Friday news roundup: Special Olympics

Exclusive RB for DV photos: Special Olympics at DV

From The Gazette:
Fun, bravery define Special Olympics

From the Pike County Courier:
Primary results revealed a bad day for Taxpayers United
Proposed budget underfunded, but hesitantly OK’d
Accuracy wins top nod for DVHS student
Students help neighbors and medical community
Apprentice library program for teens and ‘tweens
Editor’s note: Delaware Valley School Board Member Pam Lutfy wrote this e-mail letter following the May 14 school board meeting.
Vanessa Carlton headlining music fest
Kiwanis Club Memorial Day car wash

Opinion: Pam Lutfy supports the needs of our students best

To the editor:

In response to Diane French’s letter (click here), I would remind her of the fight Pam Lutfy has waged for 12 years while sitting on the DV School board to implement new reading and math programs, especially at the middle school and high school. How convenient that Diane French does not remember this. Perhaps Ms. French’s pathetic attempt at power has caused a memory lapse.

⇒ KEEP READING

Pam Lutfy has worked to get DV to implement research based reading programs for far longer than it has been trendy under IDEA. Over the years she has attended learning disability conferences, reading conferences, special education conferences and model schools conferences bringing back her clear vision for change, mingled with her unique background in speech and language and early childhood education. She has met with legislators and education experts from all over PA and the country investigating and questioning.

Year after year administrators and other board members had turned a deaf ear to closing the reading gap at DV, so necessary for children to succeed in our modern society. Ms. French has probably just forgotten the long fought fight that Pam won to add special education teachers, reading specialists, smaller resource rooms, research based programs and a special education principal at the high school. Pam was responsible for DV’s implementation of Special Education Roundtables which allow parents to bring concerns and suggestions to administrators. Before this, parents were often shut out of the process with their special needs children.

Ms. French probably doesn’t even know of the hours Pam has spent with parents going over IEPs and counseling. She has not counted the more than 50 roundtables Pam attended or the hours and days she has spent fighting for our kids all at the expense of her own time, family, and business.

Just recently, Ms. French selected to forget that at the April 16 board meeting, Mrs. Lutfy was the ONLY board member to remind administrators of the fact that there still remains a “black hole” in the reading program at DV. She has forgotten that Pam Lutfy continues to fight for the programs that would have allowed the 142 seniors who didn’t pass the reading PSSA and the 182 who didn’t pass the math PSSA this year to graduate with a chance of succeeding in college and beyond.

I encourage all voters to cast their vote for Pam Lutfy on election day and eliminate Goldsack and Marasa who along with Diane French and the other Taxpayer United Candidates will continue to ignore the needs of our children.

Sincerely,

Mary G. Gordon
Milford, PA

Courier roundup: Special Olympics, ballot challenge coverage

• Special Olympian honored
  
• Three ballot challenges upheld
  
• Cafeteria line goes hi-tech with Web debit system

Beadle marched at Obama's inauguration, will head to Special Olympics

Seventeen-year-old Victor Beadle III posed for the camera on Thursday afternoon outside his home with the nonchalance of a seasoned celebrity.

Beadle's face showed nothing but keen determination. "Smile," his mother, Mary Ewbank, urged.

Beadle is a Delaware Valley High School special education student. And he's been getting a lot of attention lately.

He was chosen to join Team USA for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho Feb. 7-13.

Beadle will be the only male Alpine skier from his designated Special Olympics region, which includes Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties.

He also marched with about 30 other Special Olympics athletes at President Barack Obama's Inauguration.

"I was about a foot and half away from (Obama)," he said.

Read more from the Times Herald-Record

Skier headed to Special Olympics

A Special Education student from the Delaware Valley School District will join Team USA for the Special Olympic's World Winter Games in Idaho next month.

16-year-old Victor Beadle will represent Special Education Area 'P' as Pennsylvania's only male Alpine skier. Area 'P' includes, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Lackawanna, and Wyoming Counties.

Beadle started skiing when he was in ninth grade. His teacher and coach, Eric Kundrich from the Delaware Valley School District. said everything came together for the young man at the State Winter Games in Johnstown last year when he won a couple of Gold Medals.

Read more from MSNBC

Board announces meetings for January and February

The Delaware Valley School Board announced tonight its meetings for January and February. Meeting dates are also available on the board's Web page and the community bulletin page.

The transportation meeting will be particularly important to attend, as undoubtedly ongoing discussion will continue about allegations against the district's private bus company, Krise Bus. Bus drivers for Krise and DV report that Krise Bus has been stealing fuel from the district.

Also of note: The committee chairpersons and co-chairpersons are now listed on the board's Web page.

• 1/7 - Transportation meeting - 6 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 1/8 - Budget, Finance and Audit meeting - 6 p.m. - Shohola ES cafeteria
• 1/8 - Safety meeting - 7 p.m. - Shohola ES cafeteria
• 1/15 - Regular school board meeting - 7 p.m. - Shohola ES Cafeteria
• 2/12 - Special Education meeting - 7 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 2/12 - Co-Curricular meeting - 7:30 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
• 2/19 - Regular school board meeting - 7 p.m. - DV Administrative Offices
  

Courier Roundup: Schor sworn in, Special education roundtable, AP scholars

• Court decides on Schor for school board seat vacancy
  
• Special ed meeting coming up at DV
  
• College Board names 43 DV students AP scholars
  

Breaking news: Wladar resigns

Announced at tonight's regular school board meeting, school board director John Wladar, chair of the transportation and special education committees, resigned from his position on the school board. 

Wladar was one of three candidates in the 2007 election who ran under the Taxpayers United Association. He has been absent from meetings since May because of a health problem.

Board policy says the remaining board members have the authority to appoint a new person to Wladar's empty seat. In the interest of democracy, I believe they should appoint the next highest vote getter from the 2007 election who is willing.