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Tuesday headlines
Mar 22, 2011 6:15 am
Unofficially speaking, 11 positions at stake
Jim Planck of the Daily Mail reports that Catskill School District Assistant Superintendent for Business Kimberly Lewis has given Board of Education members a breakdown of where savings potentially might be found for the district’s 2011-12 budget. The largest area for potential savings, $705,000, is in staffing changes, with Lewis noting, however, “We’re talking about positions, not people.” She said it would total the equivalent of 11.0 FTE (full time employees) and stressed she was presenting them in alphabetical order, not in any type of priority. Also being discussed are the elimination of Pre-K busing, cuts in computer leasing, and elimination of the ski team. Final tax figures would be between a high 8.75 percent tax levy increase down to a 5 percent tax levy increase.
C-GCC accepts bids for capital projects
Doron Tyler Antrim reports in the Register-Star that Columbia-Greene Community College’s board of trustees has approved bids for the replacement of roofs on the arts center and technology building and a recoating of the campus’ water tank as part of a $1.9 million set of capital projects. The cost of the three projects will be paid by $950,000 from the State University Construction Fund and matching grants from Columbia and Greene counties.
Questions raised on Albany diocese action
The Times-Union reports that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's announcement on March 19 that it placed three priests on leave amid allegations they sexually abused a minor raises questions about an earlier diocesan investigation that effectively cleared the same clerics seven years ago, according to advocates for abuse victims. Mark Lyman, Capital Region director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the new accusations validate earlier claims and call into question the diocesan review process.
Gas price climb stalls
Albany Business Journal reports that gas prices dipped a fraction of a penny a gallon in the past week in the Albany, New York, area. A gallon of gas is selling for an average price of $3.709 in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region on March 21, down from $3.715 a gallon last week, according to figures released by the American Automobile Association. A month ago, a gallon of gas was $3.377. And a year ago, Albany residents were paying $2.91 a gallon. Nationally, a gallon of gas sells for $3.549, down from $3.558 a gallon a week ago.
Police critique Valatie neighborhood watch
Emilia Teasdale of The Columbia Paper reports that members of Valatie's village neighborhood watch group held an informational meeting at Barnwell Nursing and Rehabilitation Center recently to prepare for the crime that comes with warmer weather. Representatives from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and the State Police attended the meeting as well as most of the village trustees and a few village residents. Deputy Guntert said that the Valatie Village Watch was the only active neighborhood watch group in the county, created after a string of burglaries last summer. She warned that neighborhood watches get started when there are issues and then people lose interest as issues get resolved and stressed that people need to call 911 if they have something to report. The watch group, which next meets on Thursday evening, have been concerned with traffic issues and crosswalks of late.
Jim Planck of the Daily Mail reports that Catskill School District Assistant Superintendent for Business Kimberly Lewis has given Board of Education members a breakdown of where savings potentially might be found for the district’s 2011-12 budget. The largest area for potential savings, $705,000, is in staffing changes, with Lewis noting, however, “We’re talking about positions, not people.” She said it would total the equivalent of 11.0 FTE (full time employees) and stressed she was presenting them in alphabetical order, not in any type of priority. Also being discussed are the elimination of Pre-K busing, cuts in computer leasing, and elimination of the ski team. Final tax figures would be between a high 8.75 percent tax levy increase down to a 5 percent tax levy increase.
C-GCC accepts bids for capital projects
Doron Tyler Antrim reports in the Register-Star that Columbia-Greene Community College’s board of trustees has approved bids for the replacement of roofs on the arts center and technology building and a recoating of the campus’ water tank as part of a $1.9 million set of capital projects. The cost of the three projects will be paid by $950,000 from the State University Construction Fund and matching grants from Columbia and Greene counties.
Questions raised on Albany diocese action
The Times-Union reports that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's announcement on March 19 that it placed three priests on leave amid allegations they sexually abused a minor raises questions about an earlier diocesan investigation that effectively cleared the same clerics seven years ago, according to advocates for abuse victims. Mark Lyman, Capital Region director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the new accusations validate earlier claims and call into question the diocesan review process.
Gas price climb stalls
Albany Business Journal reports that gas prices dipped a fraction of a penny a gallon in the past week in the Albany, New York, area. A gallon of gas is selling for an average price of $3.709 in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region on March 21, down from $3.715 a gallon last week, according to figures released by the American Automobile Association. A month ago, a gallon of gas was $3.377. And a year ago, Albany residents were paying $2.91 a gallon. Nationally, a gallon of gas sells for $3.549, down from $3.558 a gallon a week ago.
Police critique Valatie neighborhood watch
Emilia Teasdale of The Columbia Paper reports that members of Valatie's village neighborhood watch group held an informational meeting at Barnwell Nursing and Rehabilitation Center recently to prepare for the crime that comes with warmer weather. Representatives from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and the State Police attended the meeting as well as most of the village trustees and a few village residents. Deputy Guntert said that the Valatie Village Watch was the only active neighborhood watch group in the county, created after a string of burglaries last summer. She warned that neighborhood watches get started when there are issues and then people lose interest as issues get resolved and stressed that people need to call 911 if they have something to report. The watch group, which next meets on Thursday evening, have been concerned with traffic issues and crosswalks of late.