Vol. 2 No. 1 Free to Every Home and Business Every Month Jan. 1, 2012 F r a n k l i n ’ s O r i g i n a l N e w s p a p e r S i n c e 2 0 1 0 FRANKLIN DOG PARK continued on page 3 PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID The Sun Chronicle 34 So. Main St. Attleboro, MA CAR-RT-SORT BY J.D. O’GARA It’s not uncommon for friends at the newest Franklin park to jump for joy when they greet each other. They might even bark, will proba- bly sniff, and if they really like each other, will soak their favorite play- mates’ faces with slobbery kisses. Man’s best friend has found a place to gather in Franklin with the open- ing of a new dog park in Dacey Field, and it has Haley Goulet to thank. Haley is a 13-year-old 8th grader at the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School. The student spearheaded the effort to build a dog park for her community serv- ice Capstone Project. Although she got the idea from her father, Ray, her Dad says Haley is the one who got the project done. Franklin Dog Park the Bark of the Town BY ANNE P ARKER It was a full house at Town Council chambers on Dec. 7th. That was the night when Franklin Police Chief Stephen T. Williams handed over his title as Police Chief to Deputy Chief Stephan H. Semerjian. Chief Se- merjian was sworn in by Town Council as a room full of friends, family, students, Boy Scouts, and comrades all applauded him. Police officers from Franklin, Wrentham, Medway, and Wal- pole were there as Williams wel- comed Semerjian into his newest role on the police force. With a full 38 years on the job, Williams has been Franklin's Chief of Police for the past eight years. He has been partners with Semerjian for many years. They have a strong relationship on the job. Semerjian has been on the force for 33 years. They are both lifelong residents of Franklin. Both have a solid working knowl- edge of the police department and the town. Semerjian started as a patrol of- ficer and worked his way up through the ranks. There are a number of challenges Semerjian looks forward to in his newest role as Chief of Police. The biggest thing is economic and fi- nancial challenges. Those are is- sues we need to address, he explained. "We need to come to a mutual agreement with our partnership of the townspeople and the town Town Welcomes Semerjian As He Steps Up as Chief of Police Retiring Chief of Police Stephen Williams, at left, shakes hands and congratulates Stephan Semerjian as Semerjian got promoted from Deputy Chief to Chief of Police for Franklin in December. POLICE CHIEF WELCOMED continued on page 2 “Turn Your Dreams Into Reality” “Turn Your Dreams Into Reality” 508-951-5909 [email protected]JOLEEN ROSE Beyond Excellence LMC, CBR • Tree Removal & Tree Pruning • Stump Removal • Bobcat Services • Stump Grinding • Bucket Truck $50 Off Any Job over $500 508-473-7939 258 Main Street Milford, MA 01757 508-528-3344 391 East Central Street Franklin, MA 02038 Optical Shop on Site JOHN F. HATCH, M.D. ROGER M. KALDAWY, M.D. EYE PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS Saturday & After Hours Available EYE CENTER MILFORD - FRANKLIN Excellent Eye Care for the Entire Family ELECTRIC YOUTH -IN CONCERT- SHOWCASE LIVE Patriot Place, Foxboro, MA February 12, 2012 6:00 pm Call 508-528-8668 or Ticketmaster Make your move while homebuyers enjoy big benefits. Buying or selling your home? It’s got to be real. ® (508) 520-1600 www.RealLivingRealtyGroup.com
Transcript
Vol. 2 No. 1 Free to Every Home and Business Every Month Jan. 1, 2012
Franklin’s Original Newspaper Since 2010
FRANKLIN DOG PARKcontinued on page 3
PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDThe Sun Chronicle
34 So. Main St.
Attleboro, MA
CAR-RT-SORT
BY J.D. O’GARA
It’s not uncommon for friends atthe newest Franklin park to jumpfor joy when they greet each other.They might even bark, will proba-bly sniff, and if they really like eachother, will soak their favorite play-mates’ faces with slobbery kisses.Man’s best friend has found a placeto gather in Franklin with the open-ing of a new dog park in DaceyField, and it has Haley Goulet tothank.
Haley is a 13-year-old 8th graderat the Benjamin Franklin ClassicalCharter Public School. The studentspearheaded the effort to build adog park for her community serv-ice Capstone Project. Although shegot the idea from her father, Ray,her Dad says Haley is the one whogot the project done.
FranklinDog Parkthe Bark ofthe Town
BYANNE PARKER
It was a full house at TownCouncil chambers on Dec. 7th.That was the night whenFranklin Police Chief Stephen T.Williams handed over his title asPolice Chief to Deputy ChiefStephan H. Semerjian. Chief Se-merjian was sworn in by TownCouncil as a room full of friends,family, students, Boy Scouts, andcomrades all applauded him.
Police officers from Franklin,Wrentham, Medway, and Wal-pole were there as Williams wel-comed Semerjian into his newestrole on the police force.
With a full 38 years on the job,Williams has been Franklin'sChief of Police for the past eightyears. He has been partners withSemerjian for many years. Theyhave a strong relationship on thejob. Semerjian has been on theforce for 33 years. They are bothlifelong residents of Franklin.Both have a solid working knowl-edge of the police department andthe town.
Semerjian started as a patrol of-ficer and worked his way upthrough the ranks. There are anumber of challenges Semerjianlooks forward to in his newest
role as Chief of Police. Thebiggest thing is economic and fi-nancial challenges. Those are is-sues we need to address, heexplained.
"We need to come to a mutualagreement with our partnership ofthe townspeople and the town
Town Welcomes Semerjian As He Steps Up as Chief of Police
Retiring Chief of Police Stephen Williams, at left, shakes hands and congratulates Stephan Semerjian as Semerjian got promoted from Deputy Chief to Chief of Police for Franklin in December.
POLICE CHIEF WELCOMEDcontinued on page 2
“Turn Your Dreams Into Reality”“Turn Your Dreams Into Reality”
508-528-3344391 East Central StreetFranklin, MA 02038
Optical Shop on Site
JOHN F. HATCH, M.D.ROGER M. KALDAWY, M.D.
EYE PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS
Saturday & After Hours Available
EYE CENTERMILFORD - FRANKLIN
Excellent Eye Care for the Entire Family
ELECTRIC YOUTH-IN CONCERT-
SHOWCASE LIVEPatriot Place, Foxboro, MA
February 12, 2012 6:00 pmCall 508-528-8668 or Ticketmaster
Make your movewhile homebuyersenjoy big benefits.
Buying or selling your home?
It’s got to be real.®
(508) 520-1600www.RealLivingRealtyGroup.com
BYMARJORIE TURNER HOLLMAN
When most people think of Ad-vent, twenty-four day Advent cal-endars come to mind, featuringChristmas trees, presents, or per-haps a stable scene filled with an-imals, the Holy Family, and abright star shining in the sky. ButAdvent, traditionally, was a time ofpenitence, quite akin to the Chris-
tian Church season of Lent. Re-cently, Franklin’s AnglicanChurch of the Redeemer hosted anAdvent series of mid-week serv-ices (late November to ChristmasEve) to allow for a more thought-ful, reflective approach to what hasbecome a commercialized, secularholiday.
The series of four Thursday
evening services not only provideda time of reflection, but it also be-came an opportunity for artisticexpression. During the eveningservices, the lights in the white-painted worship space on Hay-ward Street were darkened, withsimple illumination supplied bysmall, votive candles, and a smalltable lamp. A collection of candlescircled a wooden cross, and an-other set of candles lit a largeblack-and-white charcoal drawing.
The drawings, not your typicalChristmas scenes, created by DanSylvia, Redeemer’s Youth andFamily Pastor, jumped out andgrabbed you, pointing toward thesecond coming of Christ, ratherthan the first, more humble arrivalof a baby in a stable in Bethlehem.Sylvia created a new drawing eachweek specifically for the Advent
services, inspired by the collect(prayer) designated in the liturgyfor each week of Advent.
In addition to a new drawing
being added to the worship spaceeach week, each service also fea-tured original musical arrange-ments of Christmas and Adventhymns, composed by Redeemer’sMinister of Music, David McKee,D.M.A. The instrumental musicset the mood during the simpleservices.
The artistic collaboration be-tween Sylvia and McKee beganover lunch after the October snow-storm. Sylvia showed McKee hisartwork—he’d majored in Art atGordon College. McKee talkedabout his efforts to create somecontemplative musical arrange-ments of hymns, having been in-spired by the comfort his motherhad received from a recording ofquiet music in the days before hisfather’s death.
“Each drawing takes me about15 hours to complete. But I look atthis project as merely a begin-
council. I view it as a partnershipbetween the needs of the town andwhat the town council is able toprovide us." The town council isthe governing body. When a pro-posal is put before them; what con-sideration they can give the policedepartment as far as financial sup-port, he said.
Chief Stephen Williams is happyabout Semerjian's step up into therole.
"I like to see what happened hap-pen - a promotion from within. Hebrings to the table institutionalknowledge and knowledge of(Franklin). I think it's great movefor the department and the town,"
said Williams.
"I think we've worked so long to-gether, we can almost finish eachother's sentences. We work veryclosely together. My advice be agood listener, be fair," he added.
Williams has been in the FranklinPolice Department for 38 years.He plans to take a little time tohimself, catch up with family lifeand travel a little bit. "I'm going tovisit my son who lives on the westcoast. I want a little time to unwindand figure out what my next movewill be and what path to take." Hefeels it is time to retire after 8 yearsas Chief.
Like Semerjian, Williams hadworked his way up through theranks. He started as a patrolman,
was a detective for a while, a Ser-geant, a lieutenant and wasFranklin's first Deputy Chief ofPolice and then 9th Chief of Po-lice.
Williams has seen the town growover the years. "When I first startedwe only had 17,000 people intown, now we have 33,000. Route140 was a regular two lane road.Look at the highway it is today.There was a lot of farmland. Wehad one stop light and one blinkinglight," he observed.
With growth come issues. "Whatwere the biggest complaints wayback then? Speeders and parkingdowntown. What are our biggestcomplaints now? Speeders andparking downtown," he jokes. "So
the more things change, the morethey remain the same."
There are so many good thingsand awful things that happen onthis job, he commented. "33 yearsis a long time, but it's a blink of aneye. Sometimes 10 seconds is ablink of an eye," he reflects. "I'vebeen around since the blizzard of'78. We rode around on ski mobilesand pickup trucks. No one elsewas on the road but us. No one hadfood, but I saw the communitycome together. Neighbors comeout and help each other. Back thenyou saw your neighbors and youhelped each other. "
When things are at their worst,his officers are at their best, he said.They rise to the challenge, they
take control, they do a nice job."We are a great bunch of guys andwhat makes the job as Chief easieris to have the caliber of officers thatwe have working for us."
What changes has he observedover the years? "I think one thingthat has changed is officers aremuch more educated now. Many,if not all, of our people have bach-elors degrees, a couple have an as-sociates. It wasn't like that whenwe first started. You used to behired because of your brawn andnot your brain. And now you arehired because of your brain. Youhave to be able to talk to people,and de-escalate problems becauseyou've been schooled in that typeof thing. It's a good combination ofboth."
Page 2 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
POLICE CHIEF WELCOMEDcontinued from page 1
TM
January is the best month to buy carpet.*3 rooms for $1200 includes cushion
*based on 360ft.
Voted #1 Flooring Store in the area 10 years running!24 Hour Service • Family Owned for 49 Years
950 Chestnut Street • Franklin, MA 276 Turnpike Road • Westboro, MA
1-508-520-2616 • www.FlooringAmericaFloors.com
Art and Music Bring Spirit Alive at Franklin Church of the Redeemer
508-520-7900 OPEN YEAR ROUND11:30 am - 9 pm • 7 days a week!
serving Franklin Flatbreads
OrganicBeer
& Wine
HomemadeIce
Cream
Happy New Year! Come Celebrate with Great Food!
Advent at Redeemer 1-L-R Father Jack Potter, Rector (L), Dan Sylvia, Pastor,Youth and Family, and David McKee, Minister of Music (R), worked togetherin advent of this past Christmas season to incorporate art, music and a con-temporary feel to a time of reflection at Franklin Church of the Redeemer.
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 3
Small Group Personal Training
9 Summer Street, Franklin, MA 02038(508) 530-3072
For Career & Franchise Opportunities visit getinshapeforwomen.com
FREE
WEEK
TRIAL
BEFORE AFTER
Get In Shape for Women has been an extraordinary experience forme that has transformed by body and my life. I have not only lostpounds and inches, I have also gained confidence in myself and anew joy in my life. With the guidance and support of David, Aileen,Jim and Maria, I have learned about nutrition and exercise that hascompletely changed how I live each day. When I joined G.I.S.F.W. Iimmediately knew it was the place for me to accomplish my weightloss goals. What I didn’t know was I would learn so much as wellas meeting such wonderful, supportive people.
– Cathleen Henrique, Franklin Client
“I kind of headed the project, butreally, the entire community builtthe dog park,” says a modest Haley.“I’m the face of it.”
“You’re more than the face of it,”her Dad corrects her, “You’re thefundraiser.”
Haley managed to get enoughfunding to pay for the raw materi-als. According to Haley, the effortwent much more smoothly thanshe expected, and she was de-lighted to find a great deal of sup-port for the project from Franklinresidents.
“(Fundraising) started with abooth at Stop & Shop,” says Haley,who says that that “really got theword out.” Although she had ex-pected to do dog washes and thelike, “we really didn’t have to domany fundraisers, because so manyprivate donations came in,” shesays. Companies that contributedinclude the Random Smile Project,Signs by Cam, Colonial Fence Co.,
RESH Inc., Vet Med, Happy Tails,Lowes, Camp Bow Wow, FranklinVeterinary Clinic, Critter Visits andHome Depot. The dog park also re-ceived a number of private dona-tions from individuals.
Haley also enlisted the help ofFranklin Town Administrator JeffNutting, who embraced the projectas soon as Haley first contactedhim in April. Nutting immediatelyput her in touch with the groupMormon Helping Hands, whohelped clear the land. She alsoworked with Nutting to developrules for the park, basing them onthe Medway Dog Park rules.
“Jeff Nutting deserves a lot ofpraise, because he is a big believerin community service, and he wentout of his way to sort of help makethis work,” says Ray. “He and hisstaff – we just found a way to worktogether.”
“Most people don’t know thatyou should register for this dogpark,” says Haley, who notes thatregistration is free. “It’s just to
make sure we have information.”The rules help to ensure a safe ex-perience for all dogs and their own-ers who use the park.
According to Haley, the Franklindog officer will investigate anyproblems, but since the parkopened in November, there haven’t
been any to report, she says, hap-pily. Of Franklin’s 4,500 dog own-ers, 114 families have registered forthe park, with some of them own-ing more than one dog. She notesthat she often sees about 12 fami-lies together with their dogs at thepark, “and that’s like 12 people thatmaybe didn’t know each other be-fore,” she adds.
