Happy Thanksgiving

If you are tired of the same old stuffing.

White Castle Turkey Stuffing
10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 1/4 tsp. ground thyme
1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, tear the burgers into pieces and add diced celery and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Toss well. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. Makes about 9 cups (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey). Note: Allow 1 hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

Other Great White Castle Recipes

Communities Sell School Buildings on EBay

"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The La Crosse School District in western Kansas tried to give away its former middle school to more than 40 charities. There were no takers.
So school board members - somewhat reluctantly - turned to the Internet auction site eBay. The board set a target price of $5,000 for the 43,000-square-foot building in the tiny town of McCracken, population about 200.
And then something unexpected happened. Between 22,000 and 23,000 people clicked on the eBay listing, and interested buyers traveled to the farming community from as far away as Louisiana and Wisconsin to tour the building.

On Thursday, the school board agreed to sell the former school for $49,500 to a Phoenix-based business that plans to relocate to McCracken and use the building as a warehouse distribution center." More :

Hansel And Gretel

Bullets Over Broadway the drama club of BHHS proudly presents Hansel and Gretel tonight and Saturday at 7:30 PM Adults $3.00
Students, Seniors & Children $1.50

Ten American Biographies Everyone Should Read

"HUMAN EVENTS asked a panel of 21 distinguished scholars to help us develop a list of Ten American Biographies Everyone Should Read.

We asked them first to nominate biographies or autobiographies of anyone who had been a native-born or naturalized American citizen since 1776. Then they listed their top ten choices from the entire roster of nominated titles. A book received 10 points for each No. 1 vote it received, 9 points for each No. 2 vote, and so on. The title with the highest aggregate score was rated the No. 1 American biography everyone should read." More :

Joint Planning Commission

Took the liberty to reprint a comment from the discussion group on last night meeting, since the issues discussed will effect everyone. The joint plan working with all the municipalities is a great ideal but the devil is going to be in the details. The consultant did seem more concern with the neatness of his maps then the property rights of the current owners. There appear to be maps of everything in the plan except maps showing what the property owners want to do with their land. They should first get a handle on what the different land use types should be, then spell it out for the citizens and let them color in their property. The map may not be as neat but the overall effect would probably be much the same. Just because top down 5-year plans never worked out in the old USSR is no reason they should have another chance.

********************

"Last night's Joint Planning Commission meeting was both informative and confusing at the same time. It included discussions ranging from how much development vs.open space per residence in all townships to how wide roads must be, which mandating road widening on many (most?) of our roads.

Early in the meeting vociferous comments came from the audience that this is a case of the State removing individual rights, which were strongly denied by the hired planner.

It’s my understanding that under the JCP conservation directives one residence will need 3 acres of open space allotted “somewhere”. This would mean a landowner who has three acres could sell off one to three of those acres, but only one residence could be placed there. If the buyer buys only one acre, the other two must remain as open space. Who would maintain the other acres is under question. If a landowner has 60 acres which were held as possible “retirement investment”, he/she will find that only 20 homes can be placed on that land, with 40 acres remaining as open lands. If those 40 acres are on totally unbuildable land, the 20 homes could be placed on one acre lots contiguously, for example. But who would buy land that has no use, can never be developed? If a buyer knows about the open land requirements, there is no incentive to buy the land which must remain undeveloped. If a buyer gave me the option to buy 60 wooded acres, but I knew he couldn’t develop more than twenty, why would I buy more than 20?

Farmers also had important questions about agricultural versus conservation zoning. They did not seem pleased that their zoning petition was disregarded, but the District Township supervisors argued that they did not know what farmers had been told when they signed the petition.

This JCP concept is a huge undertaking that will affect everyone in all townships. I strongly urge everyone to attend the next meeting so that YOUR concerns will not be overlooked. Attend your local townships’ planning meetings as well, since that is where decisions are made that get on the JCP slate.

The next JCP meeting is January 20, 2004 at the District Twp. Building."

