Now available for you!

A community Web site for the Octorara Area School District is now available for you at www.lancasteronline.com. To register, visit lancasteronline.com, click on My Community on the top left, and register to be notified or contribute some "buzz."

You will also have the opportunity to comment on community news and issues and send in news of community events. News items formerly posted to this site as a community service now apear just there.

Welcome and participate!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Octorara considering 'good conduct' pledges from parents, not just financing

In the past few years, parents in the Octorara Area School District have pitched in to build a regionally competing football club from the ground up, raised $16,000 through PTO fundraisers to build a playground for middle school students, and promised to raise $105,000 to keep a middle school sports program when it was cut from the district's tight budget.

Despite the above-and-beyond work of many, there have apparently been troublesome incidents on the sidelines from a few, so athletic coaches in the district are taking steps to make sure there is no question that there will be good conduct at games from those on the sidelines and in bleachers.

A “parent pledge,” requiring cooperation and good sportsmanship among parents of school athletes attending games, was a controversial topic when the school board met Nov. 15.

Athletic Director Jim Weagley said signed pledges are being suggested by coaches because of poor conduct by some spectators at games. In one incident involving a parent, police were called, and parents have been asked to suspend their attendance due to allegedly poor sportsmanship.

Board member Brian Norris said under the terms of a proposed parent pledge, the conduct of parents will bring disciplinary action, but no disciplinary action is taken against school athletes as a result of parental actions. Octorara teachers who are coaches are also asking parents that parents with comments or questions only contact them at school during business hours.

Norris, however, pointed out that some coaches are not district employees and may not take calls involving coaching matters at work.

In a separate athletic matter, Allen Brown of Atglen questioned the hiring of two assistant wrestling coaches during a time of budget cuts. The board hired Joshua Parker and Jason Smith as assistant high school wrestling coaches at salaries of $2,565 each. Weagley defended the coaches as necessary to help the 30 athletes with a long season. He said the coaching positions are not new and are required under the district’s collective bargaining agreement with Octorara teachers.

Board member Bob Hume told board members he felt the school board should not proceed with plans for a bond issue to finish the last phase of the high school renovation.

School board president Lisa Bowman told Hume the approved project is 85 percent complete and the board could not simply stop and leave the high school as is.

The board last month approved borrowing a final amount of approximately $10 million to complete its $67 million capital improvement project on the centralized campus. The project included land acquisition, a new intermediate school, and high school renovations. Carsley said Nov. 19 the bond issue will likely move forward in early January.

Board member John Malone said he wants to encourage more community involvement in the school district budget process as the district considers next year’s spending plan and how to cope with an anticipated increase in its contribution to the state retirement fund for teachers.

Board members also asked administrators to continue to increase student, parent and community awareness of cyber bulling by offering instructional seminars to elementary and intermediate school students.

Following a recent incident in which students and the district were targeted by a Facebook site called “Octorara Dirt,“ which has been taken down, seminars on internet safety and preventing cyber bulling were held at the high school and middle school.

Finally, the school board: approved a high school Discussion Club; hired Mary Cassidy, Gary Gawin and Cheryl Coughlin as volunteer swim coaches; and approved a child rearing leave for speech therapist Elizabeth Piotrowski.
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County assists Sadsbury zoning process

Sadsbury Township supervisors are reviewing suggestions the Lancaster County Planning Commission has made to their proposed new zoning ordinance.

Gwen Newell, county community planner, told supervisors Nov. 3 the county had some concerns about the township’s lack of a public water supply, and that it consider protective steps to preserve historic sites, not just historic structures.

Newell said an “extra layer of protection” requiring that the history of sites and buildings be documented before they are destroyed might save sites such as the Christiana Riot house, which was demolished long ago.

“Our planning commission didn’t want to deal with another layer of historic red tape,” said Supervisor Linda Swift.

Supervisor Eugene Lammey said the long “fiasco” over the historic Enola line involving many layers of federal, state and county bureaucracy might explain the planning commission’s reluctance. Supervisors will have to decide whether a site is historic if it is 100, 150 or 200 years old.

As for public water, the township does provide public sewage through an inter-municipal arrangement with Christiana Borough, but does not presently offer public water. Supervisors said they would review the ability to obtain public water with their solicitor, Frank Mincarelli.

Newell said she will continue to meet with the township planning commission and supervisors about the document in progress.

Supervisors also heard from residents Mark Wilson, Jeannette Swartzentruber and Steven Swartzentruber, who said speeding has become a big problem along Buck Hill Road, particularly near an Amish school.

“It could cause an accident,” said Wilson. “The speed is really up.”

Steve Swartzentruber said most of the speeding traffic seems to be from saw mill and milk truck drivers, whose brakes also frighten horses in the area.

“It’s just a matter of time before someone gets killed or hurt,” he said.

Supervisors said they would send letters to a saw mill and milk trucking company asking for vigilance, and would also request state police surveillance. Supervisors also said they would consider a traffic study.

In other business supervisors declined to join the Lancaster County Clean Water Consortium because of the $1,000 municipal fee required.