“Really friendly dogs go there,and really friendly people,” saysHaley. “Some people will go sev-eral times a day.” Haley points to“regulars” such as “Teddy” a littleDachshund, and “Angus,” aNeapolitan Mastiff, as the type offriendly dogs the park sees. Some-day, Haley, her 10-year-old sisterEmma, Mom Jean and Dad Ray
hope to take their own black labmix, “Roxy,” to the park. That is,when she learns to be comfortablewith the other dogs.
Haley feels tremendous satisfac-tion from seeing dogs and dogowners connect with each other.She says she learned a lot, not onlyby learning about dog behavior, butalso by beefing up her publicspeaking skills, as she had to makespeeches to solicit some sponsordonations. This came in handywhen she received both a commen-dation from the Town of Franklinas well as from the MassachusettsHouse of Representatives.
Now that the park is built, “we’refiguring out how to sustain it,” saysHaley, who says some have ap-proached her about volunteering.“We don’t want it to be a burden tothe town,” she says. Haley wouldlike to try to find funding for trashremoval, as so far the town hasdone it. In addition, says Haley, “Iffunds continue, we’d also like toadd some agility equipment for thedogs, as well as a memorial in theback.”
The Franklin Dog Park is locatedat Dacey Field, at 700 LincolnStreet in Franklin. It is open duringthe daytime and closed after dark.For more information on the park,visit the Web pages that Haleymanages herself at www.franklin-dogpark.webs.com and on Face-book.
FRANKLIN DOG PARKcontinued from page 1
13-year-old Haley Goulet began the effort to build a Franklin dog park as aschool project and ended up creating a community resource, with helpfrom donors and volunteers. 114 families and counting are now registeredand regularly using the park, at Dacey Field.
Swipe anytime.Earn rewards.
Earn points for great gifts with every non-pin-based Dean Bank Debit MasterCard™ purchase. Open a Dean Bank Free Checking account with Debit Card today! Get the points!
FREE Checking Debit Card Rewards &
Tell us... What do you see?
www.deanbank.com(508) 528-0088
FRANKLIN BELLINGHAM BLACKSTONE MENDONMember FDIC Member SIF
ning,” says Sylvia. “After the hol-idays I hope to involve other indi-viduals who are artistic and wantto participate. The drawing processitself draws me closer to God as I
grasp the text of each collect in thecontext of being a Christian.”
McKee explained, “I’d alreadyfinished arranging ‘O Holy Night,’so I sent it to Dan. I had startedthinking about Easter and such, butthis project was right now, I put the
other music aside and worked onthis … Technology allows an indi-vidual to compose. I have an elec-tronic keyboard that is pluggedinto the computer. I can composewith a whole orchestra—I find thesounds I want and plug them in.The software provides virtual in-struments—a great substitutewhen you don’t have the luxury oflive musicians. It’s intended asbackground music, for whileyou’re focusing on prayer andscripture.”
“My part overall has been to planthe services, organize the readingsand coordinate with Dan andDavid to figure out who is goingto do what,” says Father Jack Pot-ter, Rector. “Oh, I also lit the can-dles. I tried to draw on thereflections of the early church fa-thers, to look at the historical back-ground of Advent. But, you know,these readings have a contempo-rary feel—there’s nothing new. Webelieve in the same things that theearly church did.”
In a world that seems to offermostly tinsel, hurry and stress, it issometimes helpful to stop, reflect,and think about what those effortsare all about; Art has a way of fa-cilitating this. The Church of theRedeemer stands in the grand tra-dition of the Church supportingand incorporating the Arts intodaily life; rather than being an“extra,” there are many who willargue that it is an important, intrin-sic part of living.
BY J.D. O’GARA
In March, the Medway & MillisLocaltownpages reported thatsomeone had robbed the historicMedway neighborhood calledCurtis Landing of a carved,painted sign neighbors hadchipped in to have made 11 yearsago. Somewhere, that sign stillprobably sits in the basement ofthe criminal who stole it, but resi-dents of the 9-home cul-de-sac arestill smiling. You see, they’vefound their silver lining – and anew sign.
“Rocco at Cavallaro Signs inFranklin (http://cavallarosigns.com)offered to build us a new sign at thesame price we paid 11 years ago,”says resident David Balardini. “Inaddition, he created a nice plaquewith all the family names on it andinstalled the sign at no charge.”
Resident Barbie Cramer had
taken it upon herself to find thesign maker.
“It really took me a while to tryto find somebody that madesigns,” says Cramer. “We weretrying to do a wooden sign like wehad previously. The reason we didthe sign in the first place is that weare such a close-knit neighbor-hood; we wanted to do somethingfor the millennium. We knew thatCurtis Landing was a historicallandmark. The neighbors reallyembraced it.”
Cramer found Cavallaro at abusy time, when he was tending toa lot of signs damaged from in-clement weather.
“He said, ‘I will love to help you,and I will accommodate you bymaking the sign and donating theplaque with all your names on it,’”says Cramer. “I said, ‘That’ssuper!’ He gave us a very fair
price.” The sign artist also donatedpaint in the same color as the signfor neighbors to paint the post.
“I think it’s a really nice gestureon Rocco’s part, to help out likethis, especially when the economyis so bad. It’s kind of nice to get abreak from someone,” says Balar-dini, Curtis Lane resident. “Heonly charged us what we paid forthe sign 11 years ago, and then toinstall it for us and do the plaquefor free. He wasn’t asking for any-thing in return.”
“(Cramer) called and explainedthat the sign had been stolen, andthere’s not much you can do toprevent that kind of thing, so I feltpretty bad about it,” says Caval-laro, “They’re very costly.” Thetraditional sign artist, who learnedhand carving, gold leaf and brushtechnique at the Butera School ofFine Art over 29 years ago, says
that he was able to offer a dealthanks to 3D modeling and hisCNC (Computer Numeric Con-trol) router table. “Most sign shopssend their carving out. (The ma-chine) allows me to cut all kinds ofmaterials that your average signshop can’t cut or carve.” Cavallarowas also able to use an extra pieceof solid PVC, a waterproof panelthat he had in his shop.
Neighbors once again pitched into help the sign again standproudly. In all, says Cramer, 10families donated, including a cou-ple that no longer live in the neigh-borhood and had retired to CapeCod.
“It’s a community thing,” saysCramer, “about taking pride in thecommunity.”
Page 4 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
350 Village Street, Millis MA 02054 (508) 376-5320
Visit Our Exploration Open House Tour January 10 from 10AM–2PM
Yourchild will
receivea free book
to take home
from the visit.
Neighbors once again show their pride in living at Curtis Landing with anew sign made by Rocco Cavallaro, of Franklin. Cavallaro gave residents adeal, made the plaque at no charge and installed the sign for free. Shown,from left, are Barbie Cramer, Kathy Russo, David Balardini, Rocco Cavallaro,Jeff Cramer with dog “Curtis,” Lily Gallagher, Katy Gallagher, Rick Hollandand Linda Blood. Not shown in the photo are fellow Curtis Landing resi-dents the Butler family, the Ertmann family, the Myers family and theO’Brien family.
Curtis Lane Sign Once AgainStands ProudlyMedway Stolen Sign Replaced Thanks to Neighbors andFranklin Sign Artist
SPIRIT ALIVE IN ARTScontinued from page 2
If you are interested in becominga member of the Franklin Disabil-ity Commission, please complete arequest for Committee Appoint-ment form, which can be obtainedin the Franklin Town Clerk’s Of-fice at 355 East Central St. orprinted from the Town Clerk’spage of the town’s web site,www.franklin.ma.us
The Franklin Disability Commis-sion meets the first Thursday ofeach month at 7 p.m. For ques-tions, contact committee chair DonNetto (508) 528-5610.
FranklinDisabilityCommissionSeeks Members
30-60% Off Custom
Picture Framing*
& All Framed and Unframed Artexcluding any other specials or offers
$99.00 Framed 24x36Choose from 75 Prints and 25 Frames
with In-Stock Moulding
11 East Central St, Franklin, MA508-528-3256JanesFrames.com
Business Hours: Tues, Wed and Friday 10-6, Thursday 10-8, Saturday 10-3
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 5
Small Group Personal Training9 Summer Street, Franklin, MA 02038
(508) 530-3072For Career & Franchise Opportunities visit getinshapeforwomen.com
FREE
WEEK
TRIAL
G.I.S.F.W. made it so simple for me to lose weight. I lost 20 lbs anddropped 3 sizes. The people are great and the food plan is fabulous.No frozen dinners or milkshakes but real food. And the workoutroutine covers every body part. They really give you what you needto succeed! This was the best thing I’ve done for myself in a long-time. Look out 50 ~ Here I come!!
– Christine M. Lovell, Franklin Client
BEFORE
“20lbs Lost and 3 Sizes Dropped!”
AFTER
to get your
Happy New “Ears” from Hearing Care Center
Open House on FRIDAY JANUARY 13th, 2012 9:30am - 4:00pm450 North Main Street Cobb’s Corner Sharon
781-784-1944www.HearingCareCenter.com
Helping People Hear Better & Reconnect with Life Since 1989
Meet Hearing Care Center Audiologists Dr. Paul Milnerand Judy Learner Nichols, and Guest Audiologist
Dr. Melissa Pacey Mahaffey from Phonak, one of the leading hearing aid manufacturers, at our
Open House on January 13th.
FREE Hearing Evaluation
FREE Hearing Aid DemonstrationEnter a Drawing for a TV Listening System
Refreshments will be Served
BY J.D. O’GARA
How do you raise children to behappy as well as successful?That’s one of the questions Dr.Anne Bergen asks on her newFranklin Cable Access show “ItTakes a Village: Raising ResilientKids in Today’s World. ” Bergen,who spent 40 years at all differentlevels of Franklin schools as ateacher, a reading specialist andprincipal at elementary, middleand high school levels, directsviewers’ focus to strengthening theemotional well-being of youngpeople in an age where they’reoften expected to balance a varietyof demands.
“I’d been noticing, based on myexperience and a lot of the researchI’ve read, that many young peopleare increasingly experiencing anx-iety, depression, eating disorders… a lot of emotional turmoil, in-cluding not knowing exactly whatthey want to do even after college,”says Bergen. “We do a good job offocusing on academic skills, butwithout looking at the whole un-dercurrent of emotional turmoil.”
Dr. Bergen is tapping upon edu-cators and others in the communityto raise awareness, using the ex-
pertise and experience of thesesources to inform viewers.
“Maybe we can do a better job ofbuilding that strong sense of self,”says Bergen.
In one episode, Bergen inter-views the superintendent ofFranklin Public Schools’ MaureenSabolinski and school committeemember Roberta Trahan not as ed-ucators, but as parents.
“Their kids have gone into adult-hood as strong, capable kids,” saysBergen. The two shared what theylearned in raising their kids andhow they were able to convey themeaning of success not being justabout earning a lot of money orgoing to a good school.
“Kids who have that strong innerself are able to stand firm whenthey have to face really difficult de-cisions,” says Bergen, who saysthat children who are motivated to“do the right thing” often end upmaking wiser decisions and have astrong sense of self.
Following the Penn State scan-dal, as well as news reports of haz-ing in other Massachusetts townsthat had made headlines, Bergeninterviewed Franklin Athletic Di-
rector Brad Sidwell and Pete Es-carosa. The two discussed whatparents can learn from these inci-dents and how to get kids to resisteither becoming a bully or the bul-lied.
One show focused on how par-ents might make kids stronger instanding up to life’s challenges,with Bergen interviewing JudyGiovangelo, of Ben Speaks, abouther son Ben’s experience and sub-sequent suicide. Another episodeaimed to help parents help youngpeople to find their true passion inlife rather than only build a collegeresume.
“We spend so much time gettingthem to college, we forget to askthem what will give their lifemeaning,” says Bergen.
“It Takes a Village: Raising Re-
silient Kids in Today’s World” on
Franklin Cable airs six times a
week on Comcast Channel 96 and
Verizon Channel 28. View those
stations, or click on the Franklin
Educational Access link at the
Cable Access TV page at the
Franklin town website at
http://franklinma.virtualtown-
hall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BCo
mm/cabacc
New Franklin Cable Show Brings“The Village” to ParentsShow Aims at Helping Parents Raise Strong Children
New England
Ballistic ServicesInc.
Unwanted guns in your home?
Highest prices paid for yourvaluable firearms.
We will properly dispose of worthless items for free.
Call today for a confidential consultation
508-381-0230 • www.neballistic.com
BYMARJORIE TURNERHOLLMAN
Bob Fahey, Veteran’s Agent andOutreach Coordinator at theFranklin Senior Center, feels a debtof gratitude for the benefits he re-ceived as a veteran, although henotes that really, when he enlisted,“the war was over. I got a four-yearcollege education, paid for throughthe GI bill, as well as a 4 % loanwith no down payment, to buy ahouse.”
Fahey’s job as Franklin Veteran’sAgent brings him into contact withveterans who have seen war on aregular basis, veterans like thosewho keep Franklin’s V.F.W. Post3402, on Pond Street, up and run-ning. “I have a wonderful job. Butnobody can tell you what war islike until you’ve been to war your-self. The effects of war linger on.Lately I’ve had a number of Viet-nam Vets who are living with theeffects of having been sprayedwith Agent Orange during thewar.”
Fahey works closely with themembers of the V.F.W. “WheneverI need assistance of any kind,they’re always there for me. Eachyear, we visit the veterans in theKindred Care Transitional Care andRehabilitation Center on ChestnutStreet, and some members join meand participate as a group. They’rehelpful in any way I ask them tobe."
Joe Collins, a member of theV.F.W., didn’t join the Post when hefirst returned from Viet Nam. “Ijoined the V.F.W. in 1980 but didn’tparticipate. But I heard that theymight lose the post, so I went downand spoke to the people there. I dis-covered that they’re a good group.Their hearts are in the right place.Veterans from different wars, we’reall cut of the same cloth. When thekids came home from the Gulf war,since I was a Vietnam vet, we vetswanted them to be treated differ-ently than we were when we camehome. And then in 2006 I went toIraq with the National Guard—Iwas 59! The kids in Iraq (and theywere kids) treated me extremelywell. You know, I wouldn’t changea thing. Today, people appreciateveterans. If I’m wearing somethingthat indicates that I’m a veteran,people stop to thank me.”
Howard Crawford, Secretary ofthe Franklin V.F.W. said, “I servedin Germany and also in Korea in1950. When I joined the reserves,they said, ‘If something comes up,we’ll call you.’ Well, somethingcame up. You know, a lot of WWIIveterans went to Korea, and a lotof them got killed.
