Our daily column, 5 Things You Need to Know Today, will help you to get your day started and offer you some fodder for water cooler conversation.

1.  Framingham Park and Recreation Commission is holding a public meeting at 7 p.m.at the Academy Building to review and update the current Cushing Master Plan. The Academy Building is located on the grounds of Cushing Memorial Park. The purpose of the meeting it to hear residents' thoughts on the park, including ideas and suggestions. The Parks and Recreation Department is seeking $655,000 in the Fiscal Year 2014 capital budget to create a new children’s play area.

2. A draft of the 2013-14 Framingham Public Schools calendar was distributed for input from School Committee members at a recent public meeting. The draft calendar was reviewed by school administrators and their suggestions were implemented.

School Committee Vice Chair Beverly Hugo said parents have told her that they would prefer early release days on Fridays instead of Thursdays during holiday periods in order to have long weekends.

School Committee member Adam Blumer said he thought from a teacher’s perspective, Thursdays were more productive for professional development events, which is one of the primary reason the district has early release days.

School Superintendent Stacy Scott said he would take the issue of early release days under advisement and report back to the School Committee.
Action on the 2013-14 school calendar was scheduled for last night's meeting but was not brought up.

3. Hemenway Elementary (6:30) Dunning Elementary and Wilson Elementary all have PTO meetings tonight.

4. Framingham School Committee thanked MEDITECH Inc. for its donation of $15,000 to the district’s Technology Department for “the advancement of technology and technology instruction,” according to a letter from MEDITECH.

MEDITECH, a medical information company located in Westwood, has made donations to Framingham Public Schools for a number of year, said School Committee Chair David Miles.

5. A Framingham man was charged in federal court in connection to crimes committed while in his official capacity as a Watertown police officer. Joseph Deignan, 57, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance by fraud and fraud in connection with identification documents.       

According to the complaint affidavit, Deignan, a former Watertown Police Officer who retired in February 2012, used the identity of another person to obtain oxycodone and other controlled substances by forging prescriptions in the other person’s name. Deignan is alleged to have stolen the driver’s license of the person in 2010, while he was working as the traffic supervisor for the Watertown Police Department.