Franklin's municipal aggregation saves $$ on your NationalGrid electric bill

"Massachusetts cities and towns with municipal aggregation are saving big $ and many have much more renewable energy than Eversource or National Grid."

Franklin residents can benefit from Municipal Aggregation with electricity from NationalGrid. It provides us a wind power generated electricity at a cheaper rate than NationalGrid provides.

Municipal Aggregation is easy. Unless you opted out, you likely already have it. For NationalGrid customers already with a provider contract or solar panels, opting out makes sense. For all others, being part of municipal aggregation saves money for no hassle.

Franklin's municipal aggregation

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/LarryChretien/status/1528910470484217857

Town of Franklin's municipal aggregation info

https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/municipal-aggregation

mass.gov info on competitive electric supply  https://www.mass.gov/service-details/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-my-electric-supply-options-in-massachusetts

NationalGrid rate table -> https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Rates/Supply-Costs 

Franklin Public Schools re-shares school safety resources

Dear Franklin Families,

Here at FPS, we continue to grieve for the families of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and we remain highly conscious of the responsibility we have to protect the safety of our students and staff. It has been difficult to find enough words to express our sorrow for the senseless loss of the lives of the students and teachers.

This past week has been challenging for our school community and school communities throughout the country. We applaud our building administrators and faculty/staff for working together to support students, families, and each other during this difficult time.

Safety remains our highest priority in Franklin’s schools. In October, we provided a school safety presentation to the School Committee and shared a letter with the community containing more specific information without compromising our safety measures with the public. We are re-sharing both resources for your reassurance. We also continually enhance our safety protocols and systems as new information, new technologies, and revised practices become available.

So that these links are close at hand, we continue to share links to a few resources:

• Helping your children manage distress in the aftermath of a shooting: https://www.apa.org/.../gun-violence.../shooting-aftermath
• Talking to children about terrorist attacks and school and community shootings in the news: https://www.schoolcrisiscenter.org/.../Guidelines-Talking...
• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers: https://www.nasponline.org/.../talking-to-children-about...
• School Safety Presentation: https://www.franklinps.net/.../10_12_21_fps_school_safety...

With love and care,

Franklin Public Schools

Shared from School Committee Chair Denise Spencer's Facebook posting

Franklin Public Schools re-shares school safety resources

"Who Will Clean Out The Desks"

"As part of teacher appreciation month, Morning Edition asked NPR's audience to write a poem about teachers who have had an impact on their lives. 

We put out this call a week before the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, so the majority of contributors are not reflecting on that horrific day but a late addition did reflect that loss. 

We received over 300 responses, and NPR's poet in residence Kwame Alexander took lines from submissions to create a community poem. 

This poem is dedicated to all teachers, but especially to Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles, fourth grade teachers who lost their lives at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde."

Continue reading the community generated poem online

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59447/who-will-clean-out-the-desks-a-crowdsourced-poem-in-praise-of-teachers

 

A teacher cleans a desk in a classroom during a media tour at Dorothy Eisenberg Elementary School in Las Vegas.  (John Locher/AP)

Town of Franklin June 2022 E-Newsletter

Talk of the town - Strawberry Stroll, Water Conservation Measures, the Fire Department's Birthday and more!

Subscribe for News June 2022 Edition Strawberry Stroll - Featuring Franklin for All! Franklin Downtown Partnership will hold its Strawberry Stroll downtown on Friday, June 10 from 4pm-8pm (rain date June 11). Kick off your weekend with live music, giveaways, arts and community! Franklin For All will be at the Strawberry Stroll. Attendees will be able to connect with Franklin for All project staff regarding the proposed recommendations and enjoy a town sponsored magic mirror photo booth experience to document the fun and resident dreams of downtown revitalization. Find us at the intersection of Dean Ave and Main Street, directly across from the stage! Franklin for All is a study with the MAPC aimed at rezoning Franklin center for economic growth and diverse housing opportunities. Veterans' Services & Senior Center A Day of Remembrance with our VSO Thank you to all who joined us in honoring our fallen heroes during our Memorial Day Parade and Breakfast. Special shout out to VSO Shannon Nisbett and VSO Assistant Debra Martin for their efforts in coordinating these events! Veterans Memorial Walkway - The May installation of engraved bricks was completed. The next installation will be in November to coincide with Veterans' Day. Brick order forms are available in the Town Hall and Senior Center lobbies and on the Veterans' Services page on the Town website. Thank you to all who have supported this project by purchasing bricks for their special veterans . Purple Hearts - Please let the Veterans' Services Office know if you or a family member (residing in Franklin) is a Purple Heart recipient so we can add you to our database. The Purple Heart is presented to service members who have been wounded or killed as a result of enemy action while serving in the U.S. Military. National Purple Heart Day is celebrated on August 7 every year. Senior Center Happenings! It's game on for our First Annual Senior Olympics, which will be held June 13 - 17! Please complete the registration form by June 6 if you're interested in participating. Register here for the monthly June GO FOR THE GOLD Party on Friday, June 13 to end our Olympics week with a delicious BBQ on our new grill! Live Entertainment by Lenny Zarcone Get ready for the new Rainbow Café! Are you an ally or member of the LGBTQ+ community? Come join like minded folks for coffee, conversation, and friendship! Meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of each month at 10am. Please call (508)-520- 4945 to register. Stay connected with the Senior Center via our newsletter! The newsletter was shortened for publication here. To view the full set of contents, visit the Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/newsletter-archive-0

