Then
& Now One Room Schools: Jericho & Bethlehem Church By Susan E. Leath
One room Jericho then: A view of the Jericho School from the early 1900s courtesy of the Ravena Coeymans Historical Society.
People often wonder how Town of Bethlehem and early 30s announced a plethora of dances and students ended up in three different school districts: card parties held at the school, a tradition that the Bethlehem Central, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, and PTA carried on well into the 1950s. Guilderland. The answer goes back to the one room schools that once blanketed the town. By the 1850s, Bethlehem had 14 school districts, each independently operated by supervisors elected from the district. Taxes were collected, a one room school house maintained and a teacher hired to serve grades one through eight. The one room school often became the center and focus of the rural communities. Consider the Jericho School, District No. 4. Today, the original schoolhouse with its 36” thick field stone foundation is a private home on Creble Road complete with pink siding added in the 1950s. 120 years ago, it was the center of a community known as Jericho with families like the Van Allens, Winnes, Lukes, Moshers, Mallorys and VanDerZees in the neighborhood. By, 1950 the one room school was no longer adequate and a larger brick school was built nearby. The Altamont Enterprise in the late 1920s
One room Niver then: Students in front of the District No. 5 school about 1900.
Today, the place name Jericho is remembered in the name of Jericho Road, which was the road to Jericho. Over the years, the layout of Jericho Road, Long Lane and Creble Road have undergone many changes and industries have moved in, yet in many ways the area’s rural character remains.
One room Jericho now 2. Today, the Jericho School, District No. 4, on Old School Road is a private apartment building. It was built about 1950 and served as a school through the early 1960s when Becker Elementary was built.
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Consider the Bethlehem Church School, District No. 5, also known as the Niver School. This one appears to have remained a one room school right up until
Online at www.ourtownebethlehem.com
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FRIENDS OF BETHLEHEM PARKS AND RECREATION AWARDED GRANT Friends of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation was one of eight 2014 Growing the Grassroots Grant recipients announced on Thursday by Parks & Trails New York. These capacity-building grants are intended to grow and strengthen not-for-profit park and trail organizations throughout the State. The Friends of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation was formed with an eight-member board in January 2013 to be a collaborative partner with the Town of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation Department working to protect, enhance, and expand its recreation activities and parks to improve the quality of life for all residents. It received its federal tax-exempt status in August 2013. The $2,000 grant awarded to the Bethlehem friends group will be used to develop a “Friends” website, which is intended to create greater visibility and broader communication with the public. It will enable residents to learn about the group,
keep abreast of its activities, and provide input and feedback to both the friends group and the Town Parks and Recreation Department. In addition, the website is intended to encourage volunteers, interest additional board members with new skills and ideas, and inspire donations and sponsorships in support of the organization’s mission. The website will be developed by Last Detail Marketing and Web Design, Delmar. The friends group plans to coordinate the launching of its website with a public survey on the Town parks and recreational offerings – linked to the website – to provide information for decision-making purposes by both the friends group and the Town of Bethlehem. Joan Gavrilik President, Friends of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation 518-439-4520 | jsg85@aol.com
Online at www.ourtownebethlehem.com
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ASK
THE
Sam Gerth |PharmD Candidate, Class of 2014