On the anniversary of Pearl Har-
bor Day, December 7th, “A daythat will live in infamy,” as Presi-dent Franklin Roosevelt so namedit, Fahey and several members ofthe Franklin V.F.W. Post visited vet-erans and their families at KindredCare on Chestnut Street. Fahey hadprepared certificates of appreciationfor each resident veteran at thenursing home, taking the time tospeak with each in turn as he gavethem a baseball cap, each cap de-noting the branch of service the vet-eran had served in. HowardCrawford read and presented the
certificate, and solemnly salutedeach veteran. Kindred Care Resi-dent, Richard Glencross returnedCrawford’s salute, and then, re-flecting his military experience,said, “Carry on.”
Fahey greeted resident, JosephWhite, who had served in the Navyas Fahey had, with “Sweepers,Man your brooms! Do you remem-ber that, Joseph?” White noddedand smiled. Clearly, memories ofhaving served are enduring.
Anna Vanderwal, the only female
vet present at the Activities Roomthat day, served in WWII in the AirForce, and is now 90. Her daughter,Joann Wright, a Franklin resident,explained that her mother volun-teered, hoping to spare others whohad families. “She was unmarriedat the time,” Wright explained.
The certificate bestowed uponeach Kindred Care resident veteran,in remembrance of Pearl HarborDay, bore Fahey’s favorite quote,by President Harry Truman, whichis also on the WWII Veteran’s Me-morial in Washington, D.C. “Ourdebt to the heroic men and valiantwomen in the service of our coun-try can never be repaid. They haveearned our undying gratitude.America will never forget their sac-rifices.”
The V.F.W. Post on Pond Streetmeets monthly on the 1st and 3rdThursdays at 7:30 p.m. and is opento all veterans who have received acampaign medal for overseas serv-ice; have served 30 consecutive or60 non-consecutive days in Korea;or have ever received hostile fire orimminent danger pay. Bob Fahey’sVeteran’s Agent Office is at theFranklin Senior Center. Contacthim at (508) 520-4945 or emailhim at [email protected]
Page 6 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
localtownpagesMedway & Millis
Published MonthlyMailed FREE to theCommunity of
FranklinCirculation: 13,000 households
PUBLISHERChuck Tashjian
EDITOR
J.D. O’Gara
SALESLori Koller
Franklin - Millis - Medway
PRODUCTION& LAYOUT
Dawna Shackley
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
508-533-NEWS (6397)Ad Deadline is the 15th of each month.
Localtownpages assumesno financial liability for errors
or omissions in printed advertising and reserves the right to reject/edit advertising
We have over 57,000 readers and expect a large turnout.
BY J.D. O’GARA
In World War I, they called it“shell shock;” in World War II, itwas “battle fatigue.” Since theVietnam War, it’s been referred toas PTSD, or Post Traumatic StressDisorder, and it’s a problem stillplaguing a number of U.S. soldiersreturning from Iraq andAfghanistan.
Says Franklin Veterans ServiceOfficer Bob Fahey, “They’re pre-dicting that 30% of those whohave will suffer from either PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)and in many cases, it’s difficult todistinguish.”
Indeed, according to a 2009study by Michael P. Atkinson ofthe Naval Postgraduate School andAdam Guetz and Lawrence M.Wein of Stanford University pre-dict as many as 35 percent of re-turning soldiers could havehttp://psychcentral.com/ disor-ders/ptsd/, due to multiple deploy-ments.
PTSD can occur by witnessing orexperiencing life-threateningevents. People who suffer from itoften relive their experiencethrough nightmares, flashbacks,and have difficulty sleeping as wellas feelings of detachment. Theseeffects can impair the person’s life,both psychologically and physi-cally. PTSD can often occur inconjunction with depression, sub-stance abuse, memory and cogni-tion problems and is associatedwith impairment of person’s abil-
ity to function in social or familylife.
Fahey has seen five returning sol-diers from Iraq or Afghanistancome to him to file for service con-nected disability. These veteransrange in age from 20 to 25. Two ofthese veterans have required thehelp of residential programs.
PTSD, says Fahey, is “a normalreaction to abnormal circum-stances. Seeing their friendskilled… there’s a tremendousamount of bonding going on be-tween those who are in combat.When you see one of those friendskilled, there’s a tremendous im-pact. The effects of war linger on.”
“It’s pretty high among people,”says Millis Veterans’ Agent JohnWypyszinski, who spent two toursin Iraq and experienced PTSDfirsthand when he came back,along with a number of his fellowsoldiers. In recent years, 68 veter-ans have returned to the town fromthe Iraq or Afghanistan wars.
“They have trouble with crowds,being out in public,” he says.“Sounds … smells can trigger aflashback,” something as simple asgetting bumped into by someoneat a store “can cause a full blownpanic attack,” he says.
Wypyszinski says the stigma as-sociated with PTSD is not as badas it used to be. He sees the mili-tary as trying to stay on top of theproblem. He says soldiers on ac-tive duty are really being pushed tolet someone know if they know
someone who has such a problem.He thinks it’s telling that the Ma-rine Corps just “did a big push onpost traumatic stress and brain in-jury.”
Wypyszinski also says there’shelp for veterans who’ve recentlycome back. In the Give an Hourprogram, therapists volunteer theirtime to help veterans, he says. Inaddition to group counseling andmedication to control anxiety, ther-apies for PTSD include CognitiveBehavior Therapy (CBT), whichaims to help those with PTSDchange how they view theirtrauma, exposure therapy, whichfocuses on getting the patient to re-peatedly talk about their traumaand gain control over their re-sponse to it; and EMDR (eyemovement desensitization and re-processing), which involves focus-ing on different stimuli, such aseye movements, hand taps andother sounds while or talkingabout traumatic memories in an ef-fort to retrain the affected personto respond differently to the mem-ory.
Some are looking to alternatives,like yoga. In January and Februaryin Millis, the Baba Siri ChandYoga and Retreat Center will beoffering free yoga and meditationto local soldiers and their familiesfor the months of January and Feb-ruary 2012. Visit www.Yo-gaAtThe Ashram.org.
Fahey and Wypyszinski encour-age anyone in this area to seek helpfrom them or directly from the Vet-
eran’s Administration.
“In any war, there are vets whocome home from war and who arein need of services, but unless theyreach out, they’re not going to getthe treatment they need,” saysFahey. “Consult your local veter-ans services officer or go directlyto the VA hospital with your dis-charge papers.”
In Millis, veterans can reach JohnWypyszinski at the Veteran’s Me-morial Building, Room 212 onWednesday mornings and onThursdays by appointment. Call(508) 376-7059. Bob Fahey, inFranklin, can be reached at theFranklin Senior Center at (508)
520-4973. Medway is part of theMetro West Veterans’ ServicesDistrict, comprising Medway,Hopkinton, Holliston and Ashland.Its director is John Givner, whocan be reached at (508) 881.0100x.673, or [email protected]
Local vets can also find helpclose to home at the outpatient VAclinic in Framingham (508) 628-0205, or the outpatient clinic inWorcester (508) 856-0104, as wellas the Brockton VA Hospital (508)583-4500. If you are a veteran ex-periencing these effects, you canalso call Veteran’s Crisis Line di-rectly at 1-(800) 273-TALK, andpress “1.”
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 7
1-877-262-6462
Call us today for a free estimate, special offers and great financing! The best for less!!
www.coanoil.com
Happy New Year Get up to $2,075 in Rebates!!Coan Clunker Heating Systems Replacement Program Shawn Strok
Interior Decorator
508.954.0447
www.decdens.com/shawnstrok
We’ll come to your home and do it all - from concept to completion.
Custom window treatments, furniture and floor coverings,lighting, accessories and more.
Call for a complimentary consultations with your personal design consultant.
Page 8 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
BY J.D. O’GARA
It says a lot about a communitywhen a new business owner vowsnever to leave the town. Food Net-work Challenge repeat cast mem-ber and winner Tracie Turinese,along with her partner AngieMcMillan, have been so impressedwith the support of both Franklinresidents and businesses that theyhave done just that.
“The community really has wel-comed us,” says Tracie, whosecupcakes, just the tip of a deliciousiceberg of beautiful treats, have be-come the talk of the town. Turi-nese, a native of Franklin, hasstrong ties to the neighborhood.She has found support not onlyfrom those who have deep roots inthe town, but also in a “whole newwave of kids and families who areall so excited and so wonderful.”
“We will never leave Franklin,”says Turinese. “We might, downthe road, open up new locations,but we would never give upFranklin.
The partners have had othersmall Franklin businesses to en-courage them, for absolutely noreason other than to be kind, thetwo say. For example, the ownersof Switch and Treazza not only
gave them business, but both alsooffered advice and displayed TheCake Bar business cards at their lo-cations.
“Franklin has grown,” says Turi-nese. “It’s a small town at heart. Itmight be bigger than when I was akid, but the bottom line is it stillfeels like a small town. Peopleknow each other and they supporteach other.”
“They want to see you succeed.We get that all the time,” saysAngie, who says sales havequadrupled what they had ex-pected.
Turinese, a repeat cast memberof the national TV program andwinner of the Food Network Chal-lenge, uses 3 cupcake and cakerecipes adapted from staple recipesat Pipinelle’s restaurant. These
recipes were given to Turinese andMcMillan by Ron Bucchannio,owner of Pipinelle’s, and MargieDamelio, Pastry Chef from therestaurant. Prior to opening theirbusiness, both women, Turinese
on the east coast andMcMillan, on the westcoast in Spokane, WA,conducted focus groupsand taste tests to find themost delicious versions oftheir cake recipes.
The two are a good team.
“It’s a good fit,” says Tra-cie. “I’m more on the artis-tic design side and Angie’smore operations focused.”
Turinese first began cre-ating these edible works ofart when she threw a babyshower for Angie and dis-covered a cake designer inSeattle.
“I couldn’t believe the cakes hemade,” she says. She then im-mersed herself in learning thetrade.
“I like the idea of having thesky’s the limit on the cake side,”says the designer. “ Sculpting andcreating large pieces of art with thecake is my passion. We can prettymuch do anything with cake – allthat gravity and budget allows!”
Angie gets a kick out of seeingthe excitement on Turinese’s facewhen she gets an order that willchallenge her skills, such as a re-cent “Harry Potter” cake. Turinesethrills in creating a custom cake foreach customer for events frombirthdays to holidays and specialgatherings. The menu is constantlyevolving to offer cake truffles, in-dividual cakes, trifles, offering
some beautiful standards as well asthe hottest trends, such as tieredwedding cupcakes. The latter caninclude any theme (one was donein sunflowers), and the easy-to-serve ensemble includes a top six-inch round for the bride and groomto cut.
The Cake Bar can provide abeautiful cake for as little as $45 orcreate a full-blown 3D sculpturethat will leave a lasting impressionin guests’ memories and hearts forless than you’d expect. The bakeryis a great resource for the partyplanner, offering an event platterthat can combine the customer’schoice of cupcakes, dessert barsand frosting shots.
Tracie does advise, however, tocall ahead for those custom worksof art.
“Because they truly are custom,we typically ask for as much no-tice as possible,” she says. “Trulyit is designed for each individual,and therefore we need a little leadtime to turn around the cake.”
For those who want to try theirown hand at the art of cake cre-ation, The Cake Bar offers a vari-ety of classes, from CakeDecorating 101 to Glitz and GlamEdible Jewelry. Visit their websiteat www.thecakebaronline to seeupcoming classes. Right now, thebakery offers adult classes, butthey are considering finding aspace to expand that roster to in-clude children’s classes.
“We are currently planning achildren’s cake competition,” saysTurinese. The event will resemblea Food Network Challenge and isstill in development. “It would bea place for kids to showcase theircake art,” she says.
The Cake Bar website will alsoallow visitors to sign up for anewsletter. On top of upcomingclasses, the newsletter will keepfolks up to date on flavors of themonth and seasonal specials. Fansof The Cake Bar can also stop bytheir page on Facebook.
“We love seeing that feedback onthere,” says Angie. “Keep an eyeon us, because there’s more tocome.”
You can visit The Cake Bar at 1Crossing Plaza in Franklin. Hoursare Wednesday through Friday, 10a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. –4 p.m. (or until cupcakes run out),and Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (oruntil cupcakes run out. Or, call(508) 553-8700 to place your cus-tom order.
The Cake Bar Seeing Sweet Success in FranklinFood Network Challenge Winner a Native of the Town
as seen on:
BRING THIS COUPON IN AND GET 10% OFF
YOUR STANDARD CUPCAKE PURCHASELimit one coupon per customer, and excludes custom cupcakes.
HAVING A SUPERBOWL PARTY?Come see us about custom cupcake in your favorite team colors!
For more information visit:
www.thecakebaronline.com or call (508) 553-8700
1 Crossing Plaza, Franklin
Tuesday, January 24th: Couture Cupcakes, $65/person
Sunday, January 28thDecorating 101: $125/person
GIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR ONE OF OUR JANUARY DECORATING CLASSES!
Tel: (508) 520-0696 • Dine In/Take Out15 Main Street, Franklin, MA
Buy any lunch or dinner entree at regular price and receive second entree of equal or lesser value with a 50% discount. Limit one coupon
per party. Not to be combined with other offers.
50% off Lunch or DinnerValid Sunday - Thursday only
Expires: 1/31/12
Gift Certificates Available
December 31New Year’s Eve Labyrinth Walk,
5-7 p.m., First Universalist Societyof Franklin, 262 Chestnut St.,Franklin. Indoor and outdoorlabyrinths will be lit, weather per-mitting. Collecting goods forPathways Family Shelter in Fram-ingham. They have requestedsocks for babies, toddlers, 6-yearolds & women, diapers (all sizes),baby wipes, soap and shampoo.Visit www.fusf.org or call Judy at(508) 528-7831.
January 1Tri-Valley Youth Hockey regis-
tration for beginner skate andhockey programs begins. TheLearn- to- Skate program meetsonce a week at 10 a.m. beginningon Sunday, January 15, and lastsfor 10 weeks. The Learn-to- Playprogram meets twice a week, be-ginning on Saturday, January 14 at8 am and Sunday January 15 at9am and lasts for 10 weeks. Eachprogram is open to boys and girlsover the age of 4 and is run byUSA Hockey certified coaches.Both programs will skate at thePirelli Veterans Memorial SkatingRink, 910 Panther Way, inFranklin. For more informationand to register for these excitingprograms, please go towww.trivalleyindians.com.
January 4The Friends of the Franklin Li-
brary (FOFL) meeting, 7 p.m. inthe Community Room of the li-brary, lower level. Members andthe public are welcome to attend.
January 78th Annual Gary Mirliss Memorial
Blood Drive, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., KingPhilip Middle School, 18 King St.,Norfolk, Family drive in partnershipwith Brigham & Women’s Hospital,Dana-Farber Cancer Institute andChildren’s Hospital, Boston inmemory of Gary Mirliss. To makeyou appointment you can go towww.halfpints.childrenshospital.organd use the Sponsor code MIRLISS.For more information, emailGM.Memorial.Drive@ Gmail.com
In an effort to help fight child-hood obesity, Boston Sports Club,Franklin will be holding our firstKids Get Active Day on January7th from noon to 2pm.
