Franklin Matters

In the News - lock cars

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Not for the first time, nor likely for this last time, common sense should say why take a chance, lock it up.

Area police warn residents to lock cars

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

FM #48 - Election 2009

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:26:00 +0000

This is #48 in the series of internet radio or podcasts for Franklin Matters. In this session we review the results of the Town Election and go inside the high school field house to hear Town Clerk Debbie Pellegri announce the results.

Time: 7 minutes, 37 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Music intro

My intro

This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 48 in the series.

The Franklin election of 2009 has come and gone.

We have a new Town Council with 6 incumbents (Whalen, Mason, Vallee, Pfeffer, McGann and Zollo) and three newcomers (Powderly, Jones and Kelly).

The School Committee has five incumbents (Cafasso, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach and Trahan) along with two new members (Douglas and Glynn).

Bruce Hunchard returns on the Board of Health.

Padula, Halligan and Carroll were elected to the Planning Board.

Chris Feeley easily took his write-in campaign for the Board of Assessors and saved the Town Council from having to appoint someone.

Only 16.4% of the registered voters bothered to cast their ballots. This is less than the prior two town elections and continues the trend in the wrong direction.

I will have more to share on the totals and what I read into them. For this session, we'll take you into the Franklin High School field house to hear Town Clerk, Debbie Pellegri announce the results for the election.

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This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

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 East of Shirley. The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with permission.

In the News - regionalization, Vietnam, Faithful Nine

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Franklin looks at regionalizing services

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Despite financial benefits, both Nutting and Whalen agree the only foreseeable drawback is a loss of control over town services.

"We, as residents of our community, can control the level of town services we enjoy," Whalen said, citing the controlled number of town workers. "With regionalization, by definition, we as residents of Franklin would have less of a say in what goes on right in our town on these matters because we would be part of a larger group of people who would collectively make these decisions."

"You have to be willing to give up control, " said Nutting. "But that's (for) the people in the government, not the residents."

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Honoring the Faithful Nine in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Jake Jacobson

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Franklin honors Vietnam War fallen

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Melissa Ostrow

Walgreens continues to make progress

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Walgreens has its sign up now. The exterior of the building is being finished. Landscaping is underway. Not to long now before it opens for business.

Sign up for the RMV driver license renewal reminders

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:39:00 +0000

One could quibble about the RMV's driver's license renewal reminder program in that you have to sign up to make it effect. But then technically that is following a good "opt in" practice.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles offers an online service that will remind drivers 30 days before their driver’s license is due to expire.

Residents who sign up for the service can choose a reminder by phone, email or text and there is no additional cost to the public.

The new service replaces the mail reminder program that was discontinued earlier this year as a cost-saving measure.

The new reminder service is provided by the RMV in collaboration with Sendza, Inc. and is sponsored by local businesses. Any information you provide is protected by a strict privacy policy.

Drivers are encouraged to sign up for the program. For more information visit www.mass.gov/rmv.

Fall in Franklin

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:09:00 +0000

something about the redness

of the leaves, the white fence

and the morning sunlight

Fall in Franklin: something about the redness the white fence and the sunlight m, originally uploaded by shersteve.

What is a sherku?

In the News - train death, Nutcracker

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Man hit by commuter train in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

Another person hit, killed by a commuter-rail train

from Universal Hub - All Boston, all the time by adamg

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Nutcracker returns to Franklin

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

In the News - Gov Patrick visits Franklin, casino night

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Gov Patrick visited Jefferson Elementary School yesterday

Patrick visits Franklin school, says he supports local aid

by Melanie Graham/Daily News staff

and the Senior Center

Franklin honors 90-year-old vets

by Melanie Graham/Daily News staff

and hold the date for the FEF Casino Night, Nov 20th

Franklin Education Foundation plans Casino Night

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

In the News - event canceled

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:28:00 +0000

This was posted to the Milford Daily News website on Friday and refers to the event Saturday.

Franklin resident Steve Sherlock announced the Laid Off Camp he helped organize for tomorrow is canceled.

Designed to help unemployed people from Massachusetts and Rhode Island brush up on interview techniques, making contacts and using the Internet to find jobs, the camp was canceled due to slow registration.

"We only achieved one third of the required registrations for this non-profit, all-volunteer event to break even," Sherlock wrote in an email late last night. Anyone who already registered will have their money refunded, he added.

He and the four other co-organizers will likely establish a similar camp next year. The event was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at the Living Waters Church in North Attleborough.

For more information, visit http://laidoffcampprovidence.blogspot.com/.

Tomorrow's Laid Off Camp canceled

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Staff reports

H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Update

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:06:00 +0000

At the time of this writing it is probable that many reading this update will have had a family member with influenza-like illness or knows someone who has. As predicted at the end of last summer, the H1N1 has returned with a vengeance. Although this illness for the most part has remained relatively mild, a larger segment of the population has become ill, with a recent spike in school absenteeism noted throughout the Commonwealth.