Colorado studying eliminating 12th grade

"Colorado lawmakers have asked education officials to study the possibility of eliminating the 12th grade and establishing a year of preschool instead. They said it would better prepare students for college by giving them an early start and possibly save money.

'I'd really like to see if we might change the model,' Republican state Sen. Ron Teck said Monday. 'We've been operating under the same education model for the last 100 years.' " More

Seems like a good ideal every 100 years or so to examine the education model. Maybe after 11th grade attending a year at a community college, while staying at home before experiencing the total freedom of a tradiitional four year college would be beneficial for everyone. Seniors now often have to take courses they don't want or need just to meet the minimum number of hours required. Athletes trying to obtain a college scholarship would have to be one item that could cause problems.

Joint Planning Commission

The Eastern Berks Regional Joint Comprehensive Plan Committee shall hold a public workshop meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, 2003, at the Topton Borough Hall.

One Too Many Chick Flicks

"Winterset sits at the heart of Madison County, a place made famous in the Robert James Waller love story, The Bridges of Madison County. The book was a bestseller. The movie, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, a blockbuster. But the weekend celebration was tinged with fear. Someone has been burning down the real sites named in the fictional story. " More

No male on the jury who had been coerced into watching that movie or tricked into it because Dirty Harry was starring would vote to convict.

American Exceptionalism

"“EVERYTHING about the Americans,” said Alexis de Tocqueville, “is extraordinary, but what is more extraordinary still is the soil that supports them.” America has natural harbours on two great oceans, access to one of the world's richest fishing areas, an abundance of every possible raw material and a huge range of farmed crops, from cold-weather to tropical. Not only is it the fourth-largest country in the world, but two-thirds of it is habitable, unlike Russia or Canada. Any country occupying America's space on the map would be likely to be unusual. But as de Tocqueville also said, “Physical causes contribute less [to America's distinctiveness] than laws and mores.”" More:

This is a very lengthly article in the "Economist" exploring differences between the U.S. and Europe. Most experts thought the differences would converge and they were doing that until the 1990's. After Sep 11, 2001 the differences started to accelerate.

One thing the article didn't point out is all the European countries are filled with foreigners that talk funny, especially Britain.

Drama Club Presents

"Hansel And Gretel" this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM. The play will be at the new High School auditorium. This will be the first play on the new stage.

Chief of D.C. Schools Resigns

"District School Superintendent Paul L. Vance resigned yesterday, saying he did not want to be in charge at a time of uncertainty over the school system's oversight.

After being pressed for an explanation, he cited several factors, including recent discussions between Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) and the D.C. Council about changing the school system's governing structure; the system's financial problems; and a proposal in Congress to provide some D.C. public school students with vouchers for private or religious schools.

...

' To be very candid with you, I just don't want to be bothered with it,' Vance said. " More

Probably too much to ask that a highly-paid school official would want to be concerned with actually educating students.

Wednesday Special Meeting

The special meeting last Wednesday was as advertised with no chicanery as previously feared. The expense that a school district can experience when a student is expelled was discussed in some detail. For those of you who are unaware the school distinct must help find a location, provide transportation and fund the education of any student whose conduct causes them to be expelled. In some cases it would be a lot cheaper for the taxpayers to buy the parents a big new home in another district or at least buy the student a BMW for their transportation needs. In the corporate world this would be a case of "screw up and move up". Taxpayer dollars should be spent on kids that value an education. Any student that can't behave in a manner to avoid the ultimate penalty of expulsion should be educated on their parents dime. At the very least the school district should not be forced to pay more then the average dollar per student in its budget. Any dollar spent on an expelled student is a dollar taken away from the students that are trying to gain an education. That is my humble opinion but one that I can readily agree with.