Resident Jim Ranck said ground water might be unfit for cattle consumption near one road, but very clean in another area. He said he feels the Department of Environmental Protection often knows where there is stream pollution, but does not want to do the work to correct problems.

Supervisors approved Ranck to a three-year term on the zoning hearing board to fill a vacancy.

Supervisors also said they have had many questions about on-street parking in residential developments, which is prohibited regardless of weather. With snow anticipated, supervisors will be ticketing illegally parked cars.

Finally, supervisors agreed to do repairs to its landscaped flagpole, which has faulty wiring, and set a road tour for 4 p.m. Nov. 23.
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Monday, November 15, 2010

Comparing fund balances

A Nov. 14 Sunday News story, “School districts stashing the cash,” highlighting how much money school districts in Lancaster County keep in fund balances, did not include comparison figures for the Octorara Area School District. Octorara includes municipalities in both Lancaster and Chester counties.

According to Business Manager Dan Carsley, Octorara’s total budget for 2010-11 is $46,026,386. The designated fund balance is $2,047,760, while the unrestricted fund balance is $3,165,293. This latter figure is 6.8 percent of the budget. You may read the story at:

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/312380

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Octorara refocuses community on internet safety

Octorara Area School District administrators are sending all high school and middle school students to seminars on internet safety and cyber bullying this week, following an incident in which an anonymous student angered the community by publishing a Facebook site titled “Octorara Dirt.“

The site, which used the school district crest, photos of students and messages which Superintendent Tom Newcome said were “vile and despicable” comments about the personal lives of students, was taken down either by Facebook or the poster on Oct. 28.

“I now have some concept of what going viral means,” Newcome told the school board Monday, Nov. 8.

Newcome alerted Facebook (which says it does not allow postings which are bullying, intimidating, threatening or pornographic), local police, and has been trying to discover the identity or identities of the anonymous poster or posters.

Newcome said there have also been copycat sites.

“This is the stuff we do on a daily basis,“ Newcome said. “I apologize I didn’t alert the board. We’re looking for some resolution. We’ll stay on top of these things as they happen.”

Newcome said students who participate in such sites are exposing themselves to possible disciplinary action or even legal prosecution. He’s asking parents and students to report derogatory sites and utilize the “block/report this person” features on Web pages.

The district has hired internet safety instructor Megan Augustine, publisher of the Web site Digital Dangers, to give seminars on internet safety and cyber bullying. Parents are invited, said middle school Principal Elena Wilson.

Augustine will speak at 1 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 16 at the high school and at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18 at the middle school. Augustine’s Digital Dangers site, http://makkmedia.wordpress.com, offers cyber tips for parents and counsels young people on safely navigating the Web.

“We’re not sticking our heads in the sand,” said Wilson.

In other business during Monday’s work session, the board applauded 22 students known as Octorara Heroes, who pledge to avoid drugs and alcohol and work as role models among fourth grade students. They are: Nathaniel Aquadro, Lindsay Blevins, Candace Bristow, Abigail Butler, Chloe Dean, Alyssa Dehaas, Caleigh Feeny, Hannah Gajari, Mayra Juarez, Connor Kasabo, Amanda King, Bianca Lupo, Amy Miller, Ryan Miller, Jennifer Reeder, Ericka Rieck, Cassandra Shavney, Schott Shepke, Ce‘Asia Thorpe, Alexandra Todavine, Kelly Whelan and Devyn Wolfe.

Finally, school board president Lisa Bowman thanked outgoing state Rep. Tom Houghton for his assistance with the Octorara Regional Planning Commission, which is trying to attract development to the rural district. She said she is hopeful John Lawrence, who won his seat in last Tuesday’s election, will step in and help the district.
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They're making pies

Christiana Fire Company volunteers are making pies to help shore up the fire company's budget. One upcoming project is paving the future fire company parking lot site on South Bridge Street (former location of the Friendly Tavern).

Pies will be ready at the fire house between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Pre-orders of the pumpkin, apple crumb, pecan, cherry crumb and wet-bottom shoofly pies are recommended -- but not required. Pies are $7 each and may be ordered from Kim at 610-593-8145 or Jen at 610-593-2518.

Octorara student earns Intell/New Era kudos

If you read the Intell/New Era Saturday, Nov. 13, you would know Octorara Area High School senior Amanda King of Cochranville was named Teen of the Week. You may read the story by reporter Joan Kern at:

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/311968

Event will benefit George Fox School

Soup, Song & Simplicity, an evening featuring acoustic folk music, nourishing food and handcrafts, is set for 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, at Sadsbury Friends Meeting House, 1089 Simmontown Road, Gap. The event will benefit George Fox Friends School in Cochranville, and admission at the door is $5. Folk music singers/songwriters Richard Broadbent and Tim Kirk will perform. CDs will be available. The craft show and sale will include jewelry, knitwear, soaps, botanicals and wreaths. Claudia Kirk's book "Mail Lady of Paradise" will be available, and there will also be a White Elephant table. A cafe menu of soups and desserts will be available for purchase. For further information contact Claudia Kirk at 717-786-2144.