There was a respectable crowd present for the August 25th ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center's new building. Guests were greeted and directed by Center staff as they made their way to the auditorium, where speeches were to be given.

The first person to speak was the center's administrative director Dr. Alice Davis. Dr. Davis welcomed and thanked those present. All of the new programs, she stated, were considered high priority by the state, and would not be outsourced. She commended the staff, and how they would go above and beyond to help the students. The kids knew that the staff really cared about them, and would help them. While the district wanted to hire staff who were competent in a given area, she explained, that was the 5th consideration. Prioritized above that were an applicants, attitude, flexibility, ability to be a team player, and belief in the ability to educate all students.

There was good in all students, she continued. One good thing about the career center, she said, is that it is competency based, allowing students to work at their own pace in learning. The center incorporates project based learning. When they graduated students would receive a diploma and a list of competencies. The goal was to prepare students for future job, such that after graduation they could get a job or continues to study without remediation.

She delineated four audiences for the school- high school students, adult learners, business and industry, and the community. The new building has a business and industry lab which the community can use, in addition to the cosmetology clinic and restaurant.

The school was planning its first LPN program. With the aging population, she said, local medical facilities were really struggling with nurses. The goal was to train enough nurses then, to meet business and industry's needs. The program, slated to begin in 2013, would test students, and strive to prepare them to pass the nursing exams. The SCCTC was collaborating with Mansfield University in this endeavor.

Finally, prior to passing the podium to the next speaker, she thanked staff and supporters of the project and the school. The staff had put in the patio and shrubbery on their own time. Ebb's Creative Landscaping and Roger's Nursery had donated plants. People's Neighborhood Bank had given them the loan. John Kropcho was the architect, Ken Truman was the Building Project Manager and Clerk of Works, and Mike Valenzano was the Mar-Paul Construction Supervisor. She thanked the sending school boards, as well as Dr. Bush and the Elk Lake and SCCTC school boards. Also mentioned were the Directors Advisory Council, the Occupational Advisory Board and the students.

Dr. Bush was the next to speak; he also welcomed those present. He then explained the process which led to the event, calling it a process which began in 1994 prior to his term as superintendent. He described how the prior superintendent had suggested he and Dr. Davis pursue their doctorate degrees in vocational education, and outlined the experience briefly. One professor had told him something which he quoted that day in his speech, that education is about economic advantage. The mission to him, then, had become to provide an education for all kids. He cited a Gallup poll which emphasized that to obtain a good job was the thing about which the world was most interested. One of the goals, then, was to give the kids economic advantage and opportunities. He thanked the board.

Mr. Place, the president of the school board, spoke then. He spoke of the hard work which the instructors and staff had put in to make the project a reality, singling out Mr. Truman and the business office women. He commended and thanked them. The investment in the project, he said, was not for the board or for the staff, but for the students, to be able to find a job or continue to obtain an education which could be used locally or throughout the country. He added on to the sentiments of Dr. Davis, stating that the dedication of the instructors was second to none. The board had gathered a lot of information before moving ahead with the project, he related, and he was pleased that all of the current board members and some of the past board members had been unanimous in moving ahead with the project. The school should received 50% or more in reimbursement, thanks at least in part to some hard work on staff's part. The easy part was completed now, he opined, what remained was to make sure the education was held to as high a level as had come to be expected.

Luann White of GasSearch Drilling Services, a subsidiary of Cabot, spoke next on behalf of GDS and Cabot. She offered congratulations on the career center addition, and agreed that the programs and planned programs would help not only her company but others. Stating that Cabot and GDS supported the center's endeavors and wished them the best, she announced that they would be giving the SCCTC a donation, $6400 in amount.

Representative Sandy Major was in attendance, and upon taking her place at the podium called career and technology programs shining stars. They provided students with an education, allowing them to find good jobs, supporting jobs, and jobs which would help them stay in the area, an area which she also called home. She offered her congratulations on the project as well.

Representative Tina Pickett similarly expressed excitement at being in attendance for the event. She commented on the picture slideshow which had been running throughout the ceremony, stating that she enjoyed the pictures of the first graders visiting the center and exploring the trades. Nothing was more important, she said, to a family, a person, and society, than a good job for everyone.