Volunteer firefighters clean gutters to raise funds

"Medford Lakes firefighters clean gutters to raise funds
By PAUL LEAKAN, Burlington County Times: MEDFORD LAKES - In order to raise funds, some fire departments cook turkey dinners, organize rousing games of bingo or urge people to throw money into a bucket. The Medford Lakes Volunteer Fire Company has found another way to supplement the department's budget, one that involves climbing up on residents' rooftops and removing muck from their gutters. About 20 members of the fire company will clean out dozens of gutters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, and on Nov. 22. The fire company is asking a minimum donation of $40 to clean the gutters on a one-story home and $50 for a two-story home.
.....
"The fire company has been cleaning residents' gutters on a first-come, first-served basis for about eight years, McIntosh said. The company raises between $3,500 and $4,000 per year. We've told other departments about it," McIntosh said. "I don't know why they don't do it. It's good training for the crews working the ladders, and it's good training for getting used to working on a roof. It's also good to get out and meet and greet the residents, letting them know who we are and seeing if they have any questions." More

With all the elderly citizens in this area on fixed income, a method of sponsoring them could be devised helping them and the firefighters out at the same time.

Joint Planning Commission Meeting

The Eastern Berks Regional Joint Comprehensive Plan Committee shall hold a public workshop meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, 2003, at the Topton Borough Hall. The building is located at 205 Callowhill Street, Topton, Pennsylvania 19562. The purpose of this workshop meeting is to discuss the draft of the Eastern Berks Regional Joint Comprehensive Plan. The participating municipalities within the Eastern Berks Region include Longswamp Township, District Township, Rockland Township and Topton Borough. Complete copies of the current draft of the Eastern Berks Regional Joint Comprehensive Plan are available for public review at each of the participating municipalities during normal office hours, or on the Berks County Planning Commission website. The website address is www.co.berks.pa.us/planning. (or click here)

The Comprehensive Plan sets overall policies for the development and preservation of the region over the next 10 years. The Plan mainly addresses Land Uses, Housing, Transportation, Community Facilities and Services, Natural Feature Conservation and ways to implement the plan. Copies of the plan are available at any of the above municipalities, or can be attained on-line at www.co.berks.pa.us/planning

If there are any questions, please contact the Berks County Planning Commission at (610) 478-6300.

Top 10 Most expensive colleges

"In October, the College Board announced that the cost of attending a public college or university rose by 9.8 percent, the largest annual increase in 30 years. Private schools were just a bit more restrained, with total costs rising 6.7 percent." More :

CDs 'could be history in five years'

"Compact discs could be history within five years, superseded by a new generation of fingertip-sized memory tabs with no moving parts.
Scientists say each paper-thin device could store more than a gigabyte of information - equivalent to 1,000 high quality images - in one cubic centimetre of space.
Experts have developed the technology by melding together organic and inorganic materials in a unique way.
They say it could be used to produce a single-use memory card that permanently stores data and is faster and easier to operate than a CD." More '

How can anything be easier to operate than a CD.?

Grade inflation

" Fourteen-year-old Lauren Lee recently got some great news in a progress report sent home from Sherwood High School in Montgomery County. The freshman got an 'A' in a tough honors-level geometry course.
Not bad, thought Lauren's mother, Lauren Asbury, especially considering that her daughter never attended the school.
'She doesn't go to Sherwood,' explained Mrs. Asbury. 'She goes to Good Counsel High School.' " More

Special Voting And Property Comm. Meeting Tonight at 7:00 PM

Meetings are still held at the Middle School (Old High/Middle School). The old board members are still in charge until the regular December Board meeting. In December it will be held on Wednesday December 3rd due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Great Resource

American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank: "THE ONLINE SPEECH BANK is an index to and growing database of 5000+ full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two. There are currently [434] active links on this page. Links are arranged alphabetically by first name and checked for errors at least once every two weeks."

There is also a link to great movie speeches like Patton and Braveheart.

Only a matter of time

"NEW YORK—Alarmed by the unhealthy choices they make every day, more and more Americans are calling on the government to enact legislation that will protect them from their own behavior."

