Thursday, May 17, 2012
A New York Times story on graduates weighed down with college debt makes the case for last week’s column.
Once again, The New York Times is playing catch-up with Patch.com. On Sunday, The Times had a front-page story about the growing burdens of college loans, three days after my column ran on the same subject. The paper did a wee bit more legwork for their gazillion-word story – my research consisted mainly of talking to a friend at the deli counter at the Giant supermarket – so I’ll leave the term “copycat” out of this discussion. The lead of The Times story was about a young Ohio college graduate who owes $120,000 in loans and is working two jobs to pay the $900-a-month bill. Her mother is taking out life insurance on her because if anything happens to her daughter, she couldn’t pay the loans for which she co-signed. A decade ago, 58 …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
An Easton man sold eight purple pills to an informant for $150, police said.
An Easton man has been charged with selling Ecstasy to a confidential Palmer Police informant. Kemar St. George Smith, 23, of 2610 Anthony Court in Easton, was arraigned before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner Thursday on charges of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication device. Smith allegedly delivered eight purple Ecstasy pills that were later submitted to the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Library for analysis. Results are pending. Smith, according to court records, was delivering the drugs for $150. According to an affidavit, Detective James Alercia and officer John Billiard set up a meeting at a pre-determined location with the …
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Palmer Township Police Department
5 Weller Pl, Easton, PA
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1830821
/locations/6995680
The Pa. Department of Health says time is running out for parents to comply with vaccination requirements.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, May 13
Parents are running out of time to comply with new school immunization requirements, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. When the school year began, families were given eight months to bring students up to date with their vaccinations. On April 27, the department announced a two-week grace period. Final deadlines vary based on when each district began its school year. The health department estimates that the grace period will end in most districts within the next week. For example: New immunization regulations that took effect last August require: While the department established the new regulations, enforcement is left to individual school districts. School districts maintain the right to exclude students from school if …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
'Damn Yankees' gets seven Freddy Nominations for Easton; Notre Dame's 'Little Women' receives 11 nods.
Easton Area High School received seven Freddy Award nominations this afternoon for the school's production of Damn Yankees. Easton's nominees are: Another local school -- Notre Dame High School -- is up for 11 Freddys later this month for its production of Little Women: The Musical. The nominees are: Meanwhile, Wilson Area High School's "Beauty and the Beast" took home a single nomination -- the Kumma Award for Kari Stiansen's performance of the title song. Across the river, Phillipsburg High School's "Legally Blonde" got three nominations: Leading the nominations this year are Freedom High School -- which racked up 17 -- and Emmaus and Parkland, both with 12. There's a complete list of all the nominees at the Freddy Awards website. The …
Journalist Stephen Marche claims there is a war against youth and that the massive college student debt problem is part of it.
The specter of how to put two kids through college looms large in my life; I pick at it as one would a scab – and with similar results. Recently, a mother of three told me her daughter, an Emmaus High School grad who went on to a four-year school, has $60,000 in college loans – and she emerged with the least amount of debt among her friends. Strangely, that kind of burden on the middle class doesn’t bother syndicated columnist Cal Thomas. In an op-ed piece in The Morning Call last week he wrote this: “I feel about those with crushing tuition debt the way I feel about people who choose to live along the frequently flooded banks of the Mississippi River. If students and their parents choose expensive schools, they should accept the …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Easton Area School Board will decide whether book belongs in district curriculum.
Does Nickel and Dimed belong in Easton Area High School classrooms? The Easton Area School Board will settle that question -- one that's been debated for the last two years -- at its May 22 meeting. The book -- which deals with author Barbara Ehrenreich's year doing low-wage work -- is part of the school's 11th grade AP English course. A committee of district officials and teachers reviewed the book in 2010 and found that it was appropriate. This was in response to an objection by Lower Saucon resident Eric Adams, who argued the book pushes a Socialist political agenda, advocates illegal drug use and contains economic fallacies. Adams restated those arguments again Tuesday night before the school board academic committee. He also says the …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Easton Area School Board members say they want to know how the district will cope with 40 fewer teachers.
In two weeks, the Easton Area School Board will vote on a budget that -- if approved -- will cut 40 teaching positions, as well as 37 other jobs. But board members said Tuesday they were concerned that the district hasn't given them a clear picture for what happens next. They also worry about how the district -- which is projecting deficits in the next two years -- will improve its financial situation. "What is the plan here? asked board member Janet Matthews. "What does increased class size look like? What does middle school restructuring look like? How do you decide what teachers are cut? This is troubling that we don’t know any of this, and we're scheduled to move on the budget." That vote is slated for May 22. The $133 million budget …
Easton police made dozens of arrests on the same weekend a student died. Does the school need to do more?
Easton police arrested 32 people at a large drinking party near Lafayete College's campus over the weekend. Police Chief Carl Scalzo told the Express-Times that the number seemed higher than usual for the weekend of the Lafayette's end-of-semester All-College Day. Of the arrests, 11 of them were for underage drinking. These arrests occurred on the same day that Lafayette freshman Everett Glenn died after being found unresponsive. Glenn's mother has said her son died as a result of drinking alcohol, although that hasn't been confirmed by authorities. "He did sound like he had been drinking," Joanne Glenn told a New York CBS affiliate, describing their last conversation. "We told him that we were concerned about that and he said to me, 'Mom…
Monday, May 7, 2012
Lafayette freshman died Saturday on his 19th birthday.
A website has been set up to remember Everett Glenn, the Lafayette College freshman who died Saturday after being found unresponsive in his dorm. The site -- rememberingeverett.com -- had eight pages of photos and 264 comments from people paying their respects as of Monday afternoon. Some comments came from people who knew Glenn from the college, or from his New Jersey high school. Others were anonymous, people who'd never met him but were touched by the way the campus responded to his death. "I met him once, through a mutual friend, and from that one chance encounter, he brought me a little bit of joy during a fencing tournament that would have otherwise been very routine and boring," one of the commenters wrote. Another said: "Everett …
Easton Area High School's post-prom party offers a fun time for teens and peace of mind for parents.
Though in danger of being canceled as late as last week, in the end Rover spirit prevailed and more than 50 parents and members of the community volunteered their time overnight Saturday to help make Easton Area High School's post-prom event a success. Were you there Saturday night? Post your comments or photos! Held from 11:30 p.m. Saturday through 5 a.m. Sunday, about 450 students enjoyed copious amounts of food donated by area eateries and other culinary venues, along with chances at prizes donated by other members of the community including a Kindle, a digital camera and a dorm fridge. Games, music, movies, massages, a magic show and numerous other goodies and amusements kept the crowd entertained for the duration of the event. The …
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Easton Area High School
2601 William Penn Hwy, Easton, PA
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873842
/locations/6949073
John
8:07 am on Sunday, May 20, 2012
The issue here is about 2 things; Greed on the part of colleges, and fiscal incompetence on the parent/student. Colleges are no better than the real estate brokers 5 years ago, enticing people into buying a product they can I'll afford. Not even as bad as a car salesman selling ou a car you cannot afford, or a real estate agent selling you a home you cannot afford. The only thing they do is lock … more ›