During this time the whole com-munity will be welcome to try avariety of our kids programsFREE. We offer every levelswimming class, kids zumba, par-ent-child yoga, kids all-star sportsclasses and more.
January 8Nutrition Seminar, hosted by
Team Fitness Franklin, 11:30 a.m.,$20 at door
January 1010 am–2 pm. Dean College
Children’s Center. Parents ofpreschoolers age 2–6 can stop byduring exploration hours, bringtheir child to explore the innova-tive, NAEYC accredited school,and learn about the programs.Dean College Children’s Center,144 School St., Franklin. For moreinformation call 508-541-1598.
January 13Hearing Care Center Open
House, 450 North Main St.,Cobbs Corner, Sharon, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.Visit the Hearing Care Cen-ter Open House for a free hearingevaluation, hearing aid demonstra-tion and enter a drawing for a freeTV listening system.
January 14Auditions for Franklin Perform-
ing Arts Company’s Annie,Franklin School for the Perform-ing Arts, 38 Main Street. All audi-tioning should prepare 16 bars ofa musical theater song NOT fromAnnie. Those called back for therole of Annie will be asked to sing“Tomorrow.” Tickets for the showgo on sale January 16.
They can be purchased at theSpotlight Shop, at 34 Main St. inFranklin or you may call (508)528-8668.
January 16Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tuesday, January 10:Low VisionGroup meets at 1 p.m. A represen-tative from the MA Commissionfor the Blind will be speaking anda free raffle for low vision aideswill be offered. All are welcome.
Wednesdays, January 11 & 25:
Blood Sugar Testing from 8:30 to10 a.m.
Wednesdays, January 11, 18 &
25: Gait Assessments are offeredby our Wellness Nurse at 11:00a.m. to determine if you are at riskfor falling. We’re raffling off an-other $50 gift card, so call to signup today.
Wednesday, January 18: FreeInformational Session on Medita-tion at 11 a.m. Meditation helpsone to gain a new perspective onstressful situations, build skills tomanage stress, increase self-aware-ness, focus on the present, and re-duce negative emotions. Classesstart on January 25.
Wednesday, January 18: Care-givers Support Group meets at 4p.m. Respite can be provided bycalling ahead.
Thursday, January 19: SenatorRoss’ Aide, Catherine Gillespie isat the Center at 10 a.m. to meetwith constituents.
Friday, January 20: Federal &State Income Tax Return Updatesat 10 a.m. with Deanna Rensch.Call to sign up.
Friday, January 20: Chair Vol-leyball Demonstration and SignUp at 11 a.m. This fun games helpsto improve cardiovascular fitness,
increase flexibility and tone mus-cle! Call to sign up for a demo ofthe game on Friday, January 20 at11 am.
Monday, January 23: PaintingClasses with Bill Robinson at 1p.m. Bill will be at the Center toshow some of his work and sign upnew students for his class whichwill start in February. Come by orcall to sign up for this great newpainting class.
Wednesday, January 25: “Deal-ing with Dizziness, Vertigo andBalance Problems” will be pre-sented by Wellness Nurse, LindaHastings at 1 p.m. Please call tosign up for this informative pres-entation.
Friday, January 27: CountryWestern Party is offered at 10:30a.m. featuring C&W performer;Bill McCoy. Luncheon is a deli-cious Beef Stew. Come dressed inthe CW theme and we’ll awardprizes for the best outfits. Ticketsare $6 and available at the SeniorCenter until January 20.
Monday, January 30:Newcom-ers Coffee Hour is offered at 1:30p.m. Newcomers are invited tocome by to take a tour of the Cen-ter and learn about the many pro-grams, services and activitiesoffered here. Please call to sign up.
Monday Movies are shown at1:15 p.m. on the following dates inJanuary:
January 9: Larry Crowne (PG-13)
January 23: The Help (PG-13)
January 30: One Day (PG-13)
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 9
January Calendar of Events
Run Your Inserts
With Us!Call Lori Koller(508) 934-9608
Mark’s AutomotiveComplete Car Care
Mark PerryOwnerwww.marksautomotivefranklin.netmarksautomotive1@verizon.net
505 East Central StFranklin, MA 02038
(508) 528-3701
Franklin Senior Center Happening
Traditional Assisted Living $3,400 to $4,750 per month.
Memory Care Assisted Living $5,100 to $5,400 per month.Medicaid and Veterans subsidies available. Prices as of 12/1/2011 and subject to change.
OPENHOUSE
Sunday, 1-3
Offering both traditional living and memory care assisted living in a warm, home-like residence sited on six woodedacres. One all inclusive price:
Call 508-634-2440 for a brochure.WHITCOMB HOUSE
245 West St./Rte. 140, Milford, MA 01757Whitcombhouse.com
Sometimes a little help makes a large difference.
GOT ROTTED WOOD?We can Fix it, Repair it, or Replace it.
Call Ron 774-219-1557Licensed & Insured
www.ccbyrm.com
224 Dedham StreetNorfolk, MA 02056(774) 847-7977 tel
www.keepyourneedleshappy.com
Yarns, accessories and more!
15% OFFwith this Ad.(on regular price items)
BY J.D. O’GARA
Maureen Kayata was at the top ofher career. A Senior Vice Presidentat the fifth largest bank in theworld, the financial whiz hadclimbed the ranks of CorporateAmerica over 24 years, earned anice income and seemed to have itall. Then, she walked away, towardsomething even bigger.
“It was an internal calling,” saysMaureen. “It was such a pull. Mybelief is you should try to make adifference in somebody’s life everyday. I practiced that in corporate,but I wanted to live it every day. I
needed to do something that hadmeaning on this earth, I wanted tomake a difference.”
Kayata’s mission is to offer peo-ple “A Little Bit of Heaven.” Shechose this name for her new voca-tion, reconnecting others with owntheir life purpose, restoring theirpeace, self worth, self-confidence,creativity and vitality. She uses dif-ferent tools to remove fears andblocks that have disconnected peo-ple from their own divine guid-ance, blocks that have kept themfrom achieving everything fromweight loss to happiness.
Kayata believes that we all havea voice, or guide, which assists usin the direction we need to go. Herown guiding force led her to be-come a certified in Reiki Master.Reiki is a Japanese form of healing
that works with the body’s energysystem.
Kayata received some affirma-tions that she had chosen the rightpath. She voluntarily performsReiki at hospitals, and in one case,Kayata worked on a two-year-oldboy whose parents had been toldhe was not going to survive. By thenext morning, the boy had made amiraculous turnaround.
This was the first of several suchexperiences. In a different ICUcase, Kayata instantly realized thatReiki alone was not going to work.The experience led her to learn re-connective healing and The Recon-nection. A healing practicedeveloped by Dr. Eric Pearl thatworks directly with the cellularmemory and DNA of the individ-ual. The Reconnection activates all
12 strands of DNA. Most peopleare currently operating on only 2strands of DNA. It helps the indi-vidual to launch forward in theirlife purpose with complete clarity.
Kayata often sees clients whohave exhausted more conventionalmethods of healing. “They’re at acrossroads,” says Kayata, andsome of them do not want to admitto anyone else what they’re doing,because they don’t understand it,she says. Even Kayata herself can-not explain why her methods work.
“I am not a medical doctor,” saysMaureen. “I don’t claim to healpeople, but what I do is honor thegifts that were given to me by God.I listen to the person, and I meetthem where they are,” honoringtheir belief system, she says. “Themiracle comes from within the per-
son and their belief.”
Among her gifts, Kayata is amedium. From a young age, shehas been able to receive messagesfrom deceased people. Growing upin a Catholic family, she kept thegift to herself for a long time.
“How do you tell people you getmessages that other people don’tsee or hear?” asks Kayata. “Whenpeople cross, they’re still verymuch around you, but we are sothick in our grief, or so thick in ourbelief, that we miss it.” Most peo-ple, says Kayata, miss the signstheir deceased loved ones send. Asa medium, she says, she’s able togive that message of love or heal-ing.
“Mediumship is a huge blessingto have,” says Maureen. “I like to
Page 10 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Visit Our Factory & Factory OutletC h e r r y F u r n i t u r e
Woodforms131 Morse Street • Foxboro • 508-543-9417
With this coupon. Not valid with other offers or prior purchases. Offer expires 6/9/12.
$200 offany purchase
over $2000Woodforms
131 Morse Street • Foxboro • 508-543-9417With this coupon. Not valid with other offers or
prior purchases. Offer expires 6/9/12.
$100 offany purchase
from $1000 to $1999Woodforms
131 Morse Street • Foxboro • 508-543-9417With this coupon. Not valid with other offers or
prior purchases. Offer expires 6/9/12.
Fortunes Foundfine home consignments
Hours: Tue 12-5, Wed 10-5, Thu 10-4, Fri/Sat 10-3, Sun - by chance
Collectibles Include:
Dedham Pottery,
Hummel, Waterford,
Lenox, Wedgwood & more
Best kept secret in town....
Come in and check out our ever-changing
inventory of furniture, home decor and
accessories... something for every taste...
vintage to contemporary
4 Crossing Plaza(corner of Union & Cottage Sts)
Franklin, MA 508-346-3775www.fortunesfound.net
She Offers People “A Little Bit of Heaven”
BIT OF HEAVENcontinued on page 11
Girls’ Night Out32 Central Street
Holliston, MA 01746You and your friends can have the store to yourselves!
Minimum of six people to book the party, up to a maximum of 20 ladies.
When? Any night of the week after store closing.Great for an upcoming:
• Birthday Party• Bachelorette Party• Anniversary• Or just a Girls’ Night Out!
Refreshments served for you and your guests. Your guests also receive a goodie bag and thehostess of the party will also receive 20% off her purchases made that night! (jewelry not included)
Custom designed solutions for every room and lifestyle.
kCall today for a no-obligation
consultation with a design professional.
Lifew e l l o r g a n i z e d
31 Hayward StFranklin, MA 02038
508-553-3550Serving Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Bring this ad
to our Franklin
showroom and
receive a free gift
Reardon HVAC Corp.
Tel: (508) 520-9244, (617) 524-4865
837 Upper Union St., Unit C15, Franklin, MA 02038
Residential & CommercialFree
Estimates
ServingThe CommunityOver 50 Years
• Central Air Systems • Ductless Air Systems
• Repair & Replacement Of All Types Of
Heating & Air Conditioning Systems
• Energy Efficient Systems • Humidifiers
• New & Existing Construction
• Sheet Metal Duct Work • Ventilation
Save Up To 50% On Your Fuel Bills With Our Gas Fired Infrared Heaters
We Service All Brands Family Owned & Operated Maintenance & Service Agreements Available.
say I have two-way communica-tion. I can ask a question and getan answer most of the time.”
As if these tools aren’t enough,Kayata is also a Certified Hypno-tist. Hypnosis is a very deep, pro-gressive relaxation, says Kayata,“you can help a person reprogramanything at all in their life.”
Kayata has also had hypnosissucceed where conventional med-icine has not worked. In one in-stance, a teenage girl had troublekeeping food down for a period of14 years. Kayata learned that theteen suspected her sphincter mus-cle wasn’t working properly.
“I got her into a hypnotic state,”says Kayata. “I had HER do thework. During hypnosis, Kayataasked the girl to go in and tightenthat muscle. After two sessions, herproblem was completely resolved.Similarly, Maureen was able to ridan overweight client of an obses-sive addiction to sugar. The result?
“She has never had a craving forsugar ever again,” says Kayata.“and she’s lost 50 lbs.”
Kayata, essentially, helps herclients reconnect with their confi-dence and their own internalpower.
“The fact is, we’re on this earth,but we’re so entrapped with fearsthat we can’t accomplish what wewant to accomplish,” says Kayata.
She works with clients to shift thatbelief, through hypnosis, angelreadings, channeling and healing.
“If you can feel completely con-fident in yourself and step into yourpower completely, then every per-son who steps into your path willbenefit,” says Kayata. “God madeus all so special and unique. I try tobring out the uniqueness of eachindividual, to be accepting ofthemselves and work with whatthey were blessed with.”
A Little Bit of Heaven is locatedat 175 North Main Street, in Attle-boro, Mass., at Attleboro Chiro-practic Health Center. You canreach Maureen Kayata at (508)838-0883, email her at [email protected] orvisit her website and listen to herradio shows at www.alit-tlebitofheaven.net
BIT OF HEAVENcontinued from page 10
Maureen Kayata
The Tri-County Robotics Teamwas recently awarded a $1,000corporate grant from JCPenney.
The Team will use the grant tohelp offset the cost of entering theFIRST competition, a worldwiderobotics competition in whichteams are given six weeks to de-sign and build a robot using a stan-dard kit of parts.
This marks the third year in a
row in which the Tri-County teamwill compete at the FIRST BostonRegional, after coming in 8thplace in their first year and placingin the Top 30 last year.
This year's FIRST Boston Re-gional is being held in March at the Agannis Arena at BostonUniversity.
Tri-County Robotics Gets $1,000 JCPenney Grant
BY DIANA HERBERT
For parents with college stu-dents, it’s a wise idea to keep tabson their finances – even if they’remanaging their own money.That’s because college studentsare a common target for creditcard companies — and creditcards are a big temptation formoney-strapped students.
According to a study by studentloan institution Sallie Mae, 84%of undergrads attending four-yearinstitutions leave for school withat least one credit card and 50%have four or more cards.
This presents a dilemma formany parents: How can studentsstay out of credit card debt, butstill ensure that they are able to
purchase necessary items, withouthaving to resort to carrying largeamounts of cash.
Parents can do a few things tokeep young adults on a fiscally re-sponsible track. One way is by es-tablishing a checking account withan attached debit card.
Safer spending
With a debit card, students canenjoy the freedom of a credit card,but without the risk of over-ex-tending. They also learn firsthandhow to manage their money andtake that next critical step towardfinancial responsibility. Some ad-vantages include:
Like a traditional credit card,branded prepaid debit cards areaccepted at most mainstream es-
tablishments, including stores, gasstations, restaurants and onlinemerchants.
Purchase amounts are deducteddirectly from the account balance.(All cards should backed by FDICinsurance.)
Students who work can havetheir pay direct-deposited intotheir account.
Unlike a traditional credit cardthat offers a maximum allowance,a prepaid card is reloadable. Thisallows parents some involvementin their child’s financial success.
Re-loadable cards can be replen-ished daily, weekly or monthly.The student can also load the cardwith funds earned from part-timejobs. Unlike a traditional creditcard, once the money is gone, thestudent cannot keep spending.
Participants can easily reload acard at participating reload net-works.
About the author: Diana Her-
bert is an H&R Block tax profes-
sional in Franklin. Please see our
ad on this page.
