Courier roundup: DV musicians to play at Milford Festival on Saturday

• Video-conferencing the animal kingdom
• This is Music Festival weekend

Saturday - 11:00-12:15 at the Ann Street Park "main stage"
Delaware Valley Jazz Band featuring vocalist Natasha Green, Orchestra and Choir

(see the whole schedule)

Courier roundup: Holy letters to the editor, Batman!

News

• CATS (see also... photos from Cats)
• Band honors at Shohola
• Meet the candidates (as first reported by RB for DV)
• HONOR ROLL: Dingman Delaware Middle School Marking period three

Opinion

• Choices for the school board by DeAnna Margiore
• Greenlaw for school board by Ryan Balton
• Bad directions by Diane French, school board member
• About fiscal discipline by Jack Fisher, candidate for school board
• Our teachers at Delaware Valley School District do a great job! by Sue Schor, incumbent candidate for school board
• Schor for school board by Ryan Balton
• For Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike and Schor by Linda Boyle, secretary, DV Education Support Professionals
• Creative minds for Pike by Richard Cheng and the DVHS OotM Structure Team
• Election Cacophony by Karl Flail
  
• The 0% Illusion by Bill Greenlaw, candidate for school board
• Supporting Fisher, Greenlaw, Lutfy, Pike and Schor by Eric Neumann

Vote for Sue Schor

Here is a letter of mine published in this week's Pike County Dispatch about Sue Schor.

To the editor:

Sue Schor is one of the best candidates running for Delaware Valley School Board.

Because of Sue’s qualifications, Judge Chelak chose her out of several candidates to fill a vacancy left by a Taxpayers United representative who resigned in October. She now serves as the school board’s co-curricular co-chairperson.

Sue has played an important role in our students’ education for many years as a parent volunteer. Some 15 years ago when I first stepped foot in the Shohola Elementary School for my first day of kindergarten, Sue was working with the children in our community as a member of the PTA. As a volunteer, Sue knows how to take limited resources and make the best of them for our students.

Sue not only brings her qualities of kindness and compassion to the table. Sue’s professional experience as a realtor and manager makes her even worthier of our votes.

Sue began her path as a leader in the community when her three sons started their educational journey at our school district almost 20 years ago. Since then, Sue has gained a great understanding of the needs of the students she has served and the parents and teachers she has worked with. The time and experience Sue has in our community makes her one of the candidates who is most in touch with the needs of the taxpayers.

On May 19, vote Sue Schor for DV School Board.

Respectfully,

Ryan Balton
Delaware Valley ’07
Milford, PA

April 23 board meeting now on podcast

Listen exclusively here on RB for DV to the April 23 school board meeting at Shohola Elementary School.



Have iTunes? Subscribe to the podcast and get the latest episodes downloaded to your iPod from the iTunes podcast directory

Or listen in on the RB for DV podcast feed

Meet the Candidates on April 29 at Shohola

This information is from an email high school administration sent to parents.

Meet the Candidates for Delaware Valley School Board

· Wednesday, April 29
· Shohola Elementary School

· 7-8 pm Candidates speak and answer questions
· 8-9 pm Meet & Greet over cake and coffee

Please join us to learn about the candidates seeking election on May 19.

Sponsored by DV Council PTA and the Pike County Youth Coalition

Courier roundup: PAC, water, attack

News

• Survey yields endorsements and criticism
  
• Parents uneasy after Toy gun incident
  
• New Ding-Del water system goes online
  
• Learning how government works
  
• DVES students love ‘Read to the Principal’
  
• Heading off for a cerebral competition
  

Opinion

• Don’t take poor advice (a reprint of board member John Kupillas' letter pointless and tasteless personal attack from last week's Dispatch)
  
• Vote for independent leadership
  

Shohola book fair today and tomorrow

Recognizing the importance and pleasure of reading books, Shohola Elementary School will hold its annual Spring Scholastic Book Fair this month.

The school will be open to the public on Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Event organizers and students will be collecting loose coins and bills through the “One For Books” reading incentive program. Money collected will benefit our students’ classroom libraries. Scholastic matches the monetary donations schools generate, with a donation of up to one million books to three national non-profit organizations dedicated to helping kids and families in need.

Come out and support SES and inspire a world of adventure and the love of books to a child in your life.

Thanks for the submission, Carrieanne! Send in your announcements to Ryan@RyanBalton.com.

Courier Roundup: PAC announcement, more on ballot charge

News

• Competitive CPR for DV health occupations students
  
• Book fair at Shohola Elementary School
  
• DV Middle School Students of the Month
  
• March’s best at Dingman Delaware
  
• Students launch ‘Future of Pike County’ political action committee
  

Opinion

• Wondering about it
  
• True transparency and leadership
  
• Voting for taxpayers united
  

Courier roundup: McElroy's DUI questioned

• Parent questions administrator’s status
  
• Attendance counts at DDES
  
• State making progress but more kids could benefit
  
• Writers project brings Poe to middle school
  
• Teens pass on the word to a younger generation
  
• December’s top students at Dingman Delaware
  
• Kindergarten registration coming up

Courier roundup: More on the Krise fuel controversy, Splendora rises from the dead

• Misuse claims unresolved
  
• Delaware Valley Elementary’s ‘Cookie Share’
  
• December’s best at Delaware Valley Middle School
  
• Starting off reading at Shohola
  
• What follows is not my opinion. (Tony Splendora's usual riff raff returns)
  
• Girls deserved the recognition
  

Budget and safety meetings now on podcast

Listen exclusively here on RB for DV to tonight's budget, finance and audit committee and safety committee meetings.