It was hoped that by now we would have been well on our way toward achieving our goal of vaccinating a large percentage of our community with the H1N1 vaccine. Due to the unprecedented demand for the seasonal flu vaccine, coupled with the simultaneous production of the H1N1 vaccine, the vaccine manufacturers have simply not been able to distribute the H1N1 vaccine as quickly as expected.

The Franklin Health Department and the Board of Health remain committed to providing the H1N1 influenza vaccine to all Franklin residents who wish to receive it. As previously stated, the Health Department in conjunction with our medical volunteers will hold public H1N1 clinics as soon as enough vaccine is made available to do so. At the present time the Health Department has received only a small fraction of our requested doses.

In accordance with the guidelines mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, our initial allocation of vaccine will be provided to healthcare workers with direct patient contact such as nurses and paramedics, pregnant women and children 6 months to 9 years of age. As more vaccine is made available, we will begin vaccinating children aged 10 to 25. Our focus on young children is important because two doses of vaccine spaced approximately three weeks apart is required for children 9 and under.

All public flu clinics will be advertised in the Milford Daily News and will be posted on the Town of Franklin Website. Clinic information will also be broadcast on Franklin’s local cable television station and will be posted on the MassPro Flu website as well.

These are certainly difficult and frightening times for parents of young children, for those who may have a compromised immune system for one reason or another and for couples starting a family. Your concern and frustration is understandable and fully acknowledged. We ask for your patience and your understanding as we prepare to institute our vaccination plan in the coming weeks.

We encourage anyone with questions to contact the Health Department or members of the Board of Health at 508-520-4905, or via our dedicated influenza email at H1N1flu@franklin.ma.us

Respectfully,

David E. McKearney, R.S.

Public Health Director

Franklin Health Department

Franklin Board of Health

This can be found on the Franklin website

2009 Fall Curbside Yard Waste Collection

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:33:00 +0000

2009 Fall Curbside Yard Waste Collection will occur the following Saturdays:

November 7
November 21
December 5

How to Prepare:

Yard waste: Place in paper bags, trash barrels or other container.
Brush shall not be more than 4 feet in length and 6-inches in diameter and bundled.
DO NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS.
Place at curbside before 7:00 AM in the morning.

This was posted on the Town website here

In the News - event canceled, rings come home

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:14:00 +0000

The article is a good one but came too late to help us drive attendance for the event. The event has been canceled. The team will re-group and likely try something early in 2010.

Local resident helps sponsor Laid Off Camp tomorrow

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

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Rings come full circle

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

LaidOff Camp Attleboro/Providence - EVENT CANCELED

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Event: LaidOff Camp Attleboro/Providence - CANCELED

Date: Saturday, November 07, 2009 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (ET)

Location:
Living Waters Church
15 John L Dietsch Blvd
North Attleboro, MA 02763

For more information click here: http://laidoffcampprovidence.blogspot.com/

Regretfully, the event has been canceled. We only achieved one third of the required registrations for this non-profit, all-volunteer event to break even.

The Team will gather information on what we learned during this process and likely attempt to create an event sometime early in 2010.

Your registration fee will be refunded in full to the credit card you used to register.
Thank you for your interest.

Foster systems thinking

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Modern education systems deserve much of the blame, both for fostering the belief that education ends when a person leaves school and for its emphasis on being right rather than on how to learn from mistakes. This has encouraged caution rather than risk-taking, with individuals preferring to avoid mistakes when possible and hide them if necessary. The world’s four greatest statisticians never took a course in statistics, Mr Ackoff would point out, and three of America’s greatest architects (Henry Hobson Richardson, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright) never took a formal course in architecture.

Society urgently needs to find better ways of inculcating systems thinking in its decision-makers and public-policy experts in particular, he argued. It also needs to change how it accounts for mistakes. Currently, almost any accounting system you can think of records mistakes of commission, when a deliberate act goes wrong, but keeps no record of mistakes of omission: things not done that should have been. The result is a conservative, risk-averse culture that holds back the innovation that society needs.

Read the full article in The Economist here

Read more about the ideas of Russ Ackoff here and here

In the News - Town Council and School Committee chair selected

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Franklin School Committee retains Roy as chairman

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Mason selected as Franklin Town Council chairman

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Newly elected sworn in

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:53:00 +0000

The newly elected School Committee was sworn in this evening.

Two members of the School Committee were not present for this: Ed Cafasso (who was sworn in earlier today) and William Glynn.

They held a brief organizational meeting. Jeff Roy was selected as Chair and Paula Mullen as Vice-Chair.

Three new members of the Planning Board were sworn in this evening also:

Chris Feeley as the newly elected Assessor was also sworn in.

The newly elected Town Council was also sworn in.

