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Mar
10
2006
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Dan Veaner
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Friday, 10 March 2006 |
I currently have two kids in Lansing Middle School. In both cases I thought they were too young to start Middle School in 5th Grade. So I think that moving 5th grade to the Elementary School is a great idea. Kids that age, in my opinion, are not old enough to deal effectively with the hustle and bustle of Middle School life, moving from classroom to classroom every 40 minutes, or mature enough to take responsibility for their agendas.
I felt that those distractions took far too much attention away from academic pursuits. Process became more important than substantive learning. There was more emphasis on getting work done exactly on time than there was on doing good work and mastering the material.
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Mar
03
2006
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Dan Veaner
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Friday, 03 March 2006 |
With two Lansing tax initiatives placed on hold and Ithaca's defeat of the Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) initiative, some municipal boards are learning valuable lessons and integrating them into their plans. Others -- the jury is out.
I'm reminded of an incident that occurred when I was a senior in college. They were building a new theater complex on campus and there was no funding for stage lighting. The Theater Department Chairman was concerned that he would have a beautiful facility with no way for audiences to actually see the events. So he stayed up late one night with the budget and when he was done the lights were funded, but there was no money for seating. That was a need the Alumni could understand and lo and behold! They raised more money!
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Feb
24
2006
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Dan Veaner
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Friday, 24 February 2006 |
When I talked to Town Councilman Bud Shattuck about his idea to enact a sex offender law he asked me what I thought about the idea. I'm all for it. I have kids, and we did have a sex offender on our street some years ago, so it hits close to home. In fact I can't think of anyone who would be against it, except, perhaps, the offenders themselves.
As I wrote the story I thought, "How would I feel if I were a sex offender? If I'd done my time, wouldn't my debt to society be paid? Why register, why be subjected to public scrutiny after serving my sentence?" Then I thought "There are some times when it shouldn't matter what the other person feels. Political correctness shouldn't count when our children's safety is concerned."
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Feb
17
2006
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Dan Veaner
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Friday, 17 February 2006 |
The taxpayers are revolting. All over New York taxpayers are saying no to new projects, fees and taxes. Ithaca said no more money for the County library. And before Lansing could officially say no the Board of Education (BOE) withdrew its plan to ask the voters to support a $30 - $40 million capital project.
That was a smart move. The BOE had built the project including almost all the elements that would make it good for the schools, students and program. They started with a "wish list" that prioritized needs at the top, program priorities, and then "wants." They almost immediately cut it in half. They pruned it and tweaked it to make sure it was eligible for the most possible amount of State aid. They only forgot one thing.
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Feb
11
2006
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Jim Evans
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Saturday, 11 February 2006 |
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The perfect response to complaints about lack of communication might have been someone's saying at one of the meetings that reading the Lansing Star's coverage of the process would have brought concerned citizens up to speed. I've felt very well informed all along. From: Jim Evans
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