Longtime principal Sister Mary Walter Hickey has been named president at Notre Dame High School, and a national search is under way to replace her as principal of the region’s only Catholic high school.

Sigh, they say tution wil not go up, but I will take odds that they will eventually find out, oops, we have to cover this salary somehow…

Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home to find their veterans’ benefits fail to cover the rising cost of a college education, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said this week.

File this under “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then”. Schumer is a piece of crap, but he is getting on the right wagon this time.

Political motivation? Sure, but who cares why the whore from NY does something, as long as it works.

A presentation of lectures focusing on this year’s ‘March into History’ series is being offered at the Chemung Valley Historical Museum in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition “At Home and at War: Chemung County in World War II”.

The 7 PM lectures will be held at the Museum located on E. Water Street in Elmira and are free and are open to the public. These lectures are appropriate for adults and youths alike.

“Women’s Land Army: Agricultural Soldiers of World War II’ is scheduled for March 13. Molly Jessup of Syracuse University will discuss how women helped agriculture thrive during the war through the Women’s Land Army.

“Constructing Rosie the Riveter: World War II, Women and Propaganda” will be held on March20. Using period images, Vivian Bruce Conger, assistant professor of history at Ithaca College, will analyze the U.S. government’s campaign to entice women into the work…

Gov. rallies education troops on endowment plan

Gov. Eliot Spitzer led what was essentially a cheerleading session to get leaders of the State University of New York, City University of New York and other schools revved up about his plan to privatize the state Lottery and create a $4 billion education endowment. Legislative leaders have been wary and skeptical of the plan so far, saying they need more detailed information about how the endowment would work.

“We need your help,” Spitzer told educators during a conference call this afternoon. “This sort of transformational event doesn’t occur … unless there are enough voices being heard, articulating the need, demonstrating the support …”

The governor urged educators to work with alumni, write opinion pieces for newspapers, get faculty members involved in the campaign and reach out to their local business communities.

With an…

School Officials say they’re facing a time crunch and must decide something soon.

Uh, but they won’t. And finally, when they are forced to, they will make the absolute worst decision possible, you can bet on that.

Included on the agenda of the February School Board Meeting ( 2/6/08, 7 PM @ EFA) will be the presentation of the final report of the committee charged with the investigation of the procedures regarding the much maligned and discussed 2007 School Board elections.

Originally scheduled for the January SB meeting, presentation of the report was postponed until the February meeting, possibly because of the questions and general discontent surrounding the appointment by City Manager John Burin of former School District Attorney John Ryan to Elmira Corporate Counsel (announced 2/4/08).

The draft of the report, given to SB President Dan Hurley in December, is presented below and makes for interesting (albeit tedious) reading given the facts that the local SB operates on a million + budget and that included in the report is a recommendation that Attorney John Ryan’s conduct in this matter be reported to the State Bar.

Of course, how the…

Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, “Mexican Visitor’s Lament” — 10/25/07.

She interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver in mid last year.. Hernandez said, “They (illegal aliens) pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes…What Happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?”

That’s a good question - it deserves an answer. Over 80 percent of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more illegals vacated America? The answers may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested.. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grand-kids…

“Everyone is a security guard. Meaning Every student, Every faculty member, the maintenance staff, the cafeteria workers, everyone has a responsibility to report things they see to make it a safe place.”

School Security

Elmira Police and School Officials are looking for advice from other school districts to make your child’s school safer. How about letting parents carry in the schools, or event he novel idea of allowing the students to actually defend themselves. Get rid of zero tolerance idiocy.

Elmira College Parking Headaches

As construction begins on a new 150 room dorm, some students and neighbors fear their parking headaches will only get worse.

Doesn’t EC want to get more land from the city for parking?   Anything they can do to apply pressure on the parking situation has got to work in their favor, no?

CSEA members ratify contract

CSEA members overwhelmingly ratified a new contract for more than 70,000 state executive branch employees, the union announced yesterday. The vote was 29,755 to 1,839. The contract has to be approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The agreement includes salary increases of 3 percent retroactive to April 2001 (when the previous contract ended,) 3 percent in April 2008, 3 percent in April 2009 and 4 percent in April 2010. Other parts of the contract include increases in longevity payments, improvement in downstate and mid-Hudson salary adjustments to reflect the higher cost of living there, and some increases in health insurance co-payments, balanced by a number of benefit enhancements.

The agreement is fair to employees and good for the people of New York, CSEA President Danny Donohue said in a statement. “The strength of the ratification demonstrates that our rank and file fully support the agreement,”…