FCCI DIRECTORS: Robert Craig Stokes, 620-347-8519 Henry Ashbacher, 620-347-4070 Margaret Kennedy, 620-347-4358 Norine Laird, 620-347-4453 Frances OBlak, 620-347-4312 Ray Hamblin, 620-347-4228 Ted Wynn, 620-347-4040 Mary Ann Hamblin,  620-347-8411 Marilyn Smardo, 620-347-4118 WATER BOARD DIRECTORS: Craig Stokes, 620-347-8519 Jim Rhuems, 620-347-3498 Doris Morlock, 620-347-4958 Ray Hamblin,  620-347-4228 Jerry Wayman,  620-347-4829

Franklin Community Newsletter June,  2006 *********** Upcoming Events Bargain Bazaar - June 24 (7am) FCCI Board Meeting -July 2 (2 pm) Water Board Meeting - July 2 (3 pm) 60s-80s Dance - July 8 (8 pm) Lifelong Friends - July 20 -1 pm) Polka Dance - August 13 (2 pm) Edy’s Neighborhood Salute - August 26 Centennial - June 23-24, “2007”

We would like to extend our sympathies to the families of the following people who were residents of Franklin at some point in their lives and passed away this past month.   We value the importance of all our residents (past and present).   In memory of:  Agnes (Dobrauc) Ginardi and  Mary (Ponce) Cukjati and Nathaniel “Nate“ Hopper. 
  
Funeral Dinners:  Please remember that the community center is available for funeral dinners at no charge to the family.  Call the center (347-4220) to make arrangements for using the facility.
 
Contributors: The Chelesnik family in memory of John Chelesnik, Frank and Marie Kobak, Minneapolis, Mn., Robert Luth and Wilma Hamilton, Mulberry, Ks.     We are truly grateful for each and every donation and are blessed to have such wonderful residents and “friends”.
   
Planning and Land Use: (Ray Hamblin 620-347-4228)   I would like to make a special thank you to all who helped and worked so hard to get the park ready for the park dedication and annual picnic.    It is truly appreciated.

Park:   The shelter is available at no charge however if you are planning an event please call 620-249-9333 or 620-404-9290 to reserve the shelter or park for an event.   Several instances have occurred where two or more families have been expecting to use the shelter on the same day.  Please remember that the park is owned by FCCI and rules and policies are in place that must be followed.  They are posted at the bathroom entryway.  If you call for a reservation a packet will be sent to you. 

It is a pleasure to notice all the people enjoying the park (Children playing on the equipment, families having picnics at the shelter and walkers using the new walkway).     Please help to keep “your” park clean.    Trash containers are available to dispose of trash properly.  PLEASE NOTE:  The path that was laid is a “Walking Path”.  Motorized vehicles of any type are not allowed.    If you see anyone on the path on a motorized vehicle of any sort (4 wheelers, 3 wheelers, etc.) please call 347-4228 or 249-1326 to report this.   We want the park to be a place of enjoyment for generations to come.  Please help us by following these rules.   

 Pavers:   A second order for pavers will be placed this week.  If you haven’t already ordered your paver please do so as quickly as possible.  This is an on-going project.  They are a nice way to leave a permanent marker for your family, school class, business, organization, memorial or whatever you choose    Blank paver forms and endowment forms (with instructions) are located in the mailbox on the message board at the site of the old post office for your convenience or can be obtained by called 347-8387 or 249-9333 or at the website (www.franklinkansas.com).

Storm Siren:   Testing will be every other Wednesday  at  noon.  The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department will be  in charge of setting off the siren

Volunteers:  We are always in need of volunteers.   Call any board member to volunteer or leave your name & number at 620-347-4220.  

Public Relations/Marketing/Media: (Craig Stokes 620-347-8519 or 620-249-1326) 

Edy’s Neighborhood Salute:  Block Party - Ice Cream Social   Weekend of August 26. Franklin has been selected as one of the grand prize winners in the national Edy’s Ice Cream Neighborhood Salute.  Watch next month’s newsletter for further information.  This was a national contest asking why your neighborhood deserved a neighborhood ice cream party. 