In September of 2011, BrianByrne from Norfolk Massachu-setts was nominated by fellowclassmates along with 9 other stu-dents at Roger Williams Univer-sity to compete for Mr. RWU forthe 2011/2012 school year.
This award was based on severalchallenges and events of whichBrian completed over a three-month period, one of which wasfund raising for a local Children’sCancer hospital (Brian’s team col-lected nearly $3,000). The culmi-nation of this occurred on
November 19, when Brian and histeam performed singing and danc-ing to 3 Justin Bieber songs infront of 5 judges and a packed au-ditorium at Roger Williams Uni-versity. The performance endedwith a standing ovation.
At the conclusion of the event itwas announced that Brian PatrickByrne of Norfolk, Massachusettswas awarded the prestigious Mr.RWU. Brian will graduate in Mayof 2012 will a degree in BusinessManagement.
Page 12 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Tax season is approaching, let me prepare your taxes for you.
Theresa Horky, CPA, MSTPegasus Solutions, Inc184 West Central StFranklin, MA 02038508-570-4908508-570-4916 (fax)http://www.pegasusltc.com/
Tax and Accounting Services
H&R Block • 7 E Central Street • Franklin, MA 02038Phone: 508-528-6012
* Comparison based on mailed check from the IRS, which normally arrives 18-25 days after IRS acceptance of your return. Normal time to receive a RefundAnticipation Check (RAC) is 7-14 days after IRS acceptance. Standard tax preparation fees apply. Free RAC offer applies to a RAC loaded onto an H&R BlockEmerald Prepaid MasterCard® for Federal-only returns. Fees apply if state return is filed or if RAC is provided as a paper check or direct deposit into another
bank account. H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard is issued by, and RAC is provided by, H&R Block Bank, a Federal Savings Bank, member FDIC. You mustmeet legal requirements for opening a bank account. A RAC is a bank deposit, not a loan, and is limited to the size of your refund less applicable fees. You canelectronically file your return and receive your refund without a RAC, a loan or extra fees. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International
Is getting financially fit part of your New Year’s resolution?
Take advantage of our free consultation to review your investments and see if you are on target to meet your goals.
Joseph ByrneProactive Wealth Advisor
President/Owner of Byrne Financial Freedom, LLC
11 East Street, Franklin, MA 02038 • (508) 528-9366www.byrnefinancialfreedom.com
• Retirement Planning• College Planning• Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds
• Variable and Fixed Annuities• Alternative Investments• Life, Disability, Long Term Care Insurance
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC
Brian Byrne Named Mr. RWU
Tax and Service Professionals
School College Kids About Debit Cards
We publish the 1st of
every month. Advertisementand editorial deadline is the 15th
of each month.
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 13
Dean College News & EventsVisit www.dean.edu for more news & events
MEET YOUR FUTURE
WHY DEAN COLLEGE FOR CONTINUING STUDIES?
SPRING CONTINUING STUDIES COURSES – ENROLL NOW!
SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES
MEET YOUR FUTURE
MEET YOUR FUTURE
MEET YOUR FUTURE
O CEAN DHYW
NTINUINGO CROFEGELL
?SIEDTU SNTINUING
CHOOL SAND CONTINUING STUDIES
PROFESSIONALOF CHOOL AND CONTINUING STUDIES
Glendale, AZ: The Dean College(Franklin, MA) football team cappeda tremendous fall season by captur-ing the Valley of the Sun Bowl in dra-matic fashion over GlendaleCommunity College. Trailing 25-6late in the third quarter, the Bulldogsscored 20 straight points to captureits first bowl crown in four tries, 26-25. It was a measure of revenge overthe Gauchos, as Dean had fallen tothem two years ago in the same bowlgame, 10-9.
Things did not look promising inthe first quarter, as Glendale tookan early 10-point lead on a 22-yardtouchdown pass and JordanRueschoff’s first of three fieldgoals. The Bulldogs answeredwith a 17-yard strike from JamalSmall to Demetri Davis, but on theensuing PAT, the kick was blockedand Glendale returned it for 2points, leaving the score at 12-6.The Gauchos added another 1st
quarter TD and a 2nd quarter fieldgoal to lead at the half 22-6.
After Glendale added their finalfield goal, Dean started its come-back under sixty-degree overcastskies. Late in the 3rd quarter,Jamal Small completed 5 passeson a drive punctuated with a 7-yard touchdown pass to RobbieJackson. The defense held Glen-dale on downs, forcing them topunt. Dean took over on the 20-yard line and marched 80 yards ineight plays, ending with a 17-yardtouchdown run by Aundre John-son. Blaine Moriarity’s PAT madeit 25-20.
After the teams traded punts, theBulldogs started their final dra-matic drive on their own 44-yardline with less than five minutes re-maining in the game. Again, JamalSmall was the catalyst, completingsix passes culminated with an ac-robatic catch by Rodney White-
head, who dove for the right pylonfor the touchdown, giving Dean itsfirst lead of the game. Dean’s two-point conversion attempt was bro-ken up, leaving them with atenuous 1-point advantage.
Glendale’s kicker showed greatrange in warm-ups, and had al-ready kicked three field goals, sowith 1:45 left in the game, theGauchos had a chance as theystarted their last drive. Startingfrom their own 16-yard line, theymarched 67 yards in 9 plays,where they faced a 4th and 8 fromthe Dean 17-yard line. With thegame on the line, Glendale’skicker, Jordan Rueschoff, pulledhis field goal attempt to the left,and the Dean College celebrationwas on.
Jamal Small was voted the mostvaluable player of the game, com-pleting 17 passes, 3 for touch-downs. Aundre Johnson rushed
for 57 yards on 14 carries, whileRobbie Jackson caught 6 passesfor 73 yards and 1 touchdown.
With the defense holding Glen-dale to 3 points in the second half,outstanding performances wereturned in by Charles Watson with10 tackles, including a sack, andChamarcus Pittard, who recorded9 tackles. Donovan Walker,Jonathan Roundtree and Vishawn
Williams all recorded an intercep-tion, which stalled Glendale intheir attempts to score more pointsearlier in the game.
Dean ends its season at 8-1, andhopes to climb from its 11th posi-tion in the final NJCAA nationalpoll.
To learn more about Dean Col-lege, visit www.dean.edu.
Dean College Wins Valley of the Sun Bowl
Presentation of Trophy Caption: Presentation of Valley of the Sun BowlGame Trophy, presented to Robbie Jackson (#3) from Natick, MA andCharles Watson (#5) from Middletown, CT.
Page 14 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
A collaboration of community leaders, businesses and residents interested in revitalizing Downtown Franklin intoan exciting, vibrant environment rich with opportunity.Have You Heard What’s New in Franklin?Franklindowntownpartnership.orgDowntown.Franklin@yahoo.comFor more information, contact:Executive Director (774) 571-3109The Partnership is a Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization.
Book Early for the Holidays
Daily Visits
Vacation Visits
Bonded and Insured
Members PSI and IACP
More than 20 years of experience
Special care and Special requests forall pets
WWW.CRITTERVISITS.COM
508-922-6706Pet Sitting and Dog Training
Critter Visits
The Franklin Food Elves and theFranklin Downtown Partnershipexceeded their goals for the ‘12Days of Donating’ campaign inDecember, collecting nearly twicethe food and monetary donationsthey hoped for to benefit theFranklin Food Pantry. Together thegroups donated 2,035 pounds ofnon perishable items and $4,266during the 12 day drive.
According to Anne Marie Bella-vance, Executive Director of theFranklin Food Pantry, these dona-tions will help carry the foodpantry through this holiday seasonand into 2012.
“Based on our calculations,when we combine the weight andthe dollar amount it translates intomore than 17,000 meals,” saysBellavance. “We have seen a cas-cading effect of community sup-port beginning with this drive aswell as help printing 250 cook-books for our clients. We are sovery grateful to be surrounded bysuch a giving community.”
The Food Elves expanded theirreach this year, placing bins atdowntown locations and canvass-ing neighborhoods throughouttown. The result was more thanone ton of food and non-perish-
ables collected for the food pantry.
DCU gave a $1,500 donationand Berry Insurance stepped upwith a $1,000 gift. In addition todonations by residents, six down-town businesses, including DeanBank, Dean College, Jane’sFrames, Printsmart Office Sup-plies, the Franklin DowntownPartnership and Berry Insurance,had pledged $1,200 in matchingfunds. The grand total of moneyraised was $4,266.
Franklin Food Elves foundersMelissa and Cameron Piana arethrilled with the campaign’s re-sults.
“A few years ago my brother andI started collecting donations inour neighborhood and the idea hasgrown into a much bigger way forus to make a difference for needyfamilies in Franklin,” saysMelissa. “We want to thank all theresidents and businesses for thedonations and all of our elves fortheir help. It was a team effort withhuge results.”
“It is amazing to me how manypeople wanted to help us reach ourgoal,” says Cameron. “We are ex-cited that we exceeded our goal forthe Food Pantry and that so many
people will benefit from the dona-tions.”
The Franklin Food Elves are ledby Head Elves Melissa andCameron Piana. The elves areKatie Buccella, Kiara Chan, JessDeaver, Amanda Dickson, ColleenFlaherty, Katie Flaherty, EliseFrank, Haley Frank, SantiagoLeal, Kasey Lynch, Jacob Signori,Shannon Takahata and Mely Wu.
“We knew this communitywould support the elves and thefood pantry but this response sur-passed all of our expectations,”says Partnership President NicoleFortier. “The support and positivefeedback for this drive has beenoverwhelming. We are grateful tothe residents and businesses ofFranklin and to the local papers forhelping us spread the word.”
The Franklin Food Elves is acharitable community servicegroup. The Franklin DowntownPartnership is a non-profit501(c)3 group working to revital-ize downtown Franklin. For moreinformation about either groupplease contact the Partnership at(774)571-3109 [email protected].
Food Elves, Partnership CollectA Ton of FoodAmount Collected Translates to 17,000 Meals
Back Row: Beth MacBrian–DCU, Joel Carrara–Printsmart, Chelsea Failla–Dean College, Jane Curran–Jane’sFrames, Mary Graff–Berry Insurance. Front Row: Nicole Fortier–Dean Bank, Cameron Piana, Melissa Piana, Anne Marie Bellavance–Food Pantry, Lisa Piana–Franklin Downtown Partnership
Tri-County Superintendent-Di-rector Stephen F. Dockray hasannounced that more than 60seniors from the Class of 2012have been awarded John andAbigail Adams Scholarships.
The John and Abigail AdamsScholarships provide four yearsof free tuition to full-time stu-dents attending any Universityof Massachusetts campus, orany participating state or com-munity college, beginning in thefall 2012 semester. These schol-arships are awarded to studentswho achieve two advancedscores or one advanced and oneproficient score on the Grade 10English Language Arts andMathematics MCAS exams.
This year’s recipients areDaniela Aguilera and AmandaNewman of Attleboro, AnthonyFenter of Bellingham, JessicaBayer, Amanda Daignault,Cristina DeGaetano, ZacharyGillespie, Maverick Keene,Jourdan McKenna, Joshua Mc-Neill, Michael Rebello, RyanSharp, and Haley Switzer ofFranklin, Jacob Bibel, David In-glis, and Tyler Schnitzlein ofMedfield, Michael Goudy, and
Tyler Lobisser of Medway, JuliaCorrea, Christopher Drews, andStefanie Waite of Millis,Alexander Blacker, James Carl-son, Nicholas DeMore, CorrieDesilets, Alexis Felix, JeffreyGeikie, Joshua Isaiah, CatherineLawing, Kayla Mitchell, EvanMoriarty, Dariel Nunez,Michael Onofrio, BenjaminPlantz, Zachary Roy, RyanSwanson, Olivia Vieira, andCorey Waple of North Attleboro,Taylor Bukoff, Gretchen Gund-lach, John Jones, Lyndsay Ouel-lette, Richard Saraf, MaureenSpillane, and Matthew White ofPlainville, Molly Marcotte, Han-nah Mingo, Jacob Phaneuf, ErinPowell, and Thomas Rudkowskiof Seekonk, Zachary Knight,Samantha Morandi, JessicaNeves, Samantha Richard,Tiffany Spillane, and ThomasWhearty of Walpole, and EmilyBishop, Robert Fiorelli, Ben-jamin Kent, Logan McCarthy,Shane Quinn, Catherine Rando,and Jaclyn Tenaglia of Wren-tham.
The recipients were honoredduring a celebratory breakfaston Monday, December 12.
Tri-County SeniorsWin John & AbigailAdams Scholarships
The Friends of the Franklin Li-brary (FOFL) will hold itsmonthly meeting on Wednesday,January 4, 2012 at 7 p.m. in theCommunity Room of the library,lower level. Members and the pub-lic are welcome to attend the meet-ings. FOFL is always looking fornew ideas, opinions and commentsto help make its efforts more suc-cessful.
The Friends of the Franklin Li-brary is a non-profit organizationdedicated to the support and en-hancement of the nation’s firstpublic library. Meetings are heldthe first Wednesday of eachmonth, September through June.Membership is open to everyone.
For information about theFriends, call (508) 528-6624.
Friends of Library toMeet January 4th
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 15
24 Hour Emergency Service For Our Loyal Customers
Serving MetroWest families & businesses for 57 years.
www.medwayoil.com Oil Propane Coal 37 Broad Street, Medway Your Total Home Comfort Company
OPEN DAILY 10 am - 5 pm73 Holliston Street, Medway, MA 02053 • 508-533-4400
www.thestraycatmedway.com
WINTER CLEARANCE SALEJanuary 27-29th10-25% OFF
Firm and Sale Items Excluded
Estate Sales Layaway Available
Featuring uniques, estate jewelry, vintage, collectibles, pre-owned furniture, candles and
giftware, ALL at affordable prices.
MOTHER GOOSEON THE LOOSE
Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. Thisprogram is designed for childrenup to two-years-old with theircaregiver. No registration re-quired.
TERRIFIC TWOSStories, songs, and activities for
children who are two-years-old.Wednesdays at 10 a.m. No regis-tration required.
TIME FOR TALESStorytime for independent 3, 4,
& 5-year-olds. Children attend"on their own." Wednesdays at10:30 a.m. No registration re-quired.
STORY & CRAFTStories, activities, and a craft
for children ages 4 and 5 "ontheir own." Thursdays at 10:30a.m. Registration REQUIRED.Registration begins the finalweek of the preceding month.Limited to 20 children, so pleasearrive on time! Late-comers maynot be admitted.
Preschool Story Times at FranklinPublic Library
Dean College announced that theTrustees of the Davis EducationalFoundation voted to grant DeanCollege $100,000 for a project ti-tled Closing the Loop: Reinven-tion and Renewal of the DeanCollege Curriculum Based on Stu-dent Learning Outcomes Assess-ment Results. The grant wasreceived from the Davis Educa-tional Foundation established byStanton and Elisabeth Davis afterMr. Davis’s retirement as chair-man of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc.The prestigious Davis EducationalFoundation seeks to strengthen the
undergraduate programs of publicand private, regionally accredited,baccalaureate degree granting col-leges and universities in New Eng-land.
