Long Energy Banner

G’town school district drills down, for real

In News, News - Columbia, The Columbia Paper
October 25, 2015
0
Share

GERMANTOWN—The main well serving the Germantown Central School failed last month, and the Board of Education has unanimously approved spending up to $40,000 to drill another one.

The school has other wells, including two that that feed its water system, but it was still necessary to bring water into the district in order not to overuse the two “low-yield” wells and lead to their failure.

To avoid that, all the players moved quickly. The casing in the main well was compromised, and the well failed on September 22. The state Education Department declared the situation an emergency on September 30, so the district did not have to put the project out to bid.

The board approved the expense on October 14, and Claverack Pump Service started drilling the weekend of October 17. “The Health Department, the architect, school staff and Claverack Pump all collaborated to find the place to drill,” Superintendent Susan Brown said Tuesday. “Our fingers are crossed that it will be fine. With a well, it’s never over till it’s over.”

In other business at the October 14 meeting:

  • Emily Davison director of special education, made a presentation on the district’s special education continuum of services. Her presentation will be on the district website, germantowncsd.org
  • Board members agreed to try paperless board packets before meetings for the October 28 special meeting on the capital project and the November 18 regular board meeting, before committing themselves to a permanent change
  • The board decided to ask Dr. Gladys Cruz, superintendent of Questar III BOCES, to speak on the role of a BOCES and what Questar III offers its component districts when she attends the December 9 board meeting
  • The November 18 board meeting will include a presentation on Palatine Heritage Day, with video and Power Point slides
  • Design teams, consisting of faculty, staff and community members, continue to meet to brainstorm ideas for the renovation and addition to the school building. The theater and athletic teams have met twice, and the kitchen team once. “A nice cross-section of individuals has started meeting,” said Ms. Brown. The kitchen team is slightly different, being “a logistical conversation with the food staff that will eventually stretch out and include input from children and parents as we progress,” said Ms. Brown.

All board members attended the meeting except Andrea Provan. Due to the November 11 Veterans Day holiday, the next regular board meeting is Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.

Related Posts

THROUGH THE WOODS: The Woodpile

In Communities, Communities - Columbia, The Columbia Paper
October 7, 2022
0
Woodpile. Photo by Nancy Jane Kern

IT SEEMED LIKE A HUGE PART OF OUR LIVES revolved around the woodpile. As a neighbor once remarked, he never knew anyone who worked harder than my father, Donald Kern, and mom was right beside him. Work was also shared down the family, and whenever the weather permitted and there was time between planting, growing and harvesting, we cut wood for the next winter. The house was actually a combination of two houses put together by grandfather Frank Kern, and needed 3 stoves to heat it. It was hard to figure out how many cords it took, but there were huge piles of wood to be stacked up east of the barn. We took the team of Belgian draft horses and iron wheeled wagon to the woods where father chopped away (no chain saws then) until there were wagon lengths of limb wood. The bigger trunks got pulled out one at a time and split.

We had one of those “one lung” engines we called the popping machine, and another early gas engine to run a belt to a buzz saw to cut the wood to stove sized chunks. Later there was a tractor for the job plus a chain saw. When we were old enough, we began tailing the saw and picking up the cut chunks as father fed the limbs through. One very cold day it was a close call when he almost sawed through a numb finger. He was a sickly shade of green as mother, a Registered Nurse, phoned the doctor. There weren’t any antibiotics to be given and whatever she did, it worked and he healed. There was no OSHA, helmets, safety goggles, ear protection, or anything close to them. You had to be very alert, follow instructions and have great reflexes.

Other hazards were wood pieces kicked off the saw, sawdust up the nose and in the eyes, and splinters. We used the sawdust in the barn under the cows, and the wood smelled different depending on what kind it was. The “iron wood” as we called it was really different because it was so hard and heavy. It was actually American hornbeam and had beautiful smooth gray bark and was a pleasure to hold. It had no rough dirty bark or splintered ends, and burned for a long time. (more…)

Ravena News-Herald

The Ravena News-Herald is a weekly newspaper reporting on the news in the Ravena, Coeymans and New Baltimore communities of beautiful upstate New York.

Greenville Pioneer

Greene County’s independent newspaper. Featuring local news, letters to the editor, upcoming events, police blotter, columns from local writers and more.

The Columbia Paper

The Columbia Paper is a weekly newspaper reporting news and events from the communities of Columbia County in beautiful upstate New York.

Copyright © 2025
Capital Region Independent Media.

Powered by CityMediaInc.com