Franklin TV and wfpr.fm schedule for Thursday, June 2, 2022

• wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Thursday

9:00a/12:00p/6:00p   A Priest, A Minister and a Rabbi

10:00a/1:00p/7:00p   Frank’s Music – Frank Falvey and Jim Derick

11:00a/2:00p/8:00pm   Frank Presents – Frank Falvey Presents 

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26) = Thursday

7:30 am Cooking Thyme: Fish

8:00 am Veterans' Call: Social Security

9:00 am Arts Advocacy: Fundraising

10:30 am SAFE Coalition: Michelle Palladini

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Scones

12:30 pm Sandya: Pasta

1:00 pm Physician Focus: Common and Emerging Diseases

1:30 pm Pizzapalooza: Margherita Pizza

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Fall 2019 Show 2

3:00 pm Let's Talk Sports: Episode 3

3:30 pm Cooking Thyme: Fish

4:00 pm Once Upon A Town: Franklin 500

4:30 pm Frank Presents: Danielle Hopkins

5:30 pm Franklin Downtown Partnership: Strawberry Stroll 2019

7:00 pm Extended Play Sessions: Acoustic X

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28) = Thursday

7:00 am Public School Event: FHS Summer Music 2021

9:00 am FHS: Senior Awards Night 2022

12:00 pm FHS Boys Varsity Tennis: v Attleboro 06-10-21

1:00 pm Community Arts Advocacy Day: A Discussion

2:00 pm Public School Event: Concert Hour Day 1

3:30 pm FHS Varsity Baseball: v Taunton 05-11-22

9:30 pm FHS Track and Field v Milford 05-10-22

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29) = Thursday

8:00 am Conservation Commission: 05-26-22

2:00 pm Conservation Commission: 05-26-22

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm)

Franklin Cultural District - #Arts happening Here (through June 8)

June 1, and the Rogers and Hammerstein lyrics from Carousel appear in the grey matter:

"You can see it in the trees

You can smell it in the breeze

Look around! Look around! Look around!

June is bustin' out all over"   

This week may seem like a slow "busting out all over" but wait until you see next week! Arts are happening here!

LaCantina Winery

Wednesday, June 1 = First Day of LGBTQ+ Pride Month

Thursday, June 2
6:00pm - LaCantina Winery - Live Concert with Ayla Brown and Rob Bellamy. Tickets can be purchased here:  www.lacantinawinery.square.site

7:00pm - 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node (virtual meeting with climate activists)

Friday, June 3
2:00pm - Farmers Market (first market of the season on the Town Common) https://www.franklinfarmersmarketma.com/
6:00pm - 67 Degrees - Scott McGill Acoustic https://67degreesbrewing.com/event-calendar/scott-magill-acoustic/ 

Farmers Market

7:00pm - FHS Graduation (FHS Class of 2022) Franklin TV to broadcast live (Link forthcoming)
10:00pm - All Night Party (for the FHS Class of 2022)

Saturday, June 4 
10:00am - Historical Museum (always free) https://www.franklinmuseum1778.com/
12:00pm - The Dog Project (on the Town Common) hosted by Franklin Lion’s Club

The Dog Project

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/05/the-dog-project-scheduled-for-saturday.html 
5:30pm - 67 Degrees - Sudden Odd Behavior (SOB) https://67degreesbrewing.com/event-calendar/sudden-odd-behavior-sob-2/ 

Sunday, June 5

1:00pm - Historical Museum (always free)

Find the full calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar

The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26

Franklin Cultural District: Arts are happening here!

Jamie, Tom, & Lily join Steve to Talk Franklin, recap the budget, and look ahead to plenty of events (audio)

FM #810 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 810 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the special combination of “Talk Franklin” with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, and Town Council Quarterbacking with Chair Tom Mercer. 

Talk Franklin was on the schedule for Friday, and given the double meeting of the Town Council for the budget hearings, it made sense to cover our Town Council Quarterbacking session after both public hearings, hence combining them together.

Lily Rivera, Marketing & Communication Specialists joins us on the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend to recap the budget, town state of affairs and look out to the near term events coming in June, Farmers Market opens June 3rd, and then the Strawberry Festival and the Franklin For All booth on June 10 kicks off ArtWALK and the Ladybug Trail. 

