Miss You

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my old house, alas -

But NOT the snow that has fallen since I departed.

Bottom's Up...

I picked myself up a memento yesterday, an "Entering Franklin" town mug -

Just what I needed more crap, but guessing it'll have a bit more meaning down the road.

This is what you get (can purchase) after having spent 26 year living in the same town.

A consolation prize if you will...

Chasing Sunsets

"Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully."

I took these first two sunset pictures below off my back deck here in Franklin, MA this past Wednesday evening, Oct 15th -

I took these next two sunset pictures while in Blountville, TN this past Saturday evening Oct 11th -

Eerily, similar and both beautiful!

What I've Come To Expect

I thought I'd post a couple more examples of the shoddy upkeep that the town of Franklin is seemingly fine with.

I used to call the DPW and or the Highway and Grounds Division to lodge a complaint or request issues (I guess issues to me) be addressed, e.g. tall grass, weeds and poison ivy growing out of control along the sidewalks be mowed.  Although, I would get some sort of acknowledgement to my call or email, seldom was anything ever done, at least not within a reasonable time frame.

For the longest time the above departments used COVID as an excuse to justify their incompetency and mismanagement.  However, this excuse has run it's course but the recent failures to pass (2) million dollar town overrides (in a six month period) is now their new excuse - no monies available, budgets have been cut). Town administration mismanagement at it's finest!

The first two pics below is what the elementary school a mile down the road looked like ALL summer long.  Now some might argue why bother with regular maintenance over the summer when school is not in session, however, this school was used as the hub for summer child care\summer camp called "Solutions".  Oodles of kids dropped of there each day as their parents worked, so  A LOT of traffic in and out.  Sorry, NOT sorry but this is just sloppy and sends the wrong message and reflects badly on the town and the above mentioned departments tasked with maintenance and upkeep - in my opinion anyway -

Here is one example that shows grass and weeds growing in the cracks between the street and the sidewalk, as well as the cracks that are running across the sidewalk too.  Why have sidewalks that are hazardous? Here in New England winters are tough, so in an effort to ensure the sidewalks are safe and last for years, perhaps regular maintenance is needed, like sealing the cracks to prevent water from seeping in freezing and causing frost heaves and more damage -

There are fire hydrants along this stretch that have weeds growing around them 4 and 5 feet tall, essentially hiding them.  Storm drains have weeds growing in them, as they've not been cleaned or cleared. Intersections and side roads have weeds growing so tall cars have a difficult time pulling out because they're unable to see oncoming traffic.

These issues are not just limited to my Lincoln street and the stretch I walk, rather they're ALL OVER the town and can be seen as you drive the town.

What and where is my tax money going?!  Which by the way they keep going up!  They're building like crazy in Franklin too, with MANY apartment complexes all over town.  Where is that tax money going?!

A black-eye to the town of Franklin and again an embarrassment in my opinion.

I Can't Make This Stuff Up...

The frontage to the soccer field, at Dacey Field just up the street from me, has been designated as a "Pollinator Pasture" and has been this way for many years now.

Although, there are some flowers in this area, e.g. Black-eyed Susan's, Golden Rod, Queen Anne's Lace and Milkweed to name a few, it honestly fails at it's intended goal.

However, that being said, I'm sure there have been many insects and critters that have called this area home and completed their metamorphosis there.

Typically, the Franklin highway and grounds division mows this area down in the fall, which has been the extent of their maintenance on and to this "Pollinator Pasture".

Well, that was until a week and a half ago, when some Franklin town numbskull worker mowed it down, see below pic -

Honestly, it couldn't have been cut at a worse time in terms of the critters and pollinators using and relying on it.  I'm guessing there were many an insect in the midst of their transformations, e.g. caterpillar to moth, etc. Perhaps, growing praying mantis and SO much more but no longer, GRRR!

I posted these same pictures to the local Facebook Franklin town page and surprisingly someone from the highway and grounds division responded and claims the area was cut in error and that the person who did it "feels terrible".  HAHAHA, what a crock of BS, the feels terrible thing...