"The government is finally starting to take some responsibility for the effect my behavior has on others," said New York City resident Alec Haverchuk, 44, who is prohibited by law from smoking in restaurants and bars. "But we have a long way to go. I can still light up on city streets and in the privacy of my own home. I mean, legislators acknowledge that my cigarette smoke could give others cancer, but don't they care about me, too?" MORE

Looks like this was inspired by the discussion board talk of allowing parents to make their own snow day decision. Personal responiblity can be an awful burden.

Leave No Child Uncuffed

"(CBS) Gun-toting police burst into a South Carolina high school, ordering students to lie down in hall ways as they searched for drugs. The commando-style raid has parents questioning the wisdom of police tactics.

The raid occurred Wednesday at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, S.C. Surveillance video obtained by CBS Affiliate WCSC in Charleston shows the police waving their guns and searching lockers as students lie flat on their stomachs or sides.
.....
Police didn't find any criminals in the armed sweep, but they say K-9 dogs smelled drugs on a dozen backpacks. " MORE :

Leave No CHild Uncufed

"(CBS) Gun-toting police burst into a South Carolina high school, ordering students to lie down in hall ways as they searched for drugs. The commando-style raid has parents questioning the wisdom of police tactics.

The raid occurred Wednesday at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, S.C. Surveillance video obtained by CBS Affiliate WCSC in Charleston shows the police waving their guns and searching lockers as students lie flat on their stomachs or sides.
.....
Police didn't find any criminals in the armed sweep, but they say K-9 dogs smelled drugs on a dozen backpacks. " MORE :

Why Education Matters

Excellent article Robert B. Reich, Sec. of Labor in the Clinton administration. In the upcoming election year politicans will be bemoaning the loss of high paying manufacturing jobs to third world countries. Seems their manufactoring jobs are suffering the same fate. No government plan is going to bring them back.

"America has been losing manufacturing jobs to China, Latin America and the rest of the developing world. Right? Well, not quite. It turns out that manufacturing jobs have been disappearing all over the world. Economists at Alliance Capital Management in New York took a close look at employment trends in 20 large economies recently, and found that since 1995 more than 22 million factory jobs have disppeared.
In fact, the United States has not even been the biggest loser. Between 1995 and 2002, we lost about 11 percent of our manufacturing jobs. But over the same period, the Japanese lost 16 percent of theirs. And get this: Many developing nations are losing factory jobs. During those same years, Brazil suffered a 20 percent decline.
Here’s the real surprise. China saw a 15 percent drop. China, which is fast becoming the manufacturing capital of the world, has been losing millions of factory jobs.
What’s going on? In two words: Higher productivity.

....

So next time you hear a politician complain that American manufacturing jobs are fleeing to low-cost countries like China or to Latin America, watch your wallet. Everyone’s losing factory jobs.

The issue we really ought to be talking is what jobs Americans, and everyone else, will be able to find when machines are able to do just about everything. " More

Don't count on MoDonalds. Fast food places will probably be entirely automated with the only jobs being highly technical keeping the burgerbots operating.

New Weather Delays and Early Dismissal Policies

BRANDYWINE HEIGHTS AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT: " Obviously, we cannot inspect every road when inclement weather is experienced. If a parent feels that bringing a child to school late or picking the child up early are in the child’s best interests, I will support the parent’s decision. I also respect a parent’s decision not to send a child to school if, in the parents best judgement, the current or forecasted weather is too severe for their children. My primary concern is the safety of our students. The cooperation and understanding parents have demonstrated in the past is sincerely appreciated. Thank you."

One of the main points is that if a 2-hour delay is called it will always mean a 2 1/2 hour delay for elementary schools. This will minimize their time standing waiting. The TV and Radio stations won't make such detailed announcements. I am sure your children will help you remember. Just don't let them con you into a 3 hour delay.