The conversation runs about 44 minutes. Let’s listen into my conversation with Jamie, Tom and Lily.

Audio file -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/Talk-of-the-Town---Budget-and-Upcoming-Events-e1jauvc/a-a81g5o5

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Recap & audio for budget hearing #1

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/05/town-council-takes-4-hours-to-get-their.html 

Recap & audio for budget hearing #2

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/05/town-council-approves-fy-2023-budget.html 

Budget hearing #1 on YouTube for video replay

https://youtu.be/VfOe0X2AMiM 

Budget hearing #2 on YouTube for video replay

https://youtu.be/aY0ikJDyUTE

Keep up with events in Franklin via the Community Calendar

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.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!

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

Jamie, Tom, & Lily join Steve to Talk Franklin, recap the budget, and look ahead to plenty of events (audio)

Franklin Food Pantry Adds Two New Board Members

Franklin Food Pantry Adds Two New Board Members 

Elects New Chair of Board 

 

 

The Franklin Food Pantry (FFP) announced two new members to its Board of Directors. Community Members Rachel Flum and Judith Perez have joined the FFP Board to further its mission to provide immediate hunger relief and healthy sustainable solutions to neighbors within the Franklin area. Additionally, Board members will guide The Pantry's evolution of programing and services as it plans its relocation to 341 W Central St. Franklin, MA. Board member Chris Kilburn will now serve as Chairperson. Former Interim Chair, Jim Roche will continue to serve as Treasurer, and Suzanne Gendreau will continue her role as Clerk.  

"Both Rachel and Judith bring valuable skillsets to our board. Rachel has deep experience advocating for policy change to improve the economic well-being of low and modest-income people.  Judi's experience in fitness and wellness and her deep ties to some of the most vulnerable in our community are critical in guiding us as we look to better serve our neighbors," said Franklin Food Pantry Executive Director Tina Powderly. "Chris Kilburn joined our board last year and provides strong leadership and operational planning. He brings the same skills to FFP that he did to his many leadership roles at Fidelity Investments: program management, team building, and keen business and mission focus. We are lucky to have Chris' time and dedication as we move forward with our location change and advancement programs. I'd also like to express our sincere thanks to Jim Roche who served double duty as Interim Chair and Treasurer before the Board appointed Chris."  

Franklin Food Pantry Adds Two New Board Members

Rachel Flum is the former Executive Director of the Economic Progress Institute in Rhode Island where she conducted several legislative campaigns, including paid family leave, SNAP, revenue-raising, and childcare assistance, while working closely with EPI's Board and leading its staff. In this role, she was also responsible for the strategic direction and fund development activities of the organization. Rachel received the Forty Under Forty Award in 2015. Rachel is a graduate of Wellesley College and Georgetown University Law School and has lived in Franklin for 18 years. She served on the Board of Directors of Sunrise Montessori School in Franklin and on the Vestry for Trinity Episcopal Church in Wrentham. 

Judith Perez is a member of the Franklin Freedom Team, a group of community leaders whose mission is to preserve freedom through unity in the community. She brings years of wellness experience to the pantry, most recently running exercise and fitness programs for community members and The Sunshine Club at the Franklin Senior Center. For the past ten years, she has offered integrated fitness and enrichment programs for Kennedy Donovan Center, Behavior Concepts, Inc. Riverside, Hockomock Area YMCA, Garelick Early Learning Center, Bellingham High School, Atria/Enclave, Magnolia Heights, and Senior Centers in Franklin, Bellingham, Medway, and Millis. Judith received her Associate of Science in Sports Fitness and Exercise Science from Dean College, her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Dean College, and her Certification in Early Childhood Education from Dean College. She has lived in Franklin for 17 years with her daughter and before moving to Franklin, owned a catering business in New York City. 

About the Franklin Food Pantry   

The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities to almost 1,100 individuals per year. The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Other programs include home delivery, Weekend Backpack Program for Franklin school children in need, mobile pantry, 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.    

Board of Health - Agenda - June 1, 2022 - 5 PM

FRANKLIN BOARD OF HEALTH

DULY SCHEDULED MEETING

3rd floor Training Room or via Google Meet or phone:

 

WEDNESDAY, June 1, 2022, 5:00 PM

AGENDA

1) Reading and Acceptance of April 6, 2022 meeting minutes

2) OLD BUSINESS

3) NEW BUSINESS

• 194 Wachusett St request for a hearing
• 834 W Central St property update
• 71 A & B North Park St update
• Metacomet Shared Service grant regional inspector report
• Metacomet Shared Service grant Public health nurse report
• Metacomet Shared Service grant Epidemiologist hiring report

Chairman opens the floor for any other new business

Agenda doc includes remote connection info -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/boh_agenda_06012022_3.pdf

Board of Health - Agenda - June 1, 2022 - 5 PM