The other issue, which you can clearly see in the above picture, and it's one that I've come to expect from the Franklin highway and grounds folks because it's glaringly obvious in their workmanship most of the time, is the shoddy work they do!

The weeds growing along and up through the fence are STILL THERE TODAY a week and a half later!  Weeds around the trees and telephone pole in that area also still have weeds growing around them AND the cuttings from the mowing are STILL littering the sidewalks!

There doesn't seem to be any oversight from management, supervisors or town administrators and if so no one cares. They all seem okay with lazy half-assed workmanship and the message it sends to all and for all to see, ALAS!

Sadly and frustratingly, this is how the town of Franklin spends my tax dollars.

Therefore, I give the Franklin highway and grounds division AND the putz who "accidently" mowed this area the following merit badge.  It's well deserved for this debacle -

Honestly, people SUCK!

** UPDATE **: Here's an update to my posting from Thursday, July 17, 2025 titled, "Press Release - For Immediate Release"

On my walk yesterday afternoon I see that someone moved the trash can lid off the grass and out of the way.  It's still unsightly AND now an ideal breeding ground for mosquitos, of which there are mosquito larva swimming around in the collected water - 

In the picture below, you can also see a fresh BIG pile of dog poop that some selfish, lazy, inconsiderate POS couldn't be bothered to pick up!  It's only a kids ballfield at an elementary school so clearly there no need to remove this -

Dollars to donuts the owner of this dog is one that touts how much of a dog and animal lover they are and one of the first "keyboard warriors" to jump on to defend any negative social media posting about POS dog owners who refuse to clean up after their animal.

May the dog's owner get violent and uncontrollable diarrhea when standing in line at the grocery store check out counter!  Karma's a bitch...

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish!

Alas, as much as it frustrates me to see how the town of Franklin is spending our tax dollars, it does give me some satisfaction to vent about it here.  I don't have the patients or desire to call or try to reach out to the town directly on this issue, simply because I don't care to hear their excuses...

The parking lot at the grade school a mile down the street recently had the parking lines repainted.  However, as you can see in the few examples below, there was little to NO prep work done to prepare for the repainting or to help extend the life of the pavement itself.

Whomever did the work simple repainted over the old faded lines, weeds, rocks dirt and all!  How shoddy is this?!  Who made this decision?  At the end of the day how much money did they save, in the short term, by not prepping (removing weeds, rocks, dirt, etc.) and sealing the cracks (to prevent the winter freezing from heaving and making the issue BIGGER)?

It's an embarrassment really but what I've come to expect from how the town of Franklin is run and managed.  

Side note to further illustrate how skewed the town priorities are - the Franklin town Administrator has an anticipated - annual salary of $245, 267 for fiscal year 2026!  How is the world can this be justified?! Perhaps a BIG reason why the $3.6 million dollar override failed to pass...

Press Release - For Immediate Release

I alluded, in an earlier post, that the $3.6 million dollar town of Franklin override we voted on back in early June failed; it failed for the second time in a 6-month period.

This override quickly became contentious within the town pitting the "Yeses" against the "Nos" and it played out on social media and in the community. For example, FB posts often times had to have the commenting option disabled by the administrators after people became mean, rude, belligerent, inconsiderate, etc.  Also, people were complaining that both "For" and "Against" yard signs were being stolen and\or vandalized. Sadly, typical behavior in today's world.

Since the override failed, the town is using the failure to justify the town administrations mismanagement and overall shoddy upkeep. At this point they can no longer us Covid as a valid excuse as to why things are not getting down - boy did they wear this excuse out!

Here is one example of a new policy the town has instituted - a "Carry In / Carry Out" Trash and Recycling policy for the towns outdoor spaces, e.g. ball fields, playground, parks, etc. -

 

The item in the picture below is the lid to one of the trash cans that was located at the grade school ball field.  Seems the DPW crew removed the trash can but couldn't be bothered with taking the lid too.  It's SO bad that the town's ground crew, who are supposed to perform the upkeep of the ball fields and common area spaces, literally have mowed around this lid I kid you not!  Heaven forbid the mower operator dismount and put this in his town vehicle or at least move it out of the way in order to mow!

