THE LATEST NEWS!!

Read about the current projects underway.
Community Hall
 Community Park
 Post Office
Storm Siren
 Trees/Landscaping/Cleanup
 Letters of Support
Property at Junction 69 & 47
 Welcome Signs
 Sewer Project

Water District



September 18, 2004:   5:30 p. m.  Community picnic will be held at the site of the old community hall.  Bring your own lawn chairs.  Food will be provided. 

July 2004:  The plans for our Community Center are finally progressing along. The architect has made alterations needed when the plans were returned from The Urban Development. Soon we will be able to see building plans and to make the final decisions.

 Jerry and Candy (Toschi) Pitts have made a tremendous donation to the Franklin Community. The Franklin Catholic Church is in disrepair and will be torn down. Jerry and Candy have donated everything we want of the building. This gift to our Community is wonderful. (Thank You.)
The brick will be used to make a monument at the future walking park. The park will be located where the old hall site was. The Arma Boy Scout Troop will soon start on the project.


Phyllis Bitner has worked on the Franklin web site. It can be found at www.franklinkansas.com. She has done so much hard work on Franklin History.
If you have any history to add please call Phyllis at 3478387. She will always be happy to hear from you.

Our sewer is slow but steady. The County is working on the easements readying it for the future work. We are all excited about the sewer. The sewer will enhance our community a lot.

 The Endress property (east of the old hall site) has been purchased by the Community Council and plans are being made to use the land for a children’s park.

Soon we will start seeing some big changes in our Community.


May 4, 2004:   Senator Sam Brownback has requested that an American flag be flown over the United States Capitol on May 4, 2004, the first anniversary of the tornado that destroyed much of Franklin, Kansas.   The flag will then be presented to the community of Franklin with grateful appreciation for its true Kansas spirit and all its efforts and determination to see Franklin grow and prosper. The community of Franklin would like to thank Sen. Brownback for his continued support of our rebuilding efforts.

Kansas City Star will publish a story about the recovery process in their May 3 issue.

KOAM-TV's special will be May 4 at 6:30 pm.  Watch Channel 7 Pittsburg/Joplin at 6:30 for a report by Dowe Quick.  

KODE's special will be May 3.  Watch Channel 12 Joplin at 5, 6 and 10 for a report by Jimmy Siedlecki.  KODE will also be attending the May 4 Remembrance Ceremony so watch for a report on that also.  

KOAM & KODE will be televising specials which will include stories about Franklin.  Will update as to the airing dates and times.  

April 22, 2004:  USDA Rural Development presented a check for $1,658,800.00 to Crawford County Sewer District #3.  Read more about it and see pictures of the presentation by following the above link to "sewer project".
 
April 22, 2004: USDA Rural Development celebrates Earth Day with presentations of  projects they have funded to help improve and maintain the quality of life for cities and communities in Kansas. Rural development will be at the old site of the Franklin Community Hall on Thursday, April 22nd for their Earth Day presentation

April 22,2004:   Combined meeting of Planning and Land Use Committee and Advisory Board to finalize plans for Arbor Day Tree Planting Project and Remembrance Service.  

April 15, 2004:  Interview with Joplin Globe

April 14, 2004:  Interview with Kansas City Star.  The Kansas City Star will be publishing a special section regarding the tornado recovery for Franklin, Pierce City and Sedalia.  The issue will be published May 2 or May 3.

April 13, 2004:  Combined meeting of Planning and Land Use Committee and Advisory Board to finalize plans for Arbor Day Tree Planting Project.

April 12, 2004:  Interview with KKOW.  

April 4, 2004:  Met with Tim McDonnell, District Community Forester for the Kansas Forest Service.  (Go to "Trees/Landscaping/Cleanup" link above for more information.)

March, 2004:  Congressman Ryun has again sent letters to USDA-RD on the sewer project and USPS on the postal proposal.  He has asked for updates and reiterated his desire to see positive action to help Franklin recover for the tornado.

March, 2004:  A $10,000 Pritchett Grant has been awarded toward construction of a Community Park.  The award was given March 18, 2004 at the Gold Bank, Pittsburg, Kansas.   The money will be a great start to creating a park for the children of Franklin and the entire community.  Justin Stone graciously accepted the award for all the children of Franklin.   He received a resounding applause after his acceptance speech.   We would all like to thank Justin for accepting the award.  

  “Remembering the Past - Looking to the Future”.   A 1st anniversary remembrance service will be held on May 4, 2004 between 4:30 and 5:30.   The service will be held at the location of the old Community Hall.

A meeting of the Advisory Committe was held with plans discussed for future projects and the following sub-committees were formed:  Media/Fund Raising, Special Events,  Budget, Correspondence/Record Keeping and Website/History.  