Dr. Davis closed the structured section of the event then, by reiterating that the job of the center was to make students a success and help direct them to a vocation which worked for them. She thanked those in attendance one more time, and expressed appreciation for the Cabot/GDS donation. The facility would be used days, nights, and weekends, she continued, to meet the needs of the students, not the staff.

As this segment of the event closed, the public processed outside to watch the ribbon cutting of the new building. Those present were then invited to take a self directed tour of both the new building and the old, to explore the programs, eat refreshments provided by the food services component, and ask staff questions.

Prior to the commencement of the August 27th meeting of the Mountain View School Board, held in the now dubbed James W. Zick board room, Dr. Adams introduced two new faces- the school's solicitor, Joseph F. Gaughan, Esquire, and the new Director of Special Services, Michael Slesinski.

Part of the meeting would then be taken, Dr. Adams announced, to honor a number of staff people who together had approximately 194 years of service. Expressing his gratitude for their dedication to the district, he proceeded to present a clock to each of several retirees. Those honored included: Keith “Butch” Baker (30 years), Rose Borgna (35 years), Sharon Kinney (11 years), Kathleen Kurosky (20 years), Marilyn Light (34 years), Charlene Olcese (34.5 years), and Susan Shaeffer (9 years). Lauren Weilage (20 years) was also mentioned, but was not at the meeting. Dr. Adams thanked the retirees again for their dedication and service, after which they all came forward for a photograph.

The resignation of Raymond Rinaldi, Esquire was accepted and Joseph Gaughan, Esquire formally appointed to the role. Rinaldi was appointed as special legal counsel to the district in the next motion, solely for two pending personnel matters.

Dr. Adams quipped at the start of the meeting's personnel committee section that the board would remain there for a while. The reason for the joke became readily apparent as several matters were voted upon. Michael Slesinksi's first day of work was set at August 22, 2012. The start date for newly hired instructors Jamie Boerio, Gretchen Wydeen, Whitney Twining, Megan Clough, and Eric Boylan, was moved from August 22 to August 27th.

A motion was made to rescind the motion to appoint Jerry Hoch Jr. as a music educator, which had been made at the August 6th board meeting. Resignations were accepted from Sarah Wilkins (from a monitor position), Geraldine Pinker (from a monitor position,), Timothy J. Weidow (from a Custodial/Maintenance position), Joseph Weidow Sr. (from a custodial maintenance position for the purposes of retirement), and Nona Williams (from a Special Education position). Timothy Phillips was appointed to a full-time custodial/maintenance position. Eric Boylan was appointed to the music instructor position.

Barbara Dewolfe was appointed to be the superintendent's secretary. William Yesnovich was appointed to be a part-time custodian. Dawn Neri and Maggie Ritter were appointed as part-time monitors. Debbie Pompey was appointed to a para-professional position.

The motion was made and seconded to approve a salary increase for Robert Presley, as a result of being transferred from the elementary school to the high school.

During the superintendent's comments Mrs. Shea reviewed a meeting which had been held between the superintendents of Susquehanna County and a representative of PSP Gibson. The focus of the meeting was to gather the superintendents to come up with consistent plans for possible mass casualties if, by chance, there was a school intruder. At the meeting the representative told the superintendents statistics which Mrs. Shea termed alarming, and stated that they were the first responders. What police wanted the administrators to do then was to set up in-house procedures for such situations, and then to set up what procedures would be followed after police arrived. More than half of shootings occur during the school day, she related. More episodes were stopped by other people than by law enforcement. The policeman had asked the district to provide him with lists of staff, room locations, and keys, and to label all of the exterior windows with a code. There would be a process in place to allow the police to know what was occurring in a given room based on this code. Access spots in the roof would be labeled as well. Plain language was to be utilized within the lock down procedures. The steps toward these goals which had already been accomplished were reviewed. There was a plan to hold training days, including two simulations. One simulation would occur when no staff were in the building, at which the troopers would raid the building for planning purposes. A second would be held when staff were in the building. A special emergency response team was to be identified, and a lock down standardized.