Typical and what I've come to expect from the town workers. UGH -

It's going to be interesting to see how this new policy plays out when the ball fields are actually being used on a regular basis.  From what I've seen, when there was trash cans available, there was ALWAYS trash left littering the sidelines and benches.  Seems parents today don't have the same values I was taught and clearly many of them don't pass said values along to their spoiled, peanut allergy ridden brats.

As Glum from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon said, "We're doomed", alas!

Leaning Over

Had a bit of excitement there this afternoon, a BIG dead tree blew over onto the electrical wires and dangling over the roadway!

It's been incredibly windy today, with super strong gusts and this tree fell victim to it all.

Surprisingly, we never lost power or any services, and truth be told it's been a nice several hours with NO vehicle traffic speeding up and down the street since it's been closed.

All in all a pretty good response to get this resolved.

Do Better Franklin DPW!

I took the below pics and short video this past Thursday, February 20 while on my afternoon walk.  The snow storm we had, that left the icy wet mess, occurred 5-days prior on Saturday February 15.

Yes, the temps kept everything frozen solid for about a week and if folks failed to clear the mess when it first fell, there was little to no chance to remove it after. And yes, last week was school vacation week here in Massachusetts, so perhaps not as critical a situation but keep in mind that sidewalks and crosswalks are used by more than just grade school kids.

The sidewalks and crosswalks leading up to the entrance of the grade school are blocked and impassable with mounts of plowed snow and ice!  I saw NO effort from the town or the school to work on addressing these issues, NONE!

The crosswalk pic below runs across the entrance to the school.  As you can see the entrance still has snow across most of it but more troubling is how access to the sidewalk is blocked with a piled high mound of ice and snow.  Folks needed to walk in the street to navigate around this blockage and most drivers fail to slow down or cede room as they speed on by, making this VERY dangerous -

The main crosswalk, that crosses the busy street and is heavily used, blocked on both sides -

View of the opposite side of the pic above -

Yes, it was a big, messy storm mixed with snow and rain that quickly froze over and I understand that during the event the goal isn't to clear every nook and cranny, however, following the storm and to take advantage of it being school vacation I would have thought the Franklin DPW would have put more of an effort into circling back to critical areas, like schools, to ensure safe access.

Frustratingly, and in my opinion, the town of Franklin, the DPW and highway departments do a half-assed, shoddy job with most of their responsibilities. Seems employees in general these days take little to no pride in their work and instead look to simply check the box that says "complete" regardless of how it was done, AND there also seems to be NO checks and balances or oversight from management on working (supposedly) being performed.

Click the link below for a short video I took navigating and highlighting this mess. Some profanity may have been used in the making of said video -

The town of Franklin Massachusetts DPW's shoddy snow removal work

The good news, as I write this today, Mother Nature has stepped in to resolve the issues.  The last couple of days have reached temps in the 40s, so quite a bit of melting has occurred.  Temps are expected to near 50 the next couple of days, so much of the snow and these dangerous problems will go down the (storm) drain...

Survey Says!

Shameful Really!

Welcome to Franklin!

Is this NOT appalling?!

This is the off ramp from rt 495 into Franking; the old exit 17, now exit 43.  This is what travelers coming off the highway are presented with as they come into our town.  I'm sure there's some technicality about who's responsibility it is to main this section of roadway, the town of Franklin or the state and therefore no one cleans it.  Whatever the reason, I say SHAME ON THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN!  It reflects poorly on them.

Another example of the mismanagement of our town officials and shoddy work our town DPW and highway departments do!

Disgusting and shameful in my book! 

Disappointing Hike Attempt

Although, I've been to the Delcarte conservation area here in Franklin many times over the years, I've never walked the trails, see picture above.  We'd always spend our time around the dam area, near the parking lot, fishing or looking for frogs and turtle and snakes.

Many people on the Franklin Facebook page have raved about how great the walking trails are, so I figured it was time I gave it a walk myself.  Here are my take aways: 

The dam area, some 1000' long, was overgrown with weeds, as was much of the walking trails. So much so that it was nearly impossible to get close to the water.  Perhaps, there are DEP regulation that restrict what can and can't be cut or perhaps it's the town of Franklin just being lazy, as they've shown in SO many other areas of the town that lack their upkeep.  Either way, seems if this is a touted conservation area with walking trails, they should be maintained to some level and kept open and accessible.