What is electronic prescribing? Electronic prescribing, also called e-scribing, is the generation, transmission, and eventual filling of a medical prescription. E-scribing takes the place of paper and faxed prescriptions, allowing a prescriber to transmit a prescription directly to their patient’s pharmacy of choice. How does electronic prescribing benefit me? Electronic prescribing benefits patients in several ways. E-scribing is much more convenient for a patient. Prescriptions can be transmitted almost instantly from the prescriber to the pharmacy, without any need for the patient to be involved or take any action of their own. Prescriptions are not always transmitted instantly however, and even those that are don’t always get filled immediately. Sometimes there are reasons that a prescription cannot be filled. However, if there is an issue with the prescription, it can be corrected and a new one can be sent to the pharmacy without the need for the patient to travel back and forth between their doctor to their pharmacy. E-scribing also helps to reduce medication errors which can be caused by misinterpretation of handwriting, or poor prescription writing technique. Another benefit is the additional medical record that is incorporated in electronic prescribing. Where paper prescriptions can be lost, or notes regarding prescriptions can be misplaced, electronic prescription information is stored electronically so that it can always be accessed. As the technology of e-scribing continues to grow, so will the benefits. There are systems that will screen patients for drug interactions or identify all patients who are taking a medication that has newly been recalled. Ultimately, electronic prescribing makes a patient’s healthcare information more organized and easier to access by both their prescribers and their pharmacy. What is the prescriber’s role in electronic prescribing? An electronic prescription is always generated by a prescribing healthcare professional such as a doctor, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner. In order for a prescription to be sent to a pharmacy, the prescriber must first sign into the e-scribing system through a verification process that authenticates their identity. This prevents prescribing by unauthorized individuals. The prescriber will then search through their database of patient records by using patient-specific identifiers (first and last name, date of birth, address). This prevents the accidental prescribing of the wrong medication to the wrong patient. Once the correct 40
patient is selected, the prescriber can review the current medication therapy, and upload or update new prescription information in the patient’s file. This new information is then transmitted to a transaction hub. What is a transaction hub, and how is it involved in electronic prescribing? The transaction hub acts as an intermediary between the prescriber, pharmacy, and pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM. It stores and updates patient information so that it can be quickly and easily accessed by members of the patient’s healthcare team. Once a prescription is added by the prescriber, the transaction hub sends this information to the PBM. The PBM will then respond to the hub with information on patient insurance eligibility, medication formulary (is it covered), and medication history. This information is then sent back to the prescriber so that they can review the new information, and complete and authorize the prescription. Once the prescription has been completed and authorized by the prescriber, it is sent by the hub to the pharmacy. What does the pharmacy do with an electronic prescription? Once the transaction hub sends a prescription to the pharmacy, the prescription can be filled. The pharmacy will often fill the prescription immediately if they know that the patient is coming in soon or is out of the medication. Other times the medication won’t be needed by the patient for a few days, so the pharmacy will focus on other prescriptions that patients will need sooner. To help the pharmacy prioritize its work, it’s a good idea to call the pharmacy before arriving for your e-prescription. Are there drawbacks to electronic prescribing? There are certain aspects of electronic prescribing that are challenging. The cost of implementing an electronic prescribing system can be quite significant and too expensive for some smaller clinical practices. There is a variety of costly software and hardware that needs to be purchased. In addition, both prescribers and pharmacies need to use these news systems. What is the future of electronic prescribing? The most recent numbers relating to electronic prescribing are from 2012 which show that 44% of prescriptions were electronically prescribed in the United States. This amounted to around 788 million total prescriptions. This number is estimated to have increased significantly and as time goes on, more and more prescriptions will be sent electronically. The electronic prescribing of controlled substances is something that is still not allowed. However, it is in development and is expected to be possible in the very near future which will only further increase the number of electronic prescriptions that are sent. The technology of electronic prescribing will also improve, allowing for more information to be factored by prescribers and pharmacists when medications are prescribed to patients. Talk to your doctor and your Four Corners Pharmacist about having your prescriptions e-prescribed. Make sure your doctor’s office has your choice of pharmacy in your records to ensure it arrives at the correct pharmacy.