The policeman had also reviewed some of the drug issues in the county, Mrs. Shea continued, and he stated that the two most troubling drugs were bath salts and heroin. Another meeting was to be scheduled, at which the superintendents planned to agree on a plan.

Mr. Williams asked if there was any training which had occurred regarding how to identify potential shooters. There had been an active shooter in-service at one point, it was responded, hosted by the district. Mr. Williams clarified though that what he was wondering was if the instructors were being given training regarding how to identify potential perpetrators. Such training had not as of yet occurred. He then opined that there ought to be an established avenue to report suspicions. Ms. Rinehart-Cowan added on to this by asking how students were being trained. She added that there needed to be a direct path to take, if a student felt something was going on and it was high risk. Mrs. Voigt responded that if educators heard something they reported it to the principal. Some students had also come in and reported items to guidance counselors, etc. Nothing of a very large magnitude had come in yet. Mr. Williams asked if this could be incorporated into the anti-bullying program.

New professional staff induction had been held, Mrs. Shea reported. Also, the day of the meeting had been the opening day for staff. A fourteen member ensemble had been spontaneously put together, on stage, with drums and cowbells. The music staff organized the performance, which those present seemed to have really enjoyed. More events were planned for the next day.

The business office had been mostly absorbed with transportation Mrs. Finnochio reported. It had been challenging, but she felt that the district was pretty well prepared.

Mrs. Voigt reported on ACT and AP scores. During the previous year, the ACTs had been held at the district for the first time. Sixteen students had taken it.

Also, the school continued to offer one AP subject in each of the core areas. The students could take any AP exam they chose, she clarified, but the district offered four actual courses. In 2012 23 students sat for exams. The number of exams taken by these students was 35, overall. She reviewed the results with the board and those present.

Next, Mrs. Voigt promoted the Race for the Cure. Every year the district hosted a Mountain View Team. The race was to be held on September 8th.

For the past three years the district had participated in a grant for foreign languages. There was some remaining funding, and the IU had contacted Mountain View wondering if they would like to run another Chinese or Russian course. It would be an advanced course, incorporating i-pads. The grant would fund the tuition for the students as well as the i-pads, which would then belong to the district. Mrs. Voigt asked if there was any opposition to her researching this if students were interested. The board seemed in favor of further investigation.

Mrs. Rinehart-Cowan asked if there was a plan for improvement on the test scores. Mrs. Voigt discussed plans surrounding the common core. She pointed out that as more students took the AP exam the scores tended to go down. ]

It was stated that the Keystone exams were to resume this year, held in waves. All eleventh grade students were going to be required to have three Keystone exams. The eleventh grade PSSA was gone, replaced by the Keystone exams. The current year's eighth grade class would have to graduate with the three exams.

Mr. Slezinski, during his report, thanked the district for allowing him to be present and to serve. The most important part of what he had been doing in his four days of work, he explained, had been scheduling, and ensuring that this matched with the ieps.

Dr. Adams noted that the seventh grade orientation had been held at the high school. The students were introduced to their new superintendent, new principal, etc.

Mr. Stoddard wished to make a comment on conference reports. He felt that most of the board read them. When the faculty went to conferences, he said, they seemed to get used to using jargon, which didn't help the board members. He asked if maybe a slight parenthetical definition for terms could be provided.

Speed bumps were put in place behind the high school. Four of them had been installed.

Dr. Plonski-Sezer wanted to commend the instructors who had their students submit work to the Harford Fair. Many had won awards, and she felt that they made the district proud.

For September, October, and November, it was announced, the district wished to make both meetings voting meeting. These were to still be scheduled for the second and fourth Mondays of the month.

A reporter asked about the reasoning for switching the elementary and secondary principals. Dr. Adams responded that the district decided it was in the best interest of all concerned.

DEEDS

Donald S. & Wilma J. Nesbitt to Amy Gardner Otto, John Nestor Nesbitt & William Murray Nesbitt, in Lenox Twp., for $1.00.

