A look back at 18 top local stories of 2018
Here we offer a 18 of the stories -- just a handful of so many important and interesting stories -- that made headlines on these pages, and on our wickedlocal.com websites, throughout the year.
1 -- "Bombogenesis" storm: The new year got off to a stormy start
Around the area, the bombogenesis storm -- where a rapid drop in central pressure causes hurricane-strength winds to build through a winter storm system with Arctic temperatures -- brought snow at rates of one to three inches an hour, peaking in the middle of the day.
Along the southeastern
Locally, where a Winter Storm Warning was in effect until
The storm rolled in as expected around
By mid-afternoon eight inches of snow lay on the ground in town.
"As soon as it started to snow it was pretty high intensity. We were pretty much all hands on deck," said
2 -- A chief turnover in
Then, in March, a new police chief was appointed -- Chief
Anderson's exit from the police department -- and Sweet's arrival in the town administrator's office -- did not signal the only changing of the guard in top positions in the town.
On
As is tradition, McMorrow rode in the passenger seat of the town's 1925 fire engine --
In November,
Effective
3 -- Historical preservation effort in
With the owners finally looking to dispose of the property, closed since 2009, the
By June, the answer was given. The tower was announced saved. While the rest of the building is not included, Maltinsky said the preservation of the tower is "a win in our eyes."
The site will be re mediated for the contamination and will be sold. There was nothing definite for what is going to happen there next but, said Maltinsky, "the tower looks great, and will be a nice focal point."
4 -- New life for first library's first books: Sometime in 1785 or 1786, the
When it arrived some 235 years ago, the book collection, which originally included 116 volumes but now contains 92, held within its thousands of pages of knowledge the beginnings of what is said to be the nation's very first public library:
Those same books, which must have been received with much excitement -- having been provided by one of 18th century America's own living legends -- were the subject of renewed excitement on
For many decades stuffed into a shadowed, enclosed book case pressed against a wall that many walked by without an inkling of their significance, the books now rest within a humidity-controlled, UV light-protected case that affords 360 degrees of viewing and offers no back stage placement. The custom-made display cost in the neighborhood of
"This is a big to-do. It's been a long time in coming," said
It's a far cry from the books' first storage area: A humble bookcase in the barn of Dr.
5 -- Five little kittens take the spotlight: An Easton man found himself facing several counts of animal cruelty in June after police say he was identified as the person who abandoned five kittens in a carrier on
That same day, police had already identified a suspect. They formally charged and publicly identified him as Rodriguez on
The kittens, estimated to be three to four weeks old when found, were put into the care of the newly formed King Philip Animal Rescue, and the calls came pouring in from people wanting to give them loving homes.
Mother and daughter team
In July, the kittens each went to their forever homes, where their rescuers were certain they would find plenty of love and comfort.
6 --
After winning each of its first three games in the Division 1A tournament, Franklin did just that, then followed the same aggressive recipe it used in previous games in its Super 8 final with
With a savvy tag-team performance on the mound from senior captains
The victory marked the Panthers' first state championship in 32 years as Franklin (21-5) capped off its inaugural trip to the Super 8 tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.
7 -- The ground shook (barely): Some local residents woke up
Lawrence W. McKenna III, an assistant professor in Framingham State University's
"In the
McKenna added that a 1.3 magnitude earthquake is equivalent to about 2 to 5 pounds of TNT exploding.
The rock underneath the ground in
"We really don't know why these tiny little earthquakes occur," said McKenna. "Earthquakes in a place like this are hard to measure."
McKenna compared it to breaking a wrist.
"It is like 20 years later during the winter when your wrist hurts, that is earthquakes in
8 -- And the ground was broken: From the day the
"We are very tied to how many students we can have in that building," BFCCPS executive diretor
A
The current building has reached its capacity with 450 students from kindergarten to grade 8, Zolnowski said.
The new building is expected to open in the fall of 2019 and will allow enrollment to double in coming years, with a new capacity of 900 students.
9 -- Franklin bursts with patriotic pride: A classic 4th of July tradition returned to the first town in
A fireworks display was shot off from the field at the back of
"We wanted this tradition to keep going," Carmignani said. "It's great for families and kids that aren't able to go away for the 4th of July holiday."
The display had been missing from the fun for about five years during demolition of the old high school and construction of the new one -- the one site in town where it makes sense to shoot off such a large display of fireworks.
It is hoped that another
10 -- Ciao,
For the team of long-time volunteers and the chairmen who for many years took charge of the planning, it was the finale, the standing ovation, the zabaglione and tiramisu at the end of a robust Italian meal. Every good thing must come to an end, they agreed.
The event drew thousands to the town each August. With lifestyles having become so much busier -- and, said long-time event co-chairman
"What we did," said fellow long-time co-chairman
There will always be the memories, offered co-chairman
"We've had a lot of fun," he said.