In a letter to Dean College Presi-dent Paula M. Rooney, Ed.D., theFoundation Trustees expressed thescope of the project as extremelyambitious. Coleen Resnick, VicePresident, Institutional Advance-ment, added, “The Davis Educa-tional Foundation seemed mostimpressed with the strong leader-ship and commitment demon-
strated by the College’s leadersand faculty which the FoundationTrustees got to see first-hand dur-ing a visit to Dean.”
The overall goal of the Deanproject being recognized is to re-design the College’s general edu-cation curriculum in order toincrease the effectiveness of theteaching and learning process andthereby improve student learningoutcomes.
For more information call 877–TRY- DEAN or visitwww.dean.edu.
Dean College Receives $100k from Davis EducationalFoundation
MoMENtum, Dancer’s show-case. Dean College dance studentsperform choreography adjudi-cated by renowned guest choreog-raphers. Saturday, February 4,7:30 pm; Guidrey Center, DeanCampus Center. Tickets: generaladmission $15, Dean alumni $10,Dean students/seniors/children
under 12 $5. 508-541-1605 orwww.dean.edu/momentum. Mas-ter classes by the guest artists Sun-day, February 5, 9 am–4 pm.Registration: 8–8:45 am. Tickets:classes $65, Dean students $25,observers $20. For more info, call508-541-1606.
Dean Dancers Showcased in MoMENtum
Walk into the New Year in peaceand community. An opening cere-mony at 5 p.m. will begin thisopen labyrinth walk of gratitudefor this year's blessings and hopesfor the coming year.
Both the indoor and outdoorlabyrinths will be lit, weather per-mitting. Walkers are welcome
anytime between 5-7 p.m. on De-cember 31st at the First Universal-ist Society of Franklin, 262Chestnut Street, Franklin.
Free and open to all ages. Wewill be collecting goods for thePathways Family Shelter in Fram-ingham. They have requestedsocks for babies, toddlers, 6 year
Go to www.fusf. org for direc-tions. Call Judy at (508) 528-7831for more information.
First Universalist Invites All to New Year’s Eve Labyrinth Walk
Performing their 2012 in-concertdebut, Electric Youth (EY) 2012will take the stage at ShowcaseLive, Patriot Place, on Sunday,February 12 at 6:00 p.m. ThisValentine’s Weekend show offersa great evening of family entertain-ment with music appealing to allages.
Accompanied by an eight-pieceband of world-class musicians,Electric Youth performs a high-en-ergy, fully choreographed showwith an extensive repertoire ofclassic rock, pop, swing, country,and contemporary Broadwaymusic. EY’s Showcase Live setswill include EY audience favoritesby The Beatles, Journey, ArethaFranklin and Duffy as well assongs new to EY by Lady Gaga,
Pink, Black Eyed Peas and TheWho.
Trained exclusively at FSPA,Electric Youth members are se-
lected by audition at the beginningof each academic year. This sea-son’s thirteen talented performers,ages 13 to 18, study multiple dancedisciplines, voice, and acting.Some members of EY are prepar-ing to pursue a career in the per-forming arts, while all gain
valuable life skills through theirparticipation, extensive training,and travel experiences.
Electric Youth 2012 includes vet-eran members Giovanna Ferri, AliFunkhouser, Melissa Mandia andLucas Melfi of Franklin, MichaelEgan of Hopkinton and EricaMcLaughlin of Medfield. NewEY members are Graham Han-cock, Jocelyn Jones, ShainaMcGillis, Jillian Rea and AliciaRivera of Franklin, Jenna McDer-mott of Wrentham, Sasha Gardnerof Sharon.
Following 2011 appearancesaboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis ofthe Seas and the May release oftheir new CD “All Amped Up,”Electric Youth is preparing for a2012 European Concert Tour June15 – July 8. EY last toured Europein 2010 when they performed 15shows in Austria and Italy andheadlined the Fourth of July showfor the U.S. Troops and their fam-ilies stationed at Aviano Air ForceBase.
For the Showcase Live perform-ance on February 12th, doors willopen at 4:30 p.m. and a full dinnermenu will be available. Tickets canbe purchased at the main office ofFranklin School for the Perform-ing Arts, 38 Main Street, by phoneat (508) 528-8668, in person at theShowcase Live Box Office orthrough Ticketmaster.com.
Page 16 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Franklin Performing Arts Company Announces Auditions for ANNIE, January 14The Franklin Performing Arts
Company (FPAC) will hold openauditions for their spring musical,Annie on to be staged on March 3at 7:30 p.m. and on March 4 at2:00 p.m. at the Thomas D. Mer-cer Auditorium in Franklin. Theshow will be accompanied by pro-fessional orchestra and the originalBroadway score.
Auditions for Annie will be heldon Saturday, January 14th at theFranklin School for the Perform-ing Arts, 38 Main Street. All audi-tionees should prepare 16 bars ofa musical theater song not fromAnnie. A short dance combinationwill be taught with no dance
preparation required. Those calledback for the role of Annie will beasked to sing “Tomorrow.” Someauditionees will be asked to per-form cold readings from thescript. Annie requires a large castof adults and teens in lead, sup-porting and ensemble roles.
Based on the popular comicstrip, the musical Annie tells thestory of a spunky Depression-eraorphan determined to find her parents. Her adventures take herfrom a New York City orphanagerun by the cruel Miss Hannigan toa new family and home with thebillionaire Oliver Warbucks, hispersonal secretary Grace and a
lovable mutt named Sandy.
Nick Paone and Raye Lynn Mer-cer will direct Annie, with musicaldirection by Hallie Wetzell andchoreography by Kellie Stamp.For more information regardingthe auditions, parts and a basic re-hearsal schedule, please visitwww.fpaconline.com.
The Box Office for Annie willopen January 16th. Tickets can bepurchased in person at The Spot-light Shop, 34 Main Street,Franklin or by calling (508) 528-8668. Tickets are $24.00 / $26.00/ $28.00. Group sales are availablefor civic organizations.
Electric Youth 2012 to Debutat Showcase Live, February 12th
We believe in the power of community. Our mission is to connect the resources needed to sustain a healthy life. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we distributed more than115,000 pounds to more than 1000 neighbors this past year. You can mail your donation to the Franklin Food Pantry, PO Box 116, Franklin, MA 02038 or drop off donations of food at 43 West Central St., Franklin. Our current needs include:
Cabin Fever and Summer Fun!*Winter Session - Flipside classes have on-going registration.
Session 3 begins January 31st, 2012.
Extreme Nights, Princess Dance Camp and Drops & Shops - listed on our website. www.flipside-gym.com
June Jubilee - preschool 2-5 days per week 9:30 am-11:30 am - gym fun, arts & crafts and much, muchmore! June 4-22nd Registering now!
Summer Gym & Swim - pre-school & school-age2, 3, or 5 days per week-Gymnastics, Swimming. Arts& crafts, games and so much more!!! Register Now!
Gymnastics Classes - Offered Morning or Evening July & August!
January Cheer Course - Great for girls in Pop-Warneror girls that just want to have some Cheer fun!! Learn great fundamental skills tumbling, stunts, jumpsand cheers. Two weeks January 8th-20th, Sundays,Wednesdays, Fridays. Call to sign up!
By: Ashley Butler, MBA, CF-L1
If you’re like most people, youare struck with a sudden burst ofmotivation come January 1 aftertwo months of holiday parties,food and drink galore. 2012 willroll around and you’ll think: “Ineed to get rid of this extraweight.”
Many people blindly choosegoals with no quantifiable result:lose weight. So if you do loseweight, how will you know whenyou reached your goal? What’smore, what is your plan of action;meaning, how will you reach yourgoal? It is also important to outlinea timeframe as to when you wantto achieve your goal. Instead ofyour resolution reading: I want tolose weight. Go for: I want to lose30 lbs. by July 4, 2012 and will doso by joining a gym, getting a per-sonal trainer and working out atleast 3 days per week. Makesense? At Team Fitness Franklin,we will assist you to setS.M.A.R.T. goals and will helpyou achieve them. Specific, meas-urable, attainable, realistic, timelygoals are important for success.
Specific –A specific goal has amuch greater chance of being ac-complished than a general one.
Measurable – Establish concretecriteria for measuring progress to-ward the attainment of your goal.Many people come into our fitnessclub wanting to become healthier,but have not been able to put ameasurable number onto that goal.We can help you whether yourgoal is geared toward pounds lostor how many pull-ups you can do.
Attainable – When you identifygoals that are important to you,you begin to figure out ways tomake them come true. You developattitudes, abilities, skills, and finan-cial capacity to reach them. As aCrossFit coach, I always tell myathletes that there are only two as-pects of success: walking throughthe door for the first time, and sec-ondly, to never, ever give up. If youcan do those two things, you willbe successful.
Realistic – To be realistic, a goalmust represent an object towardwhich you are both willing andable to work. A goal can be bothhigh and realistic; you are the only
one who can decide just how highyour goal should be. Be sure thatevery goal represents substantialprogress.
Timely – Each goal should begrounded within a time frame, oth-erwise there is no sense of urgencyand no motivation to get the workdone. Think of how many peoplescramble to get in shape for "bikiniseason."
While choosing a SMART goalcan appear to be difficult if you arenot familiar in the health field, youdo not need to go it alone. TeamFitness Franklin has a staff of per-sonal trainers who will be able tonot only help you set your goal, buthold you accountable and trackyour progress, and most impor-tantly, give you the tools necessaryto accomplish it.
What better way to kick off 2012than a membership to the healthclub and some personal trainingsessions? What’s more, we arehosting a Nutrition Seminar onSunday, January 8, 2012 at11:30am, it is $20 at the door to at-tend.
Team Fitness Franklin Helps YouReach Your New Year’s Resolutions
Our Sunday Worship servicestake place at 10 a.m, in our Hand-icapped Accessible Meetinghouselocated at 262 Chestnut Street.Our faith encompasses a wide va-riety of religious beliefs & spiri-tual practices. Our understandingis that there are many paths to-ward truth and wisdom, and there-fore we turn to the sacred texts ofall the world's religions for guid-
ance. Our focus is not on whatwill happen when we die, but onhow we can live with integrity andlove. Our congregation is vibrantand diverse, and welcomes every-one, including gay, lesbian, bisex-ual & transgender people, as fullparticipants in the life of thechurch. For more information,visit www.fusf.org or call (508)528-5348.
First Universalist Society in FranklinWelcomes All
Page 18 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Living Healthy
CONCIERGE CATARACT CAREHere are what our patients and your neighbors and friends have said recently:
~ "This facility and Dr. Goodman are wonderful and this community is so fortunate to have him and it." ~ "Much better experience than having the procedure done at the hospital." ~ "Thank you for the gift of sight!" ~ "The surgical center is outstanding. The staff is professional, organized and comforting.
My records were released and everything was explained. The care I received was excellent."
Some facts about us:• The only fully certified and accredited (state, federal and medicare) ophthalmology facility in the area.• All out nursing, anesthesia, and O.R. staff are eye specialists - hand-picked and specially trained.• Over 12,000 cataract surgeries to date and growing.• Nearly all insurance plans are accepted and our fees are lower than a hospital's fees.
145 West Street, Milford, Massachusetts 01757Phone: 508•381•5600 / Fax: 508•381•5610
www.besteyedoc.com
BYGLEN K. GOODMAN, M.D.,F.A.C.S
As a local ophthalmologist in pri-vate practice, I have been asked,and I greatly appreciate the oppor-tunity, to write an occasional col-umn on current eye care subjects.
Whereas cataract surgery is oneof the most common-of-all surgicalprocedures nationally, and is thesingle most-common surgical pro-cedure which I perform regularly,I felt that this would be an appro-priate subject for this initial col-umn.
First of all, what is (and what isnot) a cataract? The name derivesfrom the Latin "cataracta" and theGreek "katarhaktes"; both termstranslate roughly as "waterfall" or
"broken water". Medically, acataract is a clouding of the naturallens inside the middle of our eyes.Our eyes are indeed exceedinglycomplex organs, but nevertheless,they can in fact be thought of as ex-quisitely precise focusing instru-ments, whose purpose is to allowthe external world to be focusedthrough the eye and the opticnerves to our brain. In order for ourvisible world to be clear, the lenswithin our eyes, which focuses thelight, must be free of haze, opaci-ties or swelling. When the lens ofthe eye is found to have these ab-normal findings, a cataract is theappropriate medical term. Accord-ingly, a cataract is not an externalocular film - a not uncommon mis-perception. Similarly, cataracts aremost-often associated with the nor-mal aging process and, as such, arenot strictly a disease of the eye,
such as glaucoma (abnormallyhigh eye pressure) or macular de-generation (damage to the centralretina). Although there are myriadcauses of cataracts, and cataractscan unfortunately occur at birthand in infancy or childhood, formost of us the occurrence ofcataracts is a normal accompani-ment of the aging process. More-or-less, we can all expect to getcataracts as we get older.
Cataracts require surgical re-moval when they reach a level ofblurriness that interferes with an in-dividual person's ability to see well.There is no "one-size fits all" diag-nostic exam which will definitivelydecide when surgery is indicated.A cataract will therefore be consid-ered "ripe" for surgery at a differentstage and time for one person thanfor another. You and your eye doc-tor should work together to ensurethat cataract surgery is performedwhen it is indicated for your indi-vidual needs.
Future columns will discuss thelatest developments in cataract sur-gery and will include informationon implants, techniques, misinfor-mation and future developments,such as laser cataract surgery. Weare located at 145 West Street, Mil-ford, MA 01757. Ph: 508-381-6040 • Fax: 508-381-6050
Cataracts and Cataract SurgeryBY J.D. O’GARA
The first month of the year marksa national awareness month forblood donation. According to theAmerican Red Cross, someone inthe United States needs bloodevery two seconds, with over38,000 blood donations neededevery day. The American RedCross notes that in most states,donors must be 17 years old,healthy and weigh at least 110 lbs.In fact, less than 38% of the U.S.population is eligible to giveblood. Type O-negative blood andType AB-positive plasma can betransfused to patients of all bloodtypes. Both are always in demandand often in short supply. Donorsmust wait 56 days before eachblood donation.
Want to give blood? Here are afew local upcoming blood drives:
January 4Hockomock Area YMCA, 9 a.m.
– 2 p.m., 45 Forge Hill Road,Franklin. Donors can receive apound of Dunkin Donuts coffee.
January 78th Annual Gary Mirliss Memo-
rial Blood Drive, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.,
King Philip Middle School, 18King Street, Norfolk, in participa-tion with Brigham & Women’sHospital, Dana-Farber Cancer In-stitute and Children’s Hospital,Boston. Walk-ins will be accom-modated on a first-come, first-serve basis; appointments arerecommended. Make appointmentwww.halfpints.childrenshospital.org and use sponsor codeMIRLISS. For information, email:[email protected]
January 10Medfield Lions Club hosting
blood drive at American Legion,110 Peter Kristoff Way, Medfield.Donors can receive a pound ofDunkin Donuts coffee.