Trish’s Pix Tattered Pages Used Books
Dear Readers, “Books warm your heart, engage your mind, touch your soul, take you away…they make you think, excite you, entertain you, and continue to be a very intimate, very affordable way to spend your leisure time!” One of my mantras is : Reading is a family tradition. Children learn what they live, what they observe…and if you want your children to bring reading into their life, create time for reading for your child. Show them that you love reading. Let them see that reading is not a “chore”…spending just 10 minutes a day reading with your child will show them that reading is as much a part of their life as any other aspect. Don’t forget that Tattered Pages has thousands of books in our children thru young adult section, many in next to new condition and many reduced 30% off original price. One of the highlights of my day at the bookshop, is when I meet someone who is as passionate about books as I am! Katie, a college student, had it come to her attention that many of her friends did not understand a reference to “Yertle, the Turtle”. They met for pizza, and she brought out her pristine Dr. Seuss’ children’s book from 1997. Her friends remarked at the excellent condition of her book and that she had held on to a children’s book all these years. But of course! Katie loves her books, why wouldn’t she care for them? She currently has 468 books (3 just purchased at the shop!) proudly displayed in her room at home and she doesn’t part with them easily. She misses them when away at college, re-reads many of them and discusses them with such enthusiasm. Another customer, always gives me a mini-review of each book that she brings in for trade credit. Her critiques help me to match them with their next owner. A new customer, David, shared with me that he always shared books with his mother-in-law, who had recently passed away. As he brought in several of the newest Janet Evanovich’s and Kristin Hannah novels, he told me that he would have never chosen these authors for himself if not for his mother-in-law! She shared these books when finished with them. These books connected the two in a way that he never could foresee. Not only did he enjoy the books, but he cherishes his memories of his discussions with her, over cups of tea. You could see that those moments were dear to him as were the books that helped to create those moments. Each picture book in the shop not only brightens the décor of the children’s section, but remind me of “pages” from my own life; raising my boys, teaching school, and now reading to my grandchildren. Books are still one of the most affordable methods of entertainment, education, and vacation! A recent discussion with a new customer to the shop, led us to compare the movie “Catching Fire” and this second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. She enjoyed the movie but had so many unanswered questions after seeing it. I told her that all those questions could be easily answered by reading the book! We continued to discuss excellent film adaptations of books and agreed that the books are always 44
better. A few that we agreed being the pure essence of the book were, “The Help”, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Flowers in the Attic”, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”, “Mystic River”, “The Stand” and the Rizzoli & Isles books into the TV series. King of Horror novels, Stephen King, says that he could never create a scene scarier than what lives in our own imagination. If you haven’t read King, and only know him from his works in film/TV, remember that he wrote such wonderful stories as “Misery”, “The Green Mile” and “The Shawshank Redemption” along with “Carrie”, “Under the Dome”, and “The Dark Tower Series”. Connecting books to the month of February…All books in our Romance section are an additional 15% off from Feb. 1-14th!! All books in our History section are on sale for 15% off Feb. 15th-Feb. 28th. Are you aware that most hardcover books in all genres start at ~ 55% off suggested retail prices? A recently published James Patterson’s Alex Cross came in at $29 and it was immediately marked down to $14.50! If you have a trade credit account that book could be yours for $11.31! Recently published paperbacks start at $4.97 and with trade credits, another additional 22% comes off. * Recommended romance authors if you haven’t tried: Bella Andre, Robyn Carr, Debbie Macomber, Fern Michaels, Jill Shalvis, Susan Wigg and Sherryl Woods…among so many others.
I also would like to bring to your attention that I am available to order books for those who would like that service. College students, Book-club members, individuals, send me your list, you ISBNs on FB, e-mail, or thru my website and I will do my best to get you the best price possible for those books. Most books are here within 5 days. In closing, I want to thank all of you who came in during January. Thru the snow & freezing temperatures so many of you came in or called looking for your books! I appreciate your thinking of me first before heading to a “full price” store. Supporting a locally owned business helps us to stay present in the community. As a “next to new” shop, just a reminder that I also carry and am always looking for, DVDs, children’s cds, gently used intact toys, and books (no more than 6 at a time) to earn those valuable trade credits. * Watch for our shop entering into the advertising world of “Sentext” in February. You opt in thru texting to receive special offers and instant notices of events, sales & specials! Until next month, you can find me “cozied up with a good book”,
Trish Patricia Eldridge is the owner of Tattered Pages New & Used Books in Glenmont Center Square, 365 Feura Bush Rd., Glenmont, NY 12077 #447-9910 mytatteredpages@gmail.com Tatteredpages365.webs.com Tattered Pages, LLC (Facebook) Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-5:00pm, Wed. 9:30-6:30, Fri. 9:30-7pm, Sat. 10-4pm