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Dec. 16, 2017
Valley News
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
Merger committee reviews bus logistics Bus routes, costs and miles traveled discussed at latest meeting By Kim Dedam STAFF WRITER
ELIZABETHTOWN |The fourth school merger committee meeting last week focused on transportation systems at Westport Central and Elizabethtown-Lewis Central schools. The meeting follows three prior sessions held since August to discuss enrollment, instruction/extracurricular programs, and facilities data. The December session pulled statistics from state Transportation Advisory Services records for comparison. While some corresponding figures related to busing and equipment were similar, as generally revealed in prior discussions, others showed some differences. For example, costs spent per mile to bus students are similar in both districts, at 25 cents per mile for ELCS and 19 cents per mile at WCS.
While ELCS travels annually about 125,000 miles, Westport’s buses travel about 96,000. That is due in part to differences in district size. With two towns, Elizabethtown and Lewis, sharing one school, ELCS encompasses 173.5 square miles. Westport covers 70.2 square miles. State transportation aid ratios are also different, with ELCS gaining 62.4 percent aid from the state and Westport aid at 46.9. Sam Sherman, a Westport businessman who sits on the merger committee, asked what numbers feed the aid ratio. Education consultant Bill Silky, of the firm Castallo & Silky LLC hired to facilitate the merger study, said the total number of students and miles traveled factor into a complex transportation aid formula. “And then they built in a wealth factor,” Silky said. According to state education department online resources, income wealth is based on “adjusted gross income of residents of the district, as reported on tax returns and including the results of the statewide computerized income verification process.” Beyond aid, transportation operating costs come in quite similar for both districts. » Merger Meeting Cont. on pg. 16
LOCAL AIRPORT TO ADD DAILY FLIGHT TO NYC AREA
Cape Air contract proposal includes flight to White Plains, car to Manhattan
CHRISTMAS IN THE FORKS » pg. 9
Belden Noble Memorial Library surprises local author, illustrator Upstairs reading and play area officially dedicated as the Steven Kellogg Children’s Room By Kim Dedam STA FF W RITER
By Kim Dedam STA FF W RITER
HARRIETSTOWN | Town councilors, Cape Air and airport officials are looking to add a daily flight to White Plains with a connecting car trip into New York City. The proposed flight line addition comes as the Adirondack Regional Airport’s Essential Air Service (EAS) four-year contract with Cape Air for is up for negotiation. Airport Manager Corey Hurwitch told the Sun that
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Cape Air’s current subsidy ends at the end of February. “So before then, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) put out an announcement saying they are looking for proposals from carriers. We received two: one from Cape Air and one from Boutique Air, a West Coast company that is expanding into the east and has service out of Massena,” he said. “What was decided at the Town Council meeting last Thursday is support for the four-year Cape Air contract, but DOT is really the one who makes the final decision.” » NYC Flight Cont. on pg. 3
ESSEX | The Magic of Christmas filled the entire Belden Noble Memorial Library with bundled up kids. The town’s annual holiday celebration, bright with races, many treats, crafts and events, included one special surprise Saturday for local author and illustrator Steven Kellogg. It didn’t come wrapped in a bow. It came amid muffled clapping of children’s mittened hands. Kellogg began reading from several of the 120 books he’s written and illustrated in the past 50 years. The annual Christmas in Essex storytime for kids is a recent tradition here. » Kellogg Cont. on pg. 4