Votes from District omitted

Toeay's Reading Eagle
Berks County elections officials inadvertently omitted the District Township votes from the unofficial total released on Wednesday morning.
V. Kurt Bellman, director of elections, said the cartridge from the township's machine could not be properly read by the main computer and the numbers had to be added manually to the countywide totals. ... More

If you tuned in very late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning you might have noticed the the numbers originally posted were higher then the curent ones. Everyone stayed in the same position but just had higher totals. If you have never counted the results before they don't make it real easy. You have to go to each polling place try to read the numbers (little bitty numbers they were a lot bigger a few years ago) by flashlight or headlight, add up each person numbers from each voting machine and in the case of a split ticket from both parties This is all after a very long day. We thought we had just double-dipped somewhere. Now it looks like the only mistake we made was doubting ourselves. I hope this article cheers up a bummed out accountant and her little elves. Great job guys.

They still haven't changed their web page numbers. So much for technology.

Looking at the graph it is a little easier to parse some of the statement at board meetigs when they talk about the ever rising "high" school population. The elementary grades 1-4 have been falling since 1999. The middle school grades 5-8 have been decreasing peaked two years ago. The high school grades 9 - 12 will continue to grow for two more years.

SPECIAL MEETING ???

Recently posted on the school's web site.

A Special Voting Meeting of the School Board will be held for the purpose of student expulsion at 7:00
p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Maybe they are just trying to clean up unfinished business. Surely they wouldn't try to saddle the newly elected members with even more problems before they leave office in December. The timing of this meeting only a few days after the regular board meeting does lead one to suspect otherwise. They have used "special" meetings called for one issue to ram through totally unrelated items in the past. The Superintendent's five year extension and pay raise was done at a "special" meeting called to handle a bond issue by a deadline. Could be an interesting meeting.

New Enrollment Projections

When the site was first launched we decided if the board and the administration were spinning stories about the Gifted Program they just might not be completely truthful with the enrollment projections. Citizens were told that we were out of room and a new High School must be built as soon as possible.

It is true that there was crowding in certain grades at that time and now but it is a short term problem. When the original graph based on PA Dept. of Education projectons was presented it showed peek enrollment would occur in the 00-01 time period. It was derided as using bad information, that didn't take into account other factors.



Those criticisms turned out to be true. The maximum enrollment projecton of 2,103 in the 00-01 year was not the maximum enrollment. The maximum enrollment occured in the 98-99 school year at 2,097. We never did hit the 2,100 mark The recent schedule can be found here The current enrollment is 1, 987 based on information provided at the Nov. board meeting. not the 2,081 projected three years ago. The funny thing is that every year at the Sep. meeting the audience is treated to stories of all the new students.

Latest Official "Unofficial Results"

"B.H. School Board
Write In / Por Escrito 1.01%
* MICHAEL GROSSMAN 1,402 17.31%
* ELIZABETH STEHMAN 1,210 14.94%
RICHARD H. RAU 738 9.11%
MAN WHO STILL WANT BE NAMED 699 8.63%
* ROBERT F. LOWRY 1,556 19.21%
* JANICE MC DERMOTT 1,270 15.68%
* LORRI ANN YOCCO 1,225 15.12%"

Congratulations to Robert Lowry, Lori Ann Yocco and Liz Stehman the candidates supported by this site won big in yesterday's school board election.

The primary race was very close. Only single digits separating the and the last slot slot for the Democratic ticket ending in a tie before absentee votes were counted. This race was a two-tier affair with three candidates qualifying in both the Democratic and Republican ticket. This advantage is usually good for a couple of hundred votes from people who vote a straight ticket.

Among the three candidates who had qualified Robert Lowry was the leader in every precinct over Mike Grossman and Janice McDermott. McDermott even with her razor thin win in the primaries to obtain the two party advantage barely beat out Lory Yocco and Elizabeth Stehman for third position.

Thanks to all the voters that came out yesterday, with a special thanks to the volunteers that braved both the summer heat and freezing rain over the course of the day. With a very extra special thaks to the woman who made it all possible and kept the drive alive over the last two years.

Note to future candidates: Before creating big signs have at least a few small ideals to back them up.