The dam area was littered with dog shit, I kid you not!  Same on the wooded walking trails too, some even in poop bags just discarded on the side of the trail. Another example of lazy, selfish, disrespectful POS!  The ironic things, in my opinion, is many of these professed dog owners are the first with their big mouths to come forward to defend this type of behavior with some silly justification as to the reasons why and they're some of the BIGGEST offenders of following the rules.  For example, letting their dogs off leash - you know because their dogs are so well behaved.  Never mind if others in the area are afraid of dogs or not picking up after their dog, to name a few.

Annoying families with their yelling and screaming, all of them!  My intention was to get off the beaten path and away from people (ALL OF THEM!) and the noise of the every day hustle and bustle.  Much to my dismay there were several groups and each had younger kids who were yelling and screaming and crying.  From what I saw, they had no business being off in the woods in their flip-flops and sandals and sundresses.  Of course, the parents were yelling too, as they were micro-parenting their kids - "don't touch that", "stay away from the water", "come back you're wandering too far", or the kids who starting bawling because they tripped and went down or the one person on their phone talking, etc. etc. etc..  After all, it's all about "them" with NO care for their surroundings or anyone else.  I was hoping to see some wildlife but that's next to impossible with all the noise.

Instead of doing the 1.2 mile blue circle trail walk that I had intended, I did the 0.87 green diamond trail walk, then hightailed it out.  I couldn't get outta there fast enough,  All in all I left there very disappointed!  Fairly certain it was my first and last time walking those trails.

Sorry, Not Our Problem!

I just got off the phone with the Franklin DPW, so frustrating!

I went for my noontime walk today and about a half mile down the road I noticed a huge tree had blown over and was now propped against the electrical lines just above the sidewalk and leaning towards and over the street!

We had a rain and wind storm last night, accompanied with a tornado warning, so there were leaves and branches and debris all over the place as a result. Fortunately, not too much damage in my area, although my corns plants are now all lying on their sides versus straight up, ALAS!

So, I thought it best to call the DPW to let them know, hoping they'd take care of it before it gets any worse.  Much to my surprise I was told that when it comes to the electrical lines, the DPW can't do anything about it.  The electric company needs to take care of these types of scenarios - OK makes sense.  She then proceeded to tell me that I need to call the electric company directly to report the issue!  She didn't even have the phone number to give me!  SO, WHAT?!  WTF!  So, the town of Franklin is fine with doing absolutely nothing when such an issue exists in their town?!  What is the DR plan in the event of a true disaster or emergency?  The town has NO problems with taking my tax money!  Why is it that my taxes keep going up, yet the town services have been going down or stopping?! How can this even be an acceptable response?  She said the homeowner would need to call, to which I informed her there was no home in that area, it's an open field.  I also let her know that since she and the town weren't concerned, I certainly wasn't and that I was only trying to be helpful.

Sadly and frustratingly, these are the times we live in today, where this sort of response is acceptable. No common curtsey, decency or compassion and a blatant lack of respect.

Sad State of Affairs IV

More of my observations, or perhaps bitching and complaining, whatever...

This is the sign at the entrance to the local elementary and middle schools about a mile down the road.

Here it is July 27th with the summer half over and as you can see the messages are old, going back to early June, when school was still in session.

Why haven't the messages been updated?!  I would have thought the principle of the school would, at a minimum, remove these old messages and put something, anything there or even leave it blank!  

On my motorcycle ride last weekend, we past approximately half a dozen schools with similar signage and each and every one contained updated messages that were positive and encouraging!  For example, "Have a great summer", "Remember to read", "Be safe", "Congratulations", etc.

Sorry, in my book this screams LAZY, can't be bothered and sends the wrong message. The devil is in the details and I'd question an elementary and middle school principle who lacks this quality.  How could you not then question where else this principle is being lazy?!  Remember, she's overseeing our children...