Have iTunes? Subscribe to the podcast and get the latest episodes downloaded to your iPod from the iTunes podcast directory

Or listen in on the RB for DV podcast feed

Krise Bus unlawfully mixed DV dyed fuel with clear fuel, district to conduct audit

Krise Bus mixed regular fuel for chartered bus runs with untaxed Delaware Valley fuel, which has a red dye to identify it can only be used to transport students, according to owner Tim Krise (at right) and school officials at tonight's transportation meeting.

Krise was unaware of the red-dye fuel until Dec. 4, 2008, he said. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue contacted Krise Bus regarding an incident in which Krise-owned DV buses were seen at the Crossings Premium Shopping Outlets in Tannersville, Pa. on Black Friday.

Revenue enforcement agent Neil Hochreiter told Krise Bus that by law not even a trace of red dye could be in the tanks of buses being used for any purpose other than transporting students between home and school or on student activity trips, Krise and school officials said.

School board member Sue Casey said she no longer trusts Krise because he did not know about the red dye, which has been in use by the district for over a decade. Superintendent Candis Finan said she has known about the dye since 1997 or 1998, when the district's contract was first developed with Krise Bus.

Krise Bus stopped using DV buses for charter trips effective Dec. 4, after the notification.

Allegations at public DV meetings about improper fuel use were first made by DV Support Professionals president Fran Rosario at a transportation committee meeting in December. Krise conceded that while his company had used DV buses, containing the red dye fuel, for non-DV runs, they filled the tanks with non-DV fuel or reimbursed the district.

The board will discuss conducting an audit, on behalf of the school district, to ensure Krise Bus is in compliance with the law.

There is "no intent to take anything from this school district or the taxpayers," Krise said.

The Department of Revenue is conducting tests on fuel from Krise-owned DV buses to determine if red dye and clear fuel were mixed, according to transportation committee chair Diane French. Hochreiter met with Krise, his lawyer, French, Finan, Rosario and a few other DV support professionals at 10 a.m. today to inform them of the situation, French said.

Morning meeting "kept quiet"

The rest of the board didn't appear to be too happy about the meeting that occurred this morning.

The meeting was scheduled by board president Bob Goldsack, who is in the hospital and did not inform the rest of the board that the morning meeting was taking place, French said.

Board member Ed Silverstone asked French to fill the rest of the board in about what happened this morning. French reiterated what Hochreiter had told Krise Bus.

Board member Sue Schor said she wondered why it was "kept quiet."

When French said it was not kept quiet, Casey said she had to disagree. Casey said at a recent executive session the board had agreed to be more open about meetings. French offered a sarcastic "I'm sorry," saying, despite her position as transportation committee chair, she was not responsible for contacting the rest of the board.

Superintendent Finan said she also was unaware of this morning's meeting until shortly before it happened today.

Passing notes

Leading the meeting, French also refused to take questions from members of the public. She told the public that any questions needed to be submitted to her in writing and they would be addressed as seen fit. She said she didn't want the meeting to "turn into a circus."

As members of the public wrote questions in to French during the meeting, she snipped at a student in attendance who was passing the slips of paper to her.

Silverstone raised issue over how French was conducting the meeting, saying the board should field questions from the public to ensure compliance with open meeting laws. Solicitor Mike Weinstein agreed with him.


Diane French, Mike Weinstein and Ed Silverstone discuss French's announcement that she would not accept questions from the public.

When's the meeting?

Schor also said she was unaware of tonight's meeting still taking place. Meetings typically are cancelled when school is closed, Finan said, but because Krise and others had traveled to the area, the meeting still took place.

Schor said she received news of the meeting less than an hour before it began, and had to drive at least a half hour back to Milford to make it.

Board members John Wroblewski and Casey were also unsure if the meeting was going to take place tonight, according to e-mails earlier today.

The only place confirming tonight's meeting was here on RB for DV, after a DV employee who attended this morning's meeting e-mailed in a tip. Confirmation that the meeting would still take place was not posted on the district's Web site nor announced on the school closing phone hotline.

Absent from the meeting were hospitalized board president Goldsack, vice president Deb DuCharme and board member John Kupillas.

Tomorrow's committee meetings at Shohola Elementary School starting at 6 p.m., will most likely be cancelled if school is closed, Finan said.

Courier roundup: Krise fuel concerns

• Employees question bus contractor
  
• Grandparents Day at DDMS
  
• ‘This is your life’ at Shohola
  
• Reading buddies at Dingman-Delaware
  
• Career Day provides previews for students at Delaware Valley Middle School