Polka Party & Dinner:  June 11,  2006  Dinner and dance was  a huge success and enjoyed by all.   Thanks to Johnnie Zibert,  Jarboe Watson and George Barberich for generously donating their time and talent to this fund raiser. Their kindness and generosity helped us take another step toward reaching our fund raising goal.  We truly appreciate it.  We hope everyone had the opportunity to see Johnnie’s interview on KOAM-TV. 

The next Polka Dance will be August 13. This event is being held the weekend of Arma Homecoming.  The dance will be held from 2-5 pm.   Advance tickets are being sold as we anticipate this to be a sold out event.  With many out of town visitors coming to the area for the homecoming we recommend making reservations as soon as possible.    Tickets are $5 per person for the dinner and dance.   Call 620-347-4220 and leave your name and phone # and someone will contact you or call 620-249-9333.  You may also send your check with the # of tickets needed and we will send the tickets to you or they can be picked up at the door.  Send your check made out to “FCCI” to FCCI, P. O. Box 43, Franklin, Ks. 66735.   At present the polka parties are held the second Sunday of every other month.

60s-70s-80s Dance - July 8 :  8 pm- midnight.   This is our first event for this type of music.  We plan to create a nice, clean, non-smoking environment so everyone can come out and enjoy the evening.    Music & lighting by Top Hat Entertainment, Kelly Seeman, DJ & Karaoke; Beverages & snacks available; Franklin Community Center, 7th & Broadway, Franklin, Ks. ; $5 per person;  Reservations required   (seating is limited so make your reservations early); Call620-249-1326, 620-249-9333 or visit the website (www.franklinkansas.com)  Mail reservations to:    FCCI,  P. O. Box 43,  Franklin, Ks. 66735

Bargain Bazaar - Saturday, June 24  HUGE Community Rummage Sale;  Franklin Community Park;    7 am - 4 pm;  Donations of items accepted until Friday, June 23 at 4 pm;   Call Marion at 347-8444 or Gay at 347-4305.   Please help with this fund raising project.   Shop with us on the 24th for lots of bargains.  Lunch & drinks available

 Lifelong Friends:  Margaret Kennedy  (347-4358) is the hostess for our Lifelong Friends program.   The events continue to be a success.  Her Voice did a very nice article on the group.   The July program (July 20) will be presented by Linda Meyer, Program Supervisor for S.E.K. Area Agency on Aging.  The program is about services provided by the agency for seniors who are eligible.   June’s program was presented by Vicky Wilderman, Office Supervisor of AAA. The program was titled “Popular Destinations.   Lifelong Friends will continue  to meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 1-4.  Watch the newsletter and newspaper for future announcements.   Admission is free.   Refreshments are available.

Youth Programs:  If you are interested in working with youth programs in the community please contact us.  We are currently working on setting up some programs and need volunteers with new ideas.  Some of these programs will be located at the park and some at the community center. 

Heritage: (Phyllis Bitner 620-347-8387 or 620-249-9333)

Picnic and Park Dedication - May 28
Picnic May 28:  The park dedication and annual picnic was held May 28.  It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed the food, programs and festivities.   If you were unable attend this event please try to mark your calendars for future events.  It’s a great time to get acquainted with your neighbors and make new friends.   

Veterans Display:  The initial group of photos will be placed in the community center within the next two weeks.  We are still looking for more veterans photos.  If you have a photo of you or a loved one who was a veteran and lived in Franklin we would like to copy it for display in the new community center.    Please contact Phyllis at 347-8387.  We are also looking for family photos and photos of businesses from Franklin to use in our display throughout the hall.  

Finance: (Paul Christman)

Debt Reduction
Please help us with paying off the debt from the community center construction in any way you can.

