WGXC-90.7 FM
Weekend in review
May 20, 2013 6:53 am
Some of the stories that made the news, May 18 through May 20:
Kyle Adams reports in The Daily Mail more than two dozen cars lined up in the Cairo Elementary School parking lot Sun., May 19, to take part in a demonstration. The event was intended to draw attention to the Cairo-Durham Central School District's grade-level realignment plan as voters prepare to go to the polls Tues., May 21, for the annual budget vote and board election. Tim Fisher, an elementary technology teacher and the drive organizer, denied the demonstration was about attempting to influence people on how to vote. However, the budget vote has become a referendum on the realignment plan. Many of those opposed to the plan have vowed to reject any budget based on the plan. A written pledge to that effect has garnered more than 325 signatures, which, according to Fisher’s calculations, means the budget will fail. The 12-mile drive Sunday night was a repeat of an identical demonstration held Dec. 18. Read the full story in The Daily Mail. NOTE: Tim Fisher is a WGXC town recorder. WGXC's full Guide to the 2013 School Budget Votes and Board Elections in Columbia and Greene counties can be found online at newsroom.wgxc.org.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"]
Claverack's Millbrook Bridge over Loomis Creek.
(Courtesy imby.com)[/caption]
Matt Bathrick reported in the Columbia Paper the Claverack Town Board voted to take the next step in the process of replacing the Millbrook Bridge last week, but not before tense debates on how to proceed. The concrete arch bridge on Millbrook Road has been closed for several years because it was deemed unsafe by the state. With the bridge closed, drivers have been using town property by the highway garage as an alternate route. The cost of replacing the historic bridge was estimated at roughly $400,000. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.
The Empire State Center for New York State Policy reported last week the average per-pupil spending under pending 2013-14 school budgets will rise at the fastest rate in five years. This, according to the center's analysis of data submitted for the New York State Education Department's annual school property tax report cards. On a regional basis, the largest proposed spending increases are in the Mohawk Valley. Western New York has the lowest increases. The center reported 28 school districts among nearly 700 statewide have proposed budgets that exceed the tax cap. The Empire Center is a project of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a New York-based libertarian think tank.
John Mason reported in the Register Star Columbia-Greene Community College awarded diplomas to 230 members of the Class of 2013, Sat., May 18, on the college's Greenport campus. It was one of the school's most well-attended ceremonies ever. Graduates were addressed by college President James Campion, officials from Columbia and Greene counties and Professor Anita Broast, who advised the now former students, “Your work will fill a large part of your life. The only way you will be satisfied is to do great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Read the full story in the Register Star.
Kyle Adams reports in The Daily Mail more than two dozen cars lined up in the Cairo Elementary School parking lot Sun., May 19, to take part in a demonstration. The event was intended to draw attention to the Cairo-Durham Central School District's grade-level realignment plan as voters prepare to go to the polls Tues., May 21, for the annual budget vote and board election. Tim Fisher, an elementary technology teacher and the drive organizer, denied the demonstration was about attempting to influence people on how to vote. However, the budget vote has become a referendum on the realignment plan. Many of those opposed to the plan have vowed to reject any budget based on the plan. A written pledge to that effect has garnered more than 325 signatures, which, according to Fisher’s calculations, means the budget will fail. The 12-mile drive Sunday night was a repeat of an identical demonstration held Dec. 18. Read the full story in The Daily Mail. NOTE: Tim Fisher is a WGXC town recorder. WGXC's full Guide to the 2013 School Budget Votes and Board Elections in Columbia and Greene counties can be found online at newsroom.wgxc.org.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"]
Claverack's Millbrook Bridge over Loomis Creek.(Courtesy imby.com)[/caption]
Matt Bathrick reported in the Columbia Paper the Claverack Town Board voted to take the next step in the process of replacing the Millbrook Bridge last week, but not before tense debates on how to proceed. The concrete arch bridge on Millbrook Road has been closed for several years because it was deemed unsafe by the state. With the bridge closed, drivers have been using town property by the highway garage as an alternate route. The cost of replacing the historic bridge was estimated at roughly $400,000. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.
The Empire State Center for New York State Policy reported last week the average per-pupil spending under pending 2013-14 school budgets will rise at the fastest rate in five years. This, according to the center's analysis of data submitted for the New York State Education Department's annual school property tax report cards. On a regional basis, the largest proposed spending increases are in the Mohawk Valley. Western New York has the lowest increases. The center reported 28 school districts among nearly 700 statewide have proposed budgets that exceed the tax cap. The Empire Center is a project of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a New York-based libertarian think tank.
John Mason reported in the Register Star Columbia-Greene Community College awarded diplomas to 230 members of the Class of 2013, Sat., May 18, on the college's Greenport campus. It was one of the school's most well-attended ceremonies ever. Graduates were addressed by college President James Campion, officials from Columbia and Greene counties and Professor Anita Broast, who advised the now former students, “Your work will fill a large part of your life. The only way you will be satisfied is to do great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Read the full story in the Register Star.