January 12Franklin RSM at the Franklin
Elks Club, 2-7 p.m. 1077 Pond St.,Franklin, Donors can receive apound f Dunkin Donuts coffee.
If you would like to donate bloodat any of these events, call 1-(800)RED-CROSS to make an appoint-ment. For information on other op-portunities to donate blood orplasma, visit www.redcross.org.
January is NationalBlood Donor Month
$10 OFFANY SERVICE OVER $40 (excludes waxing)
New clients only. Must Present Coupon. Expires 2/29/12
MENS CUTS$15.00
HAIR @ NAIL IT508-541-7161
20 MAIN STREETFRANKLIN, MA 02038
Store Hours: Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm, Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-4pm
New Year PromotioNFull Orthodontic “Braces”
Treatment for up to 24 Months
Including Records and Retainers
$4489(Invisalign, clear braces, extended treatment, and appliances are additional.)
(Offer Valid for 60 Days)
• Treating Children, Teens, and Adults
• Complimentary Consultation
• Preferred Provider for Most Insurances
• Eligible For Use With Flexible Spending
266 Main St, Building 3, Suite 32A, Medfield, MA 02052(508) 359-1989
www.medfieldbraces.org
Please plan to join us for the 8thAnnual Gary Mirliss MemorialBlood Drive, in participation withBrigham, Women’s Hospital andDana-Farber Cancer Institute, andChildren’s Hospital, Boston. Thedrive will take place on January 7th,2012 at King Philip Middle School,18 King St. in Norfolk, from 9 a.m.– 3 p.m.
What better way to end the holi-day season than by DONATINGBLOOD?
Walk-ins will be accommodatedon a 1st come 1st serve basis so werecommend that you make an ap-
pointment! Spots are filling up fast!
To make your appointment youcan go to www.halfpints.children-shospital.org and use the Sponsor
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 19
Living Healthy
SFREE BOTOXwhen you book Pelleve (skin tighening)
treatment on January 11, 2012, must call to make appointment
• Botox
• Fillers
• Pelleve-skin Tightening
• Chemical Peels
• Leg Vein Treatments
• All Laser Treatments
• Laser-Lipo
• Eyelid Surgery
Dr. Khatri conducts medical researchat his clinics and has helped developmany new lasers.
NOW AVAILABLEpellevé: Pain free radio-frequency device with no down time for skin tightening.
233 West Central Street, Franklin, MA (New England Dental Associates) | 508.541.8274 | www.skinlaseronline.com
State of the Art Cosmetic ServicesHarvard-trained Cosmetic Laser Surgeon, Dr. Khatri
FREE PELLEVE SEMINAR / DEMO
January 11, 2012, call for appointment
COMING SOONLicensed Aesthetician with full service Medical Spa
CrossFit Franklin is pleased toannounce the launch of its SportsTraining and Conditioning Pro-gram.
This program is designed to as-
sist high school athletes looking tobecome stronger, faster and moreexplosive during the off-season.
On Sunday, January 22, 2012from 11:00am – 3:00pm, a free
demo will take place, open to allwho are looking to gain a compet-itive edge. Please contact DevinGray at [email protected] to register.
CrossFit Franklin Launches SportsTraining & Conditioning Program
Blood Drive in Memory of Gary Mirliss
U Need Massage, Inc.Franklin, MA
Siphanomtien (Jenny) Keomorokot (LMT)Soleak Som (LMT)
11 A Main St., Franklin, MA 02038(508) 346-3871
Call for Appointment
$20 OFF Massage
New Clients Only 1/31/2012
Professional Massage at an Affordable Price
Professional Massage at an Affordable Price
Gift Certificates AvailableFor more information go to our website
www.uneedmassageinc.com
Franklin Youth Baseball will beholding registration for the 2012Spring Season beginning January1st through March 1stonline. There will also be walk-inregistration at the Franklin ElksClub on January 28, from 8 a.m. toNoon, and February 4, from 8 a.m.to Noon. First time players andanyone who did not play in 2011must register in person at walk inregistration and present a copy oftheir birth certificate. In an effort
to make registration easier andmore convenient for Franklin fam-ilies, FYBO will be sharing theElks club with Franklin Girls Soft-ball this year. Registration for re-turning FYBO players can be doneonline http://www.sportsman-ager.us/links/FranklinYouthBase-ball/OnlineRegistration.asp
To be eligible to play, childrenmust have attained the age of 7 butnot have exceeded the age of 15 onMay 1, 2012. The lone exception
is if your child falls under the Playat Grade Level option. This is aone-time option for children bornMay 1 through August 31 in theyears 2003 through 2005 provid-ing players with the option ofchoosing to play with their gradelevel peers.
League Ages 7 and 8 – $90League Ages 9 through 12 – $115League Ages 13 through 15 – $140Family maximum – $275.00
For more information includingupcoming events and FYBO newsplease go to our web site atwww.franklinyouthbasball.com.
There is a link on the website forthe “Batter Up” newsletter whichexplains everything needed toknow about FYBO registration.Any questions can be sent to:[email protected].
FYBO will again be offering a
Twilight League for High Schoolstudents not playing on their H.S.Baseball team. Sign ups will beginJanuary 1st and end after the HighSchool teams have been picked.
The cost will be $80. Interestedplayers can sign up on line athttp://www.sportsmanager.us/links/FranklinYouthBaseball/OnlineRegistration.asp or at thewalk in registration.
Page 20 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Franklin Sports
• Over 50 years Of
cOmbined experience
• fundraisers • HOme parties
• private appOintments
316 Hartford ave, BellingHam, ma • 508-889-7984
BRING IN THIS AD & EARN AN
ADDITIONAL 5%CASH FOR GOLD
Need Cash for the Holidays?Cash in your gold, silver, platinum,
gemstones, and diamonds.
Franklin Youth Baseball 2012 Spring Baseball Registration
BY KEN HAMWEY
Staff Sports Writer
Dean O’Connor is in his 13thyear as the boys’ varsity basketballcoach at Franklin High, and hisleadership has produced some im-pressive numbers during that span.
The Panthers have compiled a195-82 record, won four Hocko-mock League crowns and quali-fied for tourney play for the last 11years. What makes O’Connor’sreign a textbook study in excel-lence is the quick manner in whichhe transformed Franklin from alosing squad to a league champ.
When O’Connor took control in2,000, his forces finished with afeeble 2-18 record. Two years laterthey were 17-5 (14-2 in the league)and sitting on top of the Hocko-mock League.
“I have fond memories of all fourchampionship teams but that 2002group was special,’’ O’Connorsaid. “We went from have-nots tochamps and proved that we wereon track to make Franklin a con-sistent program.”
The 44-year-old O’Connor, whowas a captain in football and bas-ketball at Mansfield High, paid hisdues before taking the reins as
Franklin’s varsity coach. He wasthe Panthers’ freshman coach forthree years and the jayvee coachfor four more. He’s also been avaluable assistant in football, serv-ing for the last seven years as of-fensive coordinator on coach BradSidwell’s staff.
It’s basketball, however, wherehis passion shines bright and hisformula for success is really quitebasic with few complexities.
“I always try to teach life lessonsthrough sports,’’ O’Connor said.“Things like overcoming adver-sity, developing good work habits,and working as a team. But, myphilosophy in dealing with myplayers consists of three aspects —be fair, be tough and be honest.’’
O’Connor discovered early onthat spelling out those three ele-ments eliminates any gray area. Bybeing specific, players knowwhat’s expected.
As far as on-court skills go, thepersonable O’Connor stresses thatall players must know how to drib-ble, pass and shoot.
“I emphasize all the time that Iwant my kids to play to theirstrengths in games,’’ he said. “But,in practice, they’ve got to work on
their deficiencies. I don’t want mycenter bringing the ball up court,but if he’s forced to, he’ll knowhow to handle the situation.’’
When O’Connor, who is marriedand lives in Rehoboth, emphasizesdefense, he links that element tohard work. When offense is on thefront burner, it’s all about fastbreaks and an up-tempo pace.Running and pressing are two in-gredients always are in the mix.
“An up-tempo style is excitingand it attracts players who knowI’m going to use my bench,’’ O’-Connor said.
Goals and objectives are clearlydefined in O’Connor’s lexicon.Players know, from pre-seasonpractice to tourney time, what theirmission is.
“I’ve always made the leaguetitle our first priority,’’ O’Connornoted. “Then, we work towardsgetting a high seat for the tourney.The state title is often a realisticgoal. If you’re going to be in a sec-tional final, as we were in 2006,then you ought to think aboutgoing all the way.’’
During his years as a two-sportathlete at Mansfield, O’Connor ex-celled as a linebacker and fullback
in football and a point guard inbasketball. His best game in bas-ketball came in a win against Ash-land when he scored 19 points andhanded out 12 assists.
After graduating in 1986, O’-Connor enrolled at SpringfieldCollege but transferred to North-west Missouri State where heearned a degree in education in1992. He joined the Franklin fac-ulty in 1996, then worked as sportsdirector for the HockomockYMCA. For the last eight years,he’s directed basketball operationsat Mass. Premier Courts inFoxboro, where he offers privateinstruction, supervises camps andclinics, and organizes leagues.
“It’s been rewarding,’’ O’Con-nor said about coaching basketballat Franklin and working fulltimein a similar capacity. “When youhave former players like MattPalazini, Matt Dean, Kyle Gibsonand Tyler Kessler competing incollege, it’s nice that our youngerplayers see that. Whether you’re inDivision 1, 2 or 3, it’s a credit tothat player, because college pro-grams cut kids at will. Our door atFranklin is always open to our for-mer players. Ex-players oftencome to our practices during a se-
mester break and will giveyounger players advice and point-ers.’’
That gesture speaks volumesabout the respect O’Connor gen-erates. He’s always been encour-aging and supportive of hisplayers, teaching real-life lessonsand focusing on being tough, fairand honest.
The Panthers are four-timeHockomock League champs inbasketball. And, although he won’ttake any bows for those crowns,there isn’t much doubt that DeanO’Connor is what makesFranklin’s basketball programtick.
Where Are They Now?Franklin’s O’Connor A Coach For All The Right Reasons
Coach Dean O’Connor not only en-lists his players’ strengths, heworks on correcting any deficien-cies. The coach also encouragesmentoring between former play-ers and students.
BY KEN HAMWEY
Staff Sports Writer
As the numbers on the calendarchange from 2011 to 2012 and thewinter sports season shifts intohigh gear, one incredible sportsachievement that should not gounnoticed is what Franklin’s fourgirls’ teams achieved during theautumn campaign.
The soccer, volleyball, fieldhockey and cross-country squadsall won Hockomock titles and allsucceeded in qualifying for post-season play. The four teams’ suc-cess in one season will be a primecandidate as Franklin’s bestsports story for the 2011-12school year.
Start with field hockey. CoachLisa Cropper’s second year at thehelm ended with a Kelly-Rex Di-vision crown, a tourney berth anda final record of 19-4. The Pan-thers went deep into the tourney,beating Carver and Dennis-Yarmouth before bowing out indramatic fashion — losing to
Walpole, 3-2, in two overtimes.
“Walpole has had back-to-back18-0 seasons and has won theSouth Sectional six times,’’ Crop-per noted. “Our final game was aterrific effort, a game that was lotsof fun even though we lost. Oursuccess this season resulted fromour willingness to make a com-mitment to the sport in the off-season. Kids went to camps,clinics and played in summerleagues. Our goals were to win aHockomock League title and godeep in the tourney and they madeit happen.’’
The team’s senior captains, cen-ter-forward Katy Cronin andsweeper Bridget Doherty, finishedas league and state all-stars.Cronin was the league’s topscorer with 35 goals and 20 as-sists.
Three other top-notch playersincluded Hockomock League all-stars Kaitlyn Spillane and HannahMagerman, a pair of junior mid-fielders, and junior goalie Kim
Pfeifle. Pfeifle has a save percent-age of 90 and a goals-against av-erage of 0.55.
Franklin’s four losses all cameagainst powerhouse programs —Medfield, Walpole and Cantontwice.
In soccer, coach Tom Geysen’sforces won the Kelly-Rex Divi-sion and split a pair of tourneymatches, blanking Weymouth,and then bowing to Bishop Fee-han, 1-0. The Panthers finishedtheir season with a 13-3-4 record.
“This squad didn’t disappointus and it exceeded expectations,’’Geysen said. “Only twice did anopponent score two goals againstus. We had seven freshmen on theteam and five of them were in thestarting lineup. Our veteran nu-cleus gave us excellent leadershipand were great role models.’’
Forward Kristi Kirsche, centermidfielder and co-captain Jen
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 21
BY CHRISTOPHER TREMBLAY
Attleboro’s Stephen Hogan hasbeen playing football since he wasseven years old. It was with theSouth Attleboro White Hawkswhere he first began playing line-backer, a position he has patrolledon the football field for a decadenow.
“I really wanted to play the posi-tion and the coach thought that I fitthe position,” Hogan said. “It’s thecenter of the defense and comeswith a lot of pressure and hardwork, but it’s all worth it when itcomes together.”
Although somewhat small (5’7”and 160 lbs) to be playing line-backer on the high school level,Hogan has worked extremely hardto prove that he belongs. His workpaid off this past season as he setthe Tri-County Regional Voca-tional High School single seasonrecord for tackles with 107, upfrom his 60 of a year earlier.
“He’s the perfect leader on thefield, you don’t have to worry
about him,” Tri-County CoachTony Mazzola said. “He’s veryvocal and leads by example, it’s al-most like having a coach on thefield.”
With his diminutive size, Hoganhears a lot of chirping comingfrom the opposition’s side of theball, but once he lays a hit on themthe noise begins to subside.
“I hear it from the other team’sbigger players all the time,” Hogansaid of his size. “They underesti-mate my talents and don’t expectme to do what I do.”
As a member of the Cougarsfootball team for parts of all fourseasons at Tri-County Hogan hasbeen a part of a winning tradition.As a freshman he saw some spotaction on the varsity squad on spe-cial teams and while his teammade it to the State Super Bowl hewas hurt and didn’t see the field asthe Cougars fell to Manchester-Essex at Gillette Stadium.
As a sophomore Tri-County losta close one to Brighton 8-6 in the
Super Bowl and the past two yearsthe Cougars have made it to theVocational Super Bowl only tolose each time.
Although Hogan saw action onspecial teams from time to time asa freshman, it was his sophomoreyear when he cracked the lineup asa running back and his junior yearwhen he got back onto defense asa linebacker for Tri-County.