Scott Mason was selected Chair by a 9-0 vote. Steve Whalen was selected as Vice-Chair by an 8-1 vote. There almost was a runoff for this as Joe McGann nominated Bob Vallee but that nomination did not get a second. Judy Pfeffer was selected as Clerk by a 9-0 vote.

engage the Franklin voters

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:23:00 +0000

I'll have more later this week but my first reactions to the election results are

It is a sad day for Franklin when so few registered voters do exercise their right to vote. There are no excuses for weather problems, absentee ballots were available in advance. Only 16.4% of 19,780 voters bothered to cast a vote. Less than the two prior off year elections. The trend (if there is one) is going the wrong way.

It was good to see the energy of some of the newcomers to the Council race; Tina Powderly and Glenn Jones in particular. Glenn was observed on the triangle over the railroad bridge holding his sign in the rain on Sat Oct 24th and then again early Sun morning, Nov 1. Tina garnered the largest vote amongst the Council candidates.

The Brick School remains a significant factor in Franklin and although closed is still important. The results for Matt Kelly and Cynthia Douglas show this. Cindy running in her first election took in the top number of votes from all candidates. Teaching at the Brick School, over 30 years of good service, 20 or so kids at a time builds up relationships. Relationships that turned out to vote.

That newcomers garnered some of the larger totals seems to validate the message Ashley Studley, Milford Daily News reporter, was picking up from the voters leaving the field house. The attempt to vote out the incumbents ultimately failed as all were re-elected albeit some were by slim margins.

The problems of Franklin remain the same after election. They didn't just disappear because someone didn't vote for an incumbent. The challenge is clearly in the Town Council's hands now to come together and engage the Franklin voters/tax payers in such a way that our issues can be responsibly discussed and then worked to a solution.

domino falling in our direction

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:06:00 +0000

Tri-County is also affected by transportation cuts. Franklin sends a good portion of the students at Tri-County. A budget issue there could replicate back to the Town.

Regional school officials dismayed by steep transportation cuts

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

In the News - Franklin voters, incumbents re-elected

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:01:00 +0000

Franklin voters speak their minds at the polls

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Franklin incumbents win back Town Council seats

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Vote totals by Precinct - 11/3/09

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:19:00 +0000

3,244 votes cast were on the November 3, 2009 election. This is 16.4% of the total 19,780 registered voters in Franklin.

The vote for each position by precinct can be viewed in the following document provided by Town Clerk Debbie Pellegri.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Franklin 2009 Election Results

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:09:00 +0000

Board of Assessors
Chris Feeley (write-in candidate)	217


Board of Health
Bruce Hunchard	1556	winner
Koren Kanadanian	1150


Planning Board
Anthony Padula	1570
Joseph Halligan	1780

Planning Board (Associate)
John Carroll	1892


Town Council	Votes
Tina Powderly	1868	1
Robert Vallee	1826	2
Glenn Jones	1767	3
Shannon Zollo	1648	4
Matthew Kelly	1617	5
Judith Pond Pfeffer	1553	6
R. Scott Mason	1528	7
Joseph McGann	1443	8
Stephen Whalen	1437	9
Robert Avakian	1378
Daniel Ballinger	1211
Glenna Richards	1182
Bryce Kuchs	592

School Committee	Votes
Cynthia Douglas	1927
William Glynn	1621
Jeffrey Roy	1616
Paula Mullen	1562
Roberta Trahan	1558
Edward Cafasso	1507
Susan Rohrbach	1412

3,244 total votes were cast. Only 16.4% of the 19,780 registered voters in Franklin.

Election Day

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:56:00 +0000

There are two civic duties required. However, one is considered by most to be optional while the other is required. The required one is to pay your taxes. The 'optional' one is to cast your vote. Since casting your vote helps to determine what taxes you will pay, voting should also be required.

The most important thing you should do today is to cast your ballot at the high school field house.

The polls open at 6:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM

Make your vote count!

In the News - election day

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:51:00 +0000

Election day today!

Franklin voters go to polls today

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

School Committee - Agenda - 11/4/09

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Call to order Mrs. Sabolinski

1. Discussion Only Items

Re-Organizational Chart Update
Swearing In with Town Clerk

2. Adjourn

Note the meeting is scheduled for the Training Room on the third floor of the Municipal Building.

Town Council - Agenda - 11/4/09

shersteve@gmail.com (Steve Sherlock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:02:00 +0000

A. SWEARING IN OF NEW COUNCIL

B. ORGANIZATION
Election of Officers

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

D. ANNOUNCEMENTS

E. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

F. CITIZEN COMMENTS

G. APPOINTMENTS

H. HEARINGS

I. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

J. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

K. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

L.LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 09-70: Appropriation – Exit 16/King Street Reconstruction Account

M. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

N. OLD BUSINESS

O. NEW BUSINESS

P. COUNCIL COMMENTS

Q. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

R. ADJOURN