Franklin TV & Radio Programming Guide: February 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Week ending - Feb 26, 2012

Welcome back! I hope school vacation week was a good one for you all. It was relatively quiet here in Franklin. No town committee had meetings so you did not miss much.

Feb 26

Feb 25

Feb 24

Feb 23

Feb 22

Wadsworth Diary - Feb 22, 1858

Winter Carnival - March 11, 2012

Feb 21

Wadsworth Diary - Feb 21, 1858

In the News - Democrats, Republicans, football

Feb 20

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Bumped into a friend at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse on Saturday night. Her father is also not in good health these days. Hmm, a sign of the times? Some of us are getting to the age where our parents are reaching the natural end of their life. More of us are finding that these times can be trying.

Our parents guided us, provided for us, now the tables are turning and we become the care givers. We have provided care for our own children so providing care is something we can do. It does feel strange for the roles to have reversed.

Mom and Dad helped us dress. Took time to feed us. Now it is our turn to help them dress and eat. Our turn to help figure out the healthcare system. Our turn to help guide our parents.

So what does this all have to do with Franklin? If we are not in a situation like this, we can learn from it. We will be some day. The lessons our parents taught us remain. Family first. Taking care. Being respectful. Doing what is necessary. Doing what is required.

The other lesson that applies here comes from the airlines. You have heard the line repeated many times by the stewards and stewardess': Put on the your oxygen mask first, then help your child.

Make sure while you are caring for your parents that you take care of yourself. Your own health and spirit will be drawn upon. The well is not bottomless, it needs to be replenished. Take some time to replenish yourself.

Whether it is turning to a friend, or neighbor, or spending some time to enjoy some music. Do whatever it takes to replenish the well.

Feb 19

Feb 18

Feb 17

Feb 16

Feb 15

Feb 14

Feb 13

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Week ending - Feb 12, 2012

Neighbors helping neighbors.

Whether it is helping to spread the word about the upcoming vote for the new high school, or parents spending time with their children’s sports teams as coaches, or fund raising, when folks get involved to help one another, good things happen.

The next two Saturday’s will see dozens of volunteers making hundreds of phone calls for the Franklin Food Pantry. The all volunteer effort is the second annual phonathon for the Food Pantry.

The “all volunteer” fundraising effort is key. The Pantry depends upon our volunteers to collect food, money and help deliver services to our Franklin neighbors. Your dollar contribution gets multiplied when leveraged by our network of resources. The Greater Boston Food Bank, BJ Warehouse, Panera, Stop & Shop and many others all join in this effort to put food on the table.

Dean College allows the Food Pantry to use their bank of phones. If you do have caller ID, the volunteer phone calls will appear as “Dean College.”

If you will be away from Franklin for school vacation, you can make a contribution through the Food Pantry website or via the link on Franklin Matters. Either way, the money gets directly to the Food Pantry.

You can also mail a check to the Food Pantry. The address is PO Box 116, Franklin, MA 02038-0116

Or drop a check off during the day when the Food Pantry is open. Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Will you help your neighbor by making a contribution?

Note: There are two paid employees of the Food Pantry; Executive Director, Anne Marie Bellavance and Operations Manager, Linda Sottle.

Note: I am on the Board of Directors for the Franklin Food Pantry. It is one good way for me to help give back to this community because I do believe that Franklin matters!

Feb 12

Feb 11

Feb 10

Feb 9

Feb 8

Feb 7

Feb 6

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Week ending - Feb 5, 2012

It is not easy doing business here in Franklin. We were reminded of that this week with the closing of Cafe Dolce. Was it their inconsistent service that some have talked about on Facebook or was their rent too high? It may have been a combination of the two. In any case, they have closed their doors. Folks looking for a good coffee downtown will need to go elsewhere. It may not be a coincidence that the chains (both Dunkin Donuts and Honey Dew) are located along RT 140 outside of the immediate downtown area. Easier parking and more space for drive through are available there.

The high school proposal was approved by the Town Council on Wednesday night. March 27 will be the date that the voters have their say on this important matter. The arguments for the new school are rather convincing; paying 40 cents on a dollar to gain a brand new high school. Who wouldn't do that? Bottom line, the taxes we all pay will need to increase although not in a significant way for the high school until 2017.

In the meantime, we need to address the operational needs of Franklin. What level of service do we want? The Library has just been excluded from the state inter-library network likely due to the under-funding of their operation that has happened over the recent years. Franklin had applied for waiver and as we go to press this week, the specific details around this remain to be determined. However, it should not be a surprise. It has been threatened before and was one of the key arguments for the successful operational override that passed in 2007 (the only one that did!).

What Franklin needs to do is leverage the hundreds of volunteers that are gathering to promote the discussion for the new high school, to also talk about our operational needs. The two discussions go hand-in-hand. While yes, strictly speaking there is a capital budget and an operational budget, to the average Franklin taxpayer, there is one tax bill.

Should we go all out to build a new high school at such a good deal (given the state reimbursement) and not appropriately fund our regular operational requirements, we'll end up with a nice new school and insufficient teachers, administrators and other staff to support it. Those extra classrooms that are being touted may very well go unused if we don't support our operational requirements. The School budget has already cut over 100 teachers in the last several years. Will there be enough left at the high school to use the new school?

The discussion needs to be had. We can no longer ignore the 'elephant in the room'. The time and opportunity is now. What services will the Franklin taxpayers support?

Feb 5