As Brunelli said, better to finish on a high note, than to see things slowly fizzle away. And there will be continued respect paid to
11 -- Ex-Patriot joins the Bulldogs: The Dean College Bulldogs beefed up their coaching staff as 12-year
Morris, who coaches running backs and special teams for the Bulldogs, played for four teams, including four seasons with the
Morris said that he's retired from the game, but isn't ready to quit. With Dean being close to his North Attleborough home, joining the Dean staff was an easy choice.
Morris said that football is his life, and to be happy in life "you've got to do what you're passionate about."
12 -- Rallying for self expression: With his chin held high,
On the previous night, Sam's father, Aaron, posted on his internationally popular Twitter account, DaddyFiles, about how his son had been teased by his young classmates because of his painted nails that day. Though Aaron said he doesn't blame the school or the teachers for the incident, he took to social media nonetheless.
"I love painting my nails," Sam said, laughing. "I'm just a crazy man, and it just looks pretty."
Due to massive support on social media, specifically on Twitter, he was encouraged, in his own words, to "keep painting my nails, and almost all the people said that."
Aaron's post lead to painting the town of Franklin red, or at least the fingernails of its residents, plus a multitude of other colors. On DaddyFiles's Twitter, people were making the incident a movement, asking people to paint their nails on
Additionally, former New England
13 --
Town Administrator
Streep is playing the role of Aunt March in the famous
IMBd.com lists other A-list cast members, including
The film coincides with the 150th anniversary of the publication of "Little Women," a Civil War-era tale set in
14 -- Shaping a
The body gave overwhelming approval to a
"We are thrilled with the Town Meeting turnout and the positive vote," Town Administrator
Town officials had encouraged voters to seize the opportunity as they considered a proposal to rezone the 50 acres behind the main downtown business blocks. The plan allows for retail and residential use, giving the town control over how the site will evolve. The land was occupied in the past by two factories, Crosby Valve and Tyco.
The area had been zoned for commercial use, which officials said was more appropriate for industrial businesses or warehousing, similar to the zoning on
The new zoning creates a new
"It's a great opportunity for the town," said Sweet, noting he believes the final plan for the site will complement the rest of the historical town center.
15 -- A puppy for PJ: It was a bittersweet time for the Maxfield family of Franklin in November as a new puppy made himself at home after a long journey. But as a service dog, Teddy has a few things to work on.
Teddy was supposed to be fully trained, but Ry-Con, the
The real problem is that the Maxfields already paid
Kristie and
Ry-Con's closing was not something that the Maxfield's anticipated, Kristie said. The closure left more than 70 families across the country with very expensive and massively undertrained service dogs.
With a son who has a thick medical file, along with other children to care for, PJ's parents said that they hope Ry-Con will offer some kind of compensation or help in the future.
Though they made it clear that Teddy has found a new, loving family, they're devastated that they will now have to dish out additional money to get the puppy trained to take proper care of PJ.
Ry-Con owner
"We are very sorry the business is closing," Mathis said. "It (closing) was not intentional and the plan is once we get past the immediate needs, to work with each and every family to do what we can."
16 --
The body considered a series of five marijuana-related articles, one of which called for an all out ban on the sale of recreational marijuana in town -- an option that was handily turned down. The newly adopted bylaw creates regulations to govern the operation and location of marijuana shops, confining the use to the
At present, the plan for the Tavern is still a concept. As part of their decision-making, voters adopted a 3 percent excise tax on the sale of marijuana products as part of the marijuana-related articles.
The timeline for the project is as yet unknown.
17 -- Future administrator taped for Franklin:
A letter sent to town officials in September indicated that Nutting would be retiring no later than
A search committee was organized earlier this year to decide how the town would go about choosing a new town administrator, but the group decided it would best for Hellen to take over the top job.
"After some discussion, they (the search committee) openly decided that he should be the next TA (town administrator)," Nutting said.
Nutting has been town administrator since 2001, seeing the organization of the
Nutting said Hellen is an excellent choice, noting he has gotten to know the town and the budget numbers associated with the municipality. In addition, Nutting said, he's also been able to make quick connections with town employees.
"I think this is an excellent decision," Nutting said. "He (Hellen) came here three years ago, and I hadn't had a deputy and I was concerned about this transition."
"For me personally, it's really a huge honor and a privilege," Hellen said in early December. "At the end of the day, all I can do is thank the citizens and the volunteers for being so warm and welcoming to me when I came here three years ago."
18 -- Putting the brakes on sale of "vapes": A petition circulated in early December calls for the Franklin
The petition was started by
Currently, flavored tobacco and nicotine products are also sold at several convenience stores and gas stations in town.
The petition, which can be viewed on Change.org, does not affect the health board's decisions, but members said they agree with the concept. Petitioners say that 136 local boards of health in
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