Donations can be sent directly to: FCCI, P.O. Box 43, Franklin, Ks. 66735.  All donations are tax deductible.  
If you are unable to volunteer perhaps you would consider sending a small donation  which would help with paying off the debt.   If everyone would send even a small amount each month it would be helpful and we could get the debt paid off.     Please remember that all the work done is for the good of the community, it’s residents and friends. 

Endowment Fund:  Much interest has been shown in the endowment fund.  This will ensure that Franklin has the proper funding to continue it’s activities, etc. for years to come.    The money is placed in a secure account with Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas.   Families of several deceased Franklin residents have left donations in their memory to the endowment fund as well as individuals who currently have an interest in seeing to the future of the community have given donations to the fund.    Remember that anyone can make a donation to the endowment fund.  With an initial donation of $100 a fund is set up in your name or your family’s name.  When the fund reaches $500 the name is placed on a plaque in the community center.   The fund can be added to at any time and is an especially nice way to remember a family on special occasions such as date of birth, wedding anniversary, date of death, etc.  

Centennial Committee:  (Phyllis Bitner, 620-347-8387)   
 
Mark your calendars for June 23-24, 2007.   Remember to contact us if your family plans to schedule their family reunion at that time.  Continue to watch the newsletter and website for more information on all the activities and events that will take place.   Plans should be made early as hotel rooms are limited.  If you have relatives from out of town planning to attend you may want to call this to their attention.  Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau will be working with us on this event. 
Forms are available for food vendors, arts & crafts, antiques, etc.  Marion Kobak (347-8444) or Gay Kranker  (347-4305) are in charge of vendor registration.  Contact them for more information or you can visit the website. 
One of the projects for the centennial is a cookbook.   Please send us your favorite family recipe. Perhaps you have an heirloom recipe from your ancestors that you would like to include in this book.  We are nearing 100 recipes and would like to include yours.  Call Dianna (620-347-8807) for further information on the recipe book project.  Forms can be found on the website (www.franklinkansas.com) or call Dianna and she will see that you receive one.

Community Center:  (Dianna Morrison 620-347-8807 or 620-249-2059)  Call for rental information.   Dianna is doing a great job of  managing the hall.  The hall has been used for a variety of events and everyone has enjoyed using the facility.  

Website:  (Phyllis Bitner 620-347-8387 or 620-249-9333)   You can visit the website for all the current information, photos of the community (past and present), community center rental information, keep up with the latest events and programs and much more. Over 12,000 people have visited the website. www.franklinkansas.com

Sewer: (Craig Stokes 620-347-8519)  Easement signing for the sewer project continues.  If you missed any of the signature sessions please contact Craig to set up a time to sign your easement.  This will help speed up the process.   

Crawford County RWD #7:   (Craig Stokes 620-347-8519)  Rick Ryder has completed the finish work on the water project. He back graded and filled in the low areas and seeded with fescue grass. If anyone finds anything that is needing more attention please call Henry Ashbacher at 347-4070. The water district has purchased a storage building to be set on the corner of 2nd and Jasmine Streets. It will be used for storing water district misc. materials and pipes. It will replace the storage unit that was rented from Franklin Mini Storage. The Barone Addition (located 1 mile south of Ginardi's corner then 1 mile back to the east on 610 Ave. on the north side of the road) is on line and selling properties. The Sewer line project was discussed with the need of finishing up the signing of easements as high priority. If anyone has an easement needing signed please contact Craig Stokes at 347-8519 for this needs completed ASAP. For any water related problems please call Henry Ashbacher at 620-347-4070 or 620-249-2900. For any bookkeeping or billing problems please call Veda Maxwell at 620-347-4747.

Franklin Community Council:  Meetings are very informative and everyone is invited to attend.    Bring your suggestions, ideas, etc. and take part in your community’s activities.   Meetings are held at the community center.   Everyone is welcome.  If you have any questions at any time please contact one of the members of the Board or a Committee Chairperson

Newsletter:  If you have any corrections or ideas for the newsletter please call 347-8387 or 620-249-9333

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