“I was not necessarily a standoutmy first year playing linebackerfor Tri-County, but I held myown,” Hogan said. “In my seniorseason I grew and got bigger andknew the position more. I was ableto read the plays and the coachinghelped a lot too.”
Between his junior and seniorseasons Tri-County changed de-fensive coordinators and their at-tacking schemes which gaveHogan and his line mates a muchmore aggressive approach.
“When he first came out for foot-ball he knew how to play thegame, but over the past 18 months
he’s not only turned into a greatleader on the field, he understandswhy we do things,” Coach Maz-zola said. “Stephen’s a consistentathlete and once he began under-standing what was going on ithelped him with his tackles.”
The change in defensive schemesallowed the Tri-County line to goafter the opposition’s line, whilethe linebackers were able to honein on the running backs and makethe tackles.
Hogan, a two-time MayflowerLeague All Star, also takes his ag-gression out on the wrestling mat.Last year wrestling at 135 poundsHogan went to the state tourna-ment where he lost, but he’s hop-ing that this year is a different storyat 152 pounds.
“Both sports help the other,” hesaid. “Football is hard hitting ac-tion, while wrestling is much moreintense; it’s one on one where noone else has your back like in foot-ball.”
Tri-County Linebacker Stephen Hogan might be on the small side, but thatdidn't stop him from setting the Tri-County single season record for tack-les at 107.
Franklin SportsTri-County's Stephen Hogan Packsa Lot of Play in His Small Frame
4 Girls Teams at Franklin Major Successes In Fall 2011
The first half of the 2011-2012 school year saw phenomenal performanceby four Franklin girls’ teams, including field hockey. Coach Lisa Cropper’ssecond year at the helm ended with a Kelly-Rex Division crown, a tourneyberth and a final record of 19-4. Shown, Coach Lisa Cropper (center, wear-ing glasses)
SUCCESS FOR GIRLS TEAMScontinued on page 23
By Christopher Tremblay
At the tender age of 15 months,Franklin’s Peter French was hold-ing a golf club; it may have been aplastic one, but a golf clubnonetheless, and his incredible ca-reer was in full swing. BothFrench’s father and grandfatherhad been avid golfers. In fact, itwas his grandfather who hadMaplegate Country Club inBellingham built.
“I can’t say I really rememberwhat it was like when I was thatyoung,” French said. “But once Iwas older enough to remember,I’ve loved the sport. I fell in lovewith golf and was always on thegolf course ever chance I couldget.”
Having a grandfather that owneda golf course made it easy to prac-tice whenever he wanted, not tomention saving on all the greensfees. It was about ten years afterhe first picked up that golf clubthat he knew that he was gettingpretty good.
“I think I was about 11 or 12when I started shooting as good asmy Dad and it wasn’t too longafter that when I was actually beat-ing him shooting in the 70’s,” hesaid.
Outside of school, French spentevery wakening moment honinghis skill, and when he wasn’t onhis grandfather’s golf course, hewas participating in US ChallengeCup Tournaments. It was at theage of 7 when he first venturedoutside of the New England areato take part in a Junior Tournamentin Williamsburg, Virginia, a tour-nament he qualified for many
years.
Although the tournament wasgoing well for French, school wasan afterthought for the buddinggolfer -- so much of an after-thought it almost cost him his op-portunity to play golf on the highschool level.
“When I was younger I reallydidn’t enjoy school, all I wanted todo was play golf,” French said. “Itwas my sophomore year in highschool when I came close to los-ing my spot on the team due to mygrades. When I was told that Icould still play the following yearI knew that I never wanted to gothrough that again and now I enjoyschool much more.”
Thankfully French turned his ac-ademics around as he has pro-vided the Franklin golf team withfour amazing seasons. As a fouryear starter for Coach HaroldWilliams, French has been namedto four Hockomock League AllStar teams; has won the Hocko-mock League Individual GolfChampionship three times (fresh-man, sophomore and senior sea-sons); has won two Division 2South Sectional Championshipsthe past two years and has finishedatop the Division 2 South StateChampionship leader board as ajunior. He finished sixth at thisyear’s State Championship.French, who was a two year cap-tain for the Panthers, was namedFranklin’s MVP this past seasonand averaged a 36 (one over par)for his high school career.
“Peter is a very fine golfer whowill help his teammates at anycost,” Coach Williams said.“When he’s on the golf course,
he’s very focused and pays atten-tion s to what he has to do. He’sby far the best golfer I’ve ever hadthe opportunity to coach and I’vecoached some good ones.”
After winning the State Champi-onship last fall, French joined upwith three golfers from the Capeto represent Massachusetts duringthe summer in the New EnglandJunior Amateurs Tournament inBrattleboro Vermont. The four-some, led by French’s tournamentlow of 67 captured the title.
“Going into the Vermont tourna-ment, I was questioning myself,things were just not going my wayand my shots were not falling,” hesaid. “I was waiting to break outand string together some goodrounds. I finally did that in Ver-mont.”
With his high school career con-cluded, French has his mind set oncollege, possibly in South Car-olina, obviously a school with agood golf program. When heeventually finishes college, his ul-timate goal is to play golf for a liv-ing, and his coach agrees.
“There’s no doubt in my mindthat he’ll be involved with golfthroughout his life in some capac-ity,” Coach Williams said.
Had it not been for his grandfa-ther owning a golf course wouldFrench still be teeing off? He be-lieves so.
“I firmly believe that I would stillbe playing golf today,” he said. “Itwas in my cards. When mymother was pregnant with me shewent to a psychic that told her Iwas going to be good with a littlewhite ball.”
Coppola, and striker TaylorCogliano were named to theleague’s all-star squad. Only ajunior, Kirsche has been an all-star in all three of her varsity sea-sons. Kirsche finished with 23goals and 9 assists, Coppola had3 goals and 14 assists andCogliano managed 13 goals and14 assists.
Other keys for the Panthers wereco-captain and center midfielderMaddie Brown, Stephanie Pisaniat fullback, Catie Phelan in goaland Julia Bireley at stopper.
Franklin’s volleyball team fin-ished 19-2 overall, won the Kelly-Rex crown and also captured theHockomock Cup as the circuit’stop overall contingent. The Pan-thers won their opening-roundtourney match against Westfordbut bowed out against Acton-Boxboro.
“This squad was the best teamI’ve had in my seven years atFranklin,’’ coach Kate Horsmannsaid. “It was close-knit, we hadfun and I’m glad I had the oppor-tunity to coach this group.’’
Three first-year players gaveFranklin a big lift. They includedEmily Natal (defensive special-ist), Kim Hodgkins (middle hit-ter) and Lauren Irvine (middlehitter).
Five seniors who formed a solidnucleus were setter Sara Chaffee,libero Theresa Urquhart, outsidehitter Alicia Wilde and oppositeside hitters Alison Mariano andAmy Stevens. Urquhart was se-lected as a league all-star andWilde was an all-star, co-MVP ofthe league and the first Franklinvolleyball player to be chosen all-
state by the Mass. VolleyballCoaches Association.
Junior hitter Alicia Kutil alsoplayed a dominant role for thePanthers.
Coach Paul Trovoto’s cross-country team enjoyed winning itsthird straight title, ending thedual-meet season with a 6-0record. The Panthers were 4-0 inthe Kelly-Rex circuit and werechamps at the Hockomock Meet.
When the state coaches invita-tional was run, senior Alex Gieseand junior Lauren Hagen finished1-2, respectively, and seniorEmily Stickles managed to notchsixth place while junior Sarah Ve-trano captured seventh.
“We had four girls in the top 10and that race included 230 run-ners from about 45 schools,’’ Tro-voto said.
At the Eastern Mass. Division 2Meet, Giese helped Franklin tofourth place by finishing first in atime of 19:14 over the 3.1-milecourse at Franklin Park in Boston.Hagen was second with a 19:32clocking and Stickles was 14th ina time of 20:23.
“We’re pleased for Alex Giese,who became the first runner everin Franklin cross-country historyto win a division meet,’’ Trovotoemphasized.
When 300 runners assembled atFranklin Park for the State Meet,Giese managed a time of 19:21and finished 11th. Hagen suffereda pulled muscle a half-mile fromthe finish and had to drop outwhile Stickles covered the coursein 20:16 and placed 52nd. ThePanthers finished 13th at thestates.
Page 22 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
SUCCESS FOR GIRLS TEAMScontinued from page 21
Franklin SportsGreat Golf Is in the Cards for Peter French
Tri-Valley Youth Hockey regis-tration for beginner skate andhockey programs begins in Janu-ary. The Learn- to- Skate programmeets once a week at 10 a.m. be-ginning on Sunday, January 15,and lasts for 10 weeks.
The Learn-to- Play program
meets twice a week, beginning onSaturday, January 14 at 8 a.m. andSunday January 15 at 9 a.m. andlasts for 10 weeks.
Each program is open to boysand girls over the age of 4 and isrun by USA Hockey certifiedcoaches. Both programs will skate
at the Pirelli Veterans MemorialSkating Rink, 910 Panther Way, inFranklin.
For more information and to reg-ister for these exciting programs,please go to www.trivalleyindi-ans.com.
Tri-Valley Youth Hockey BeginnerSkate & Hockey Begins Jan.1st
January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com Page 23
home M A R K E T P L A C E
Kathy Stankard, REALTORColdwell Banker Residential Brokerage393 West Central St, Franklin, MA 02038508-369-5131 - [email protected]/blog
BY KATHY STANKARD, REALTOR
The number of available homesin Franklin, MA is at an all-timelow, which has resulted in greatnews for sellers. This chart belowshows that most homes sold in theunder $550,000 range with a sig-
nificant drop-off in sales above$650,000. This has meant mini-mal competition from other sellersand often multiple offers comingin on homes that are pricedright. Proper pricing occurs whena seller prices their home in accord
with the most recent sales for theirhome’s size, location, age and con-dition. Pricing even $20,000 abovethe most recent sales will cause ahome to languish on the marketeven if it is in spectacular condi-tion.
Buyers may not relish the idea ofbidding wars to obtain their firsthome but this has been quite com-mon as some sellers have waitedto list their homes. It is basic eco-nomics, whereby low supplyequals high demand. As home in-ventory increases in the spring of2012, sellers will find more com-petition to obtain buyers and lessleveraging power.
Please give me a call at (508)369-5131 if you’d like to knowwhat your home would sell for inthis changing real estate market.I’ll provide you the most recentsales data to show your likely saleprice within a $10,000 range. I’ma 15 year real estate expert withtestimonials to prove it—let me getyou moving!
Sold Properties By Price
50 Off $ Your next plumbing or heating repair*
Clip and save this coupon
800-633-PIPE www.rodenhiser.com
*Not valid on trip or diagnostic fees. This offer expires December 31, 2011.
Visit our website for more coupons and special offers on heating system
installations.
800-633-PIPEwww.rodenhiser.com
**Not valid on trip or diagnostic fees. This offerexpires January 31, 2012. Offer code OT-A-50
By J.D. O’Gara
How do you raise children to behappy as well as successful?That’s one of the questions Dr.Anne Bergen asks on her newFranklin Cable Access show “ItTakes a Village: Raising ResilientKids in Today’s World. ” Bergen,who spent 40 years at all differentlevels of Franklin schools as ateacher, a reading specialist andprincipal at elementary, middleand high school levels, directsviewers’ focus to strengthening theemotional well-being of youngpeople in an age where they’reoften expected to balance a varietyof demands.
“I’d been noticing, based on myexperience and a lot of the research
I’ve read, that many young peopleare increasingly experiencing anx-iety, depression, eating disorders… a lot of emotional turmoil, in-cluding not knowing exactly whatthey want to do even after college,”says Bergen. “We do a good job offocusing on academic skills, butwithout looking at the whole un-dercurrent of emotional turmoil.”
Dr. Bergen is tapping upon edu-cators and others in the commu-nity to raise awareness, using theexpertise and experience of thesesources to inform viewers.
“Maybe we can do a better job ofbuilding that strong sense of self,”says Bergen.
In one episode, Bergen inter-
views the superintendent ofFranklin Public Schools’ MaureenSabolinski and school committeemember Roberta Trahan not as ed-ucators, but as parents.
“Their kids have gone into adult-hood as strong, capable kids,” saysBergen. The two shared what theylearned in raising their kids andhow they were able to convey themeaning of success not being justabout earning a lot of money orgoing to a good school.
“Kids who have that strong innerself are able to stand firm whenthey have to face really difficultdecisions,” says Bergen, who saysthat children who are motivated to“do the right thing” often end upmaking wiser decisions and have
a strong sense of self.
Following the Penn State scan-dal, as well as news reports of haz-ing in other Massachusetts townsthat had made headlines, Bergeninterviewed Franklin Athletic Di-rector Brad Sidwell and Pete Es-carosa. The two discussed whatparents can learn from these inci-dents and how to get kids to resisteither becoming a bully or the bul-lied.
One show focused on how par-ents might make kids stronger instanding up to life’s challenges,with Bergen interviewing JudyGiovangelo, of Ben Speaks, abouther son Ben’s experience and sub-sequent suicide. Another episodeaimed to help parents help young
people to find their true passion inlife rather than only build a collegeresume.
“We spend so much time gettingthem to college, we forget to askthem what will give their lifemeaning,” says Bergen.
“It Takes a Village: Raising Re-silient Kids in Today’s World” onFranklin Cable airs six times aweek on Comcast Channel 96 andVerizon Channel 28. View thosestations, or click on the FranklinEducational Access link at theCable Access TV page at theFranklin town website athttp://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/cabacc
New Franklin Cable Show Brings “The Village” to ParentsShow Aims at Helping Parents Raise Strong Children
Page 24 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com January 1, 2012
Cassandra Ave, Franklin
88 Highbank Rd, Franklin
Find us on the webwww.RealLivingRealtyGroup.com
Call us(508) 520-1600
Lisa Perrin508-826-4970
Peter McKearney508-505-6038
Trooper Barry Way, Franklin
51 Columbia St, N. Attleboro
1043 West St, Wrentham
Franklin's Premier Luxury Active Adult Community
From $299,900Visit our Furnished Model -
Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon 12-3
www.oakHillVillages.com
508.520.9669
290 High Plain St, Walpole110 Mt. Hope St, N. Attleboro
9 Frost St, Natick
This Month’s Real Living Money Saving Coupons!
47 Leland Rd, Norfolk 910 Lincoln St, Franklin 35 Asylum St, Milford
Come visit us at our Grand Opening onJanuary 19th at 11 am. Our new address is
233 W. Central Street, Franklin
Join us in welcoming our new agents!
One Month Free "Sign amanagement agreement
with The Property Managers your 1st month'smanagement fee is on us!"
508-613-3117
Thinking of Selling?
Call us for a Free, No-ObligationMarket Analysis of your home today!
508-520-1600
FREE Appraisal withYour Closed LoanCall for details today
and get started!Jason Anker
857-891-5075**Offer good for all applications received before February 1, 2012