A meet of the Planning and Land Use Committee was held.  The following committees were formed:   Governmental Affairs Committee,  Highway Welcome Sign Committee, Franklin Clean-up Committee,  Franklin Park Committee.  
   
Many articles about Franklin appeared in the Morning Sun Special Edition "Tornado Safety" in the March 17, 2004 paper.  

A letter appeared in the national magazine "Reminesce Extra" asking for Franklin memories, photos and stories.

Still awaiting word on the post office approval and the sewer grant.  Governor Sebelius wrote a letter recommending the approval of the funding and urging the project to move forward.

January, 2004:   A meeting was held with Postal Representatives January 21, 2004.   The representatives agreed to recommend reopening the Franklin Post Office with the community supplying the building.    More updates to come!!

November, 2003:   News of the donation by Paul Newman has been widely covered by the press nationally and globally.    Franklin also appeared on a fund raising site that has a question of the month.   See if you know the answer!  http://www.fundraisinginfo.com/question/current_question.jsp

AP Articles:   (October 14, 2003)  The associated press article written by Carl Manning has begun appearing in newspapers nationwide.   Notes and donations have been received from various areas of the country.     Read the articles as they appeared in different newspapers.
     
***********
Funeral Dinners: Funeral dinners are now being taken care of  by Eva Palango and Marion Kobak. Harold Goyette has made arrangements that the American Legion Hall can be used and also Fr. Thissen has consented to use of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church Hall in Arma at no cost until our Civic Center is rebuilt.    Donations will be taken by Eva Palango at her home... 901 S. Broadway or mailed to her at P.O. Box 5275, Franklin, Ks 66735

***********
Town Meeting: The Franklin Community Council will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Ashbacher's Construction, Second and Broadway in Franklin.  

This will be an informational meeting. The public is invited to attend as input and feedback is needed from all residents.

During the meeting, a report will be given on what has taken place thus far as well as plans for the future in the wake of the May 4 tornado.

Commemorative hat/lapel pins and T-shirts will be available for purchase at the meeting. All proceeds from the sale of these commemorative items go to the Franklin Community Disaster Fund.

Franklin leaders note that the U.S. Postal Service has not made a decision about re-opening the Franklin Post Office and is still studying the issue. However, they ask that local residents contact their lawmakers, as well as the postal service at 1-800-275-8777, to express their opinions.

***********
AP Story:  Carl Manning, Associated Press Writer was in Franklin September 9, 2003 to visit the tornado site and visit with some residents.  He wrote an article about the recovery process which can be read here.  

**********

Storm Stories:  Watch the weather channel on September 9 or October 8 for a story about the tornado that came through Crawford County.

**********

Streets:  There is a grant for all new asphalt streets in Franklin.

********

Post Office News:  No decision has been made to date (August 12, 2003) for re-opening or closing the post office.  Still time to send in your letters or thoughts on the matter.  Go to the contact page and send those letters or e-mails.  

**********
Community Center News:  We received approval on the enviromental study by FEMA this past week.  We now have to get detailed drawings in order to get bids from various contractors, and submit that.

**********
The Postal Service held a Town Hall Meeting, June 29, 2003 (Sunday) from 7-8 pm.    The Postal Service stated in their letter they want to continue to provide the best possible service to the Franklin community.     At the meeting Franklin residents were told that no decision had been made to keep the post office open or to close it.   Please voice your thoughts and concerns through the contact page.

* * * * * * * * * *
Plans are in the works for the  "First Annual Re-Birth of Franklin Festival"  to be held approximately May 3, 2004.  Watch this space for further updates or please e-mail to offer support, ideas or help with this project.

* * * * * * * * * *
Don Fleury said anyone who lives within Franklin can have a survey  of their property lines done for $90.00.  He and his crew decided this was an opportunity for them to help out.  This is far below the normal cost for this service.

* * * * * * * * * *
Plans for the new $231,000 Civic Center are now being drawn up, to be put on a newly purchased 2.1 acre lot at corner of 7th and Broadway, (where command center was after the storm) with projected use of the previous property at 5th and Broadway, for possible use as a park/playground, and possibly also the site of a storm shelter and siren.  We will have 210 foot frontage, and all the way west to Vine street, giving us room for a large building, expansion space, large front parking lot, and room at rear for septic system, and lawn.  The heirs of the Vignatelli Brothers have volunteered to place either a flag pole or a concrete bench with the brothers names on it at the new site of the Civic Center, in their honor.
* * * * * * * * * *
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:  There are a number of on-going projects that we could use help on.  If you have some time or have an organization that would be willing to help in any way (large or small) please send us an e-mail.


Back to Franklin Main Page
 E-mail: memrylane@yahoo.com