Andrew A. Kannenberg (estate) to Choconut Valley Farms LLC, in Choconut Twp., for $1,500.00.

Glenn E. Love Jr & Susan E. Love to Bonnie Colwell, in Great Bend Twp., for $60,000.00.

Henry Chrysczanavicz to Henry & David M. Chrysczanavicz, in Rush Twp., for $1.00.

Teresa M. & Daniel B. Marshman to Teresa M. Marshman, in Liberty Twp., for $1.00.

Alberto Ortega (nka), Maxwell Powers & Samantha Powers to Kimberly Garrison, in Susquehanna, for $104,000.00.

Donald R. Noldy (estate) to Errick & Karl Noldy & Donnal Williams, in Auburn Twp., for $1.00.

Andrew P. & Anne Coar Crowley to Andrew P. & Anne Coar Crowley & Stanley & Larry Coar, in Herrick Twp., for $1.00.

Earl & Marie Butts to James Cook, in Montrose, for $100,000.00.

Reed H. Burman to Ivan R. & Elaine C. Burman, in Ararat Twp., for $1.00.

John & Deborah M. Pierzga & Marianne & Daniel Marchetti to Kimberly A. Noldy, in Forest City, for $84,000.00.

Alan Miller to Alan Miller, in Harford Twp., for $1.00.

Robert I. Defreitas to HSK Energy Group LLC, in Jackson Twp., for $307,480.00.

James & Maria Melville (trust) to Joseph F. & Jennifer L. Arnold, in Herrick Twp. & Uniondale Borough, for $20,000.00.

Joseph F. & Jennifer L. Arnold to Joseph F. & Jennifer L. Arnold, in Herrick Twp. & Uniondale Borough, for $1.00.

Shirley L. Meyer Speth to Ryan D. & Rebecca K. Stalker, in Lenox Twp., for $157,500.00.

James Lee Napolitano & Vincent Napolitano Jr. to James Lee Napolitano & Vincent Napolitano Jr., in New Milford Twp., for $1.00.

Alan J. Ostapchuck to Alan J. Ostapchuck, in Silver Lake Twp., for $1.00.

River Industries of PA Inc. (by sheriff) to 28652 Route 171 LLC, in Oakland Twp. & Great Bend Twp., for $32,859.19.

Kenneth W. Payne & Joann Payne (aka) Joanne Payne to Kenneth W. & Joanne Payne, in Springville Twp., for $1.00.

Florence M. Whittaker to Matthew T. & Tammy Bennett, in Silver Lake Twp., for $295,000.00.

Hollis Seamas to Hollis Seamans, in New Milford Twp., for $1.00.

John M. & Anne M. Huck to MRE Holdings LLC, in Oakland Twp., for $210,000.00.

Richard L. Cook (aka) Richard Cook & Audrey L. Cook (aka) Audrey Cook to Richard L. & Audrey L. Cook, in Jackson Twp., for $1.00.

Ruth P. Lynch (estate), Patrick H. Lynch, John J. Lynch (estate aka) John J. Lynch Jr. (estate), Mary C. Lynch & Kathleen R. Switzer to Jaclyn Lyncy, in New Milford Twp., for $100,000.00.

Dolores M. Kutarnia (estate) to Ronald M. Kurus II, in Clifford Twp., for $146,000.00.

BENCH WARRANTS

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:30 a.m. on August 31, 2012: Jeremy E. Anderson, Chad C. Chauncey, David J. Fischer, James Gerard, Keith R. Hurd, John J. Jenisky, Jr, James Karhnak, Kay L. Knolles, Lee Labor, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Derrick J. Lezinsky, Michael Maryasz, Donald Palmer, Joseph M. Rhodes, Perry Rohan, Bruce A. Schurr, Christie L. Sheptock, Desiree L. Shifler, David J. Shiner, Tina M. Smith, Eric J. Snell, Christina Swan, Timothy M. Taylor, Justin S. Thompson, Earl H. Thompson, Jr, Robert J. Twilley, Ryan Warnagiris, Steven G. Warner and Kelly Lynn Yarbrough, Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.