Note to Democratic Party: Before selection a candidate you really should have contacted the people that won or at very least ran in YOUR primary before making a selection decision.

It's Only A Flesh Wound

Political quote of the day published in the Reading Eagle concerning the Mayor Race in Reading. Where the Democrat received 7,497 votes to the Republican 1,895. Two independent candidates earned a total of 438 votes.

"...Despite the apparent landside the Republican candidate said he would not concede Tuesday."

"Numbers don't make you a wnner," said the Rev. Robert E. Brookins 56 who received about 19 percent of the vote. "

He better have one big rabbit in his hat.

Other Electon News

"California Town Votes To Love Naure
BOLINAS, Calif. (AP) - Residents of this quirky coastal town north of San Francisco decided overwhelmingly to declare their love of nature, skunks and a few other things perhaps not as easily understood.
Sponsored by a local woman known for wearing hats made of tree bark and newspaper, Measure G won 314 to 152 in the town of 1,200, where residents are so protective of their isolated way of life that they regularly remove highway signs pointing into town.
The text of the measure, in its entirety: 'Vote for Bolinas to be a socially acknowledged nature-loving town because to like to drink the water out of the lakes to like to eat the blueberries to like the bears is not hatred to hotels and motor boats. Dakar. Temporary and way to save life, skunks and foxes (airplanes to go over the ocean) and to make it beautiful.'"

Why is it always a CA town never an Indiana town?

MR. Gilly is 5.25% Richer Today

Like a poster said this web site this site only prints half=truths. Earlier it was reported based on the posted agenda that Mr. Gilly would receive a 2.5% raise. Well he did get that plus another 3% in merit pay. They wouldn't comment on exactly what the meritorious things he accomplished during the year. Supposedly his salary is objectively based on related school districts. When asked what the Kutztown Supt. made they didn't know. They just had a list of county wide salaries highest being 149K but the list didn't have the names. Granting our Supt a salary comparable to Wyommissing is like giving the manager of the corner convince store with the manager of Macy's. You would think they would want to know the school size and budget in comparing salaries but that would be reasonable people and it is not their money. The literature for salaries mentioned education. When asked how his salary compared to other Non-Phd's they didn't have a clue. Ms Olsheski said that the Phd was not required and other schools didn't have qualified Supt's. When asked how many. She replied "How would I know that." . She was told by an audience members that there was only one other in the county and he was at the bottom in the Berks County salary range. What do you expect from someone who is supposedly in charge of the Education committee that never meets.

Actually they didn't cancel it tonight as expected, they had punch and cookies for new teachers. Meeting the new teachers is great but don't pass it off as an Education Committee meeting. Shouldn't be too hard on her this was her last meeting as a School Board Director.

The football issue seems to be still up in the air with a December meeting to try and have the arrangement with Kutztown continued. Why the PIAA which is supposed to encourage sports wants to keep kids from playing is totally bizarre. It is not like the combined schools had a huge team giving the union an unfair advantage. It is a good deal for both schools.

Highlights of Tonights Board Agenda

"P. To approve the 2003-04 to 2008-03 Administrator Compensation Plan as attached
and marked PER-2.

Q. To set the 2003-04 compensation for the superintendent per attachment PER-3 at
a salary of $112,161 reflecting a 2.25% performance increase effective November 1, 2003.
Tonight's Agenda :

So this is why it took so long to post the agenda. Had to add a couple of more little items. Great Going Away Present Guys Stick the Taxpayers with an even larger bill.

NPR Radio Collaboration

"The Collaboration will focus on three themes to ensure that the national dialogue we create is influential and has depth. Participating stations will develop stories, sound portraits, and commentaries around these themes for local air and will share the best pieces nationwide."Whose Democracy Is It? - The Content

Maybe a great series but the very least NPR could do would be to change the title to "Whose Republic Is It?". This country was never intended to be a democracy. The founders knew history and were terrified of a true democracy for very good reasons.