Sad State of Affairs III

I took this picture on Friday 7/14/2023.  It's a picture of the soccer field at Dacey Community Field here in Franklin. The interesting, and hypocritical, item to point out here is the watering of the field that's taking place.  First of all, the last week or so, we've had rain almost every day!  Some days it's been super heavy and it's noticeable in the streams, which are running higher than usual.  My pool for example is too full, with the water level over top of the skimmer boxes.  My point being, we've had SO much rain the end of June and so far in July that the watering of the ball field seems SO unnecessary.

I've lived in this town since 2000, and each year around early June the town has always issued a water ban.  This year, 2023, was no different and on June 8, 2023 the DPW posted the following notice - 

DPW Notice - Water Conservation Measures Now in Effect

The second bullet in the above notice states the following - "No automatic lawn watering between the hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM". 

So, riddle me this, if there's a town wide water ban, why doesn't the town also need to abide by it too?!  How can the town in good conscience tell it's residents, with threats of fines, there's a water restriction in place yet they proceed to water ball fields?!

Frustratingly, this is NO surprise to me and how this town has been and continues to operate.  The times I've sent emails to town officials are usually responded to with nothing but excuses, for example, covid, under staffed, unable to find good help, budget constraints, etc. Excuse after excuse versus listening and trying to come up with solutions.  Services have been affected, with some being limited and even removed, yet my taxes continue to go up!

Get Out Of The Way Roadhog!

Franklin PD's passive aggressive way of speed enforcement, alas.

Rather than random and more frequent speed traps, this is FPD's approach to the new school year.

I certainly understand the need to remind most of the idiots on the road now that school is back in session but speeders, aggressive drivers and distracted drivers are out there EVERY DAY!  

Reminders like the one pictured above, and enforcement, shouldn't be a seasonal thing, rather ticketing the offenders and hitting them in the wallets and pocketbooks each and every day!

Slow Down!

FPD doesn't do speed control enforcement on our street nearly enough, so when I see them out and have someone pulled over it's great!  I got a front row seat for this show.

The speeds are too fast and easily, in my estimation, 10-15mphs over the posted limited.  That coupled with the aggressive drivers and distracted drivers, it's always welcome to see when the FPD is holding people accountable.

Laziness and Excuses, Unacceptable

This is what our tax dollars get us here in Franklin...shoddy maintenance.  Oh and excuses too from the town administrator, who blamed this on the pandemic and having a hard time filling positions.  At least that's what his email back to me claimed...

It's important to note that all these pictures were taken in the area in front of the elementary and middle schools down the street, and I took these shortly after the school year opened.

Clearly storm drains with weeds that has such lush and tall growth have NOT been tended to in quite some time!  The sidewalks have growth and weeds growing and encroaching on them, as well as piles of pine needles and leaves covering a good portion of them, which also have been there for a while.

This area is very busy in general, more so now that school is back in session - students, walkers, joggers, bikers, etc. and all have to navigate unkept sidewalks all the while needing to be super careful of the speeding vehicles passing by them too. 

Seems that safety for kids, residents and others isn't a concern or priority for the town of Franklin.

 

Our Tax Dollars Hard At Work II!

Here is another example of how our Franklin tax dollars are being spent on shoddy workmanship.

The town is getting our schools ready for opening day.  There's been a bustle of activity at the elementary\middle school just down the street, bot inside and out - weeding, edging, mulching, pruning, mowing, etc., right down to fresh white paint in the parking lots.

As you've seen in previous postings, and in my opinion, the town of Franklin Ground division does a poor job in general. I could go on with example after example but why, clearly by the workmanship shown, the folks who run the town certainly are not bothered by any it.

Here is a good example below.  WHY, would you have the parking lot repainted without first properly prepping?  WHY, if you worked for the painting company, would you let your team paint over weeds?  WHY was there no one checking the work being done, especially the town and before paying for shoddy services rendered?!

Also, as you can see in a couple pictures, the parking lots actually should have the numerous cracks sealed BEFORE painting the lines and BEFORE the winter hits making a bigger issue when it freezes and thaws, freezes and thaws...