent first CSA. I enjoyed packing each individual box for our members, and getting to know them a little bit more at each pick up. So much so that we will be expanding our CSA next year! 2022 CSAs will go on sale in January to those who are on our waitlist. If you haven't joined yet, please do so by following the link below! Sign up for the CSA Waitlist Copyright © 2021, Night Owl Farm, All rights reserved.

Night Owl Farm · 49 Prospect Street · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA

Stockdale Paradox: stoically accepting reality while maintaining faith in the endgame

"Every good-to-great company faced significant adversity along the way to greatness, of one sort or another. … In every case, the management team responded with a powerful psychological duality. On the one hand, they stoically accepted the brutal facts of reality. On the other hand, they maintained an unwavering faith in the endgame, and a commitment to prevail as a great company despite the brutal facts. We came to call this duality the Stockdale Paradox.

The name refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking United States military officer in the "Hanoi Hilton" prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Tortured over twenty times during his eight-year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoner's rights, no set release date, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again. …"

Read more about the Stockdale Paradox online -> 

https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/Stockdale-Concept.html

Listen to Shane Parish's discussion with Jim Collins. Before they close their conversation, they talk about the Stockdale Paradox ->  https://fs.blog/knowledge-podcast/jim-collins-2/

Stockdale Paradox: stoically accepting reality while maintaining faith in the endgame

Link for Strong Towns event Nov 15 - 9:30 AM (updated)

Updated:

Event Details for Congressman Jake Auchincloss’s Municipal Leaders Town Hall featuring Special Guests Charles Marohn of Strong Towns, State Representative Jeff Roy, and Franklin Town Councilor Cobi Frongillo

When: Monday, November 15 from 9:30 – 10:30 AM
Where: THE BLACK BOX theater (Home of the Franklin Performing Arts Company) at 15 West Central St, Franklin MA 02038

• Free parking is available next to and behind the theater, and on Main Street.
• We request that participants wear face coverings at this indoor event. We will have masks and hand sanitizer available at the entrance to the event.
• Questions? Please contact Dana Hanson at dana.hanson@mail.house.gov.

To participate in person please RSVP at -> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzI0bJ4hSQPlAXpngN5rbv_GWUle6ghAOzKQIh47wTzwUl9Q/viewform

This will be live streamed on Franklin.TV All-Access (online, Comcast 8, Verizon 26)

Remote link and live streaming info -> https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83485517073

Link for Strong Towns event Nov 15 - 9:30 AM

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Nov 17, 2021

FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL

Agenda & Meeting Packet

November 17, 2021 - 7:00 PM

Meeting will be held at the Municipal Building

2nd floor, Council Chambers

355 East Central Street

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.
b. Chair to Identify Members Participating Remotely.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS
a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to five minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. October 20, 2021   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/3a._october_20_2021_tc_meeting_minutes_-_draft_for_review.pdf

4. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS - None Scheduled

5. APPOINTMENTS - None Scheduled

6. HEARINGS - 7:10pm - None Scheduled
7. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS- None Scheduled

8. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
a. Discussion: Franklin Housing Authority   

9. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Capital Budget Subcommittee
b. Budget Subcommittee
c. Economic Development Subcommittee
 
10. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
a. Resolution 21-68: Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Dept ($1,000), Historical Commission ($100) (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-68 - Majority Vote)   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/11-17_resolution_21-68_gifts.pdf
b. Resolution 21-69: General Funds Appropriation, Transfers and Adjustments FY22
(Motion to Approve Resolution 21-69 - Majority Vote)  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/11-17-21_10b._21-69_resolution_and_memo_fy22_1.pdf
c. Resolution 21-70: Appropriation of Cannabis Fees
(Motion to Approve Resolution 21-70 - Majority Vote)  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/11-17-21_10c._21-70_resolution_and_memo_cannabis_fees.pdf
d. Resolution 21-71: Appropriation to Pay Prior Years’ Bills
(Motion to Approve Resolution 21-71 - ⅔ Majority Vote)  
e. Resolution 21-72: Order of Taking Approximately Seventy (70) Acres of Unimproved Land Off Maple Street (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-72 - ⅔ Majority Vote)  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/11-17-21_10e._resolution_and_memo_taking_of_70_acres_land.pdf
f. Resolution 21-73: Acceptance of Open Space, Access and Parking Easements at Brookview Condominium Located Off Pond Street (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-73 - Majority Vote)  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/11-17-21_10f._21-73_memo_resolution_and_exh_1_-.pdf

11. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

12. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

13. COUNCIL COMMENTS

14. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled.

15. ADJOURN

Note:
Two-Thirds Vote: requires 6 votes
Majority Vote: requires majority of members present and voting

Full agenda doc (with remote connection info)  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/town_council_meeting_agenda_nov_17_2021.pdf

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Nov 17, 2021

Town Council Quarterbacking - 11/12/21 (audio)

FM #656 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 656 in the series. 

This shares my conversation with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer. This is one of a series of conversations meant to provide a recap of the prior Council meeting. Akin to one of the many sports post-game analysis broadcasts we are familiar with in New England,  this would be a discussion focused on the Franklin Town Council meeting of November 10, 2021: 

• ok, what just happened? 

• What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?

We cover the following key topics

• Town Clerk Nancy Danello sworn in, then she swears in the Town Council

• Council reorganizes by nomination and vote to retain Mercer, Dellorco, and Jones as Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk respectfully; so while they have officially re-organized, there is no change in the leadership at this time

• Appointments of four individuals to Cultural Council approved

• Overview of Open Meeting, Law, Ethics, etc. provided by Attny Mark Cerel. As many times as I have seen this overview (8 times, I think?), it is good to review, something different catches my attention each time.

• Council entered Executive Session to discuss the latest on the Prospect St property situation and did not return to open session

• Finance Committee - reveals budget adjustments coming to council meeting Nov 17

The recording runs about 24 minutes:

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. The link to my notes taken during the meeting is also provided.

Let’s listen to this recording of Town Council Quarterbacking Nov 12, 2021

Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/079b36ea-5e70-4719-b2fa-7a5a14dcd78a 

--------------

Town Council Agenda doc (including connection info) ->  

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/franklin-ma-town-council-meeting-agenda.html 

 

My notes captured during the meeting -> 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/recap-town-council-reorganizes-sort-of.html

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Town Council Quarterbacking - 11/12/21 (audio)