If all goes as planned, it shouldn’t be too long before Driver’s Education is back at Newport High School.
Last year the word spread around the community that it wouldn’t be too long before the program kicked off. Well, like many new programs, even as good as they may be, sometimes they run into snags.
Now, however, things look more promising but keep in mind nothing has been completely firmed up as yet.
According to Superintendent of Schools Brendan Minnihan, it looks like the program may be ready to go by the end of March. At least that’s what he’s hoping for. Keep in mind, however, that is not a firm date but it is more promising than it was at the end of January.
The program already has a car donated by Newport Chevrolet, Buick GMC on John Stark Highway. The title to the vehicle is in the hands of the Newport School District.
And now, here comes what could be the final step…an inspection of the school room that will be home for the Driver’s Education Class. This is a state inspection that involves such things as measuring the size of the classroom to make sure it is large enough to house the students taking the course along with other things.
So, Newport should know more once the inspection scheduled for Friday is completed. Let’s hope the room being proposed passes all the state guidelines so that the end of March date will be a reality.
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Recently Superintendent Minnihan went over a list of what might be affected by proposed cuts to the 2020-21 Newport school budget. He didn’t leave out much, if anything,
No decisions have been made as yet because the School District is waiting for the budget vote that will be known around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. There should be a large turnout at the Newport Opera Hose voting session.
At a recent meeting Minnihan reviewed a list of possible programs and even positions that could face trimming, depending on how the vote goes. This is something that hasn’t usually been done on a regular basis in past years but he wanted to be up front with the voting public on these issues.
He also explained a chart that covered budgeted and actual expenses for the past three years for utility costs. It was interesting to the point of shocking. If you take a few minutes to look at those numbers you may wonder how this got out of control. The chart, along with a brief story, appear on Page 7 in today’s issue.
He also mentioned that the two bids for fuel oil for the next year were close. Irving Oil submitted a bid for $2.32.5 per gallon while Goodrich Oil in Newport was the low bidder at $2.24 per gallon. Newport school buildings use about 78,000 gallons of fuel per year.
The budget year for fuel is Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
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Town Clerks are one of the most cooperative groups of municipal workers that newspaper reporters get to deal with each year, especially at election time.
When preparing previews of town meetings, for example, a warrant containing all the articles and budget information is extremely important. And as a followup, there is also the need for a listing the results and actual numbers once the meeting is over.
Keep in mind there are usually several reporters calling the town clerks in their areas and the service from the town clerks is outstanding. And most important, they are reliable and always willing to go the extra mile to help out.
I wonder if there is a Town Clerk’s Day in America. Maybe there’s no day available because they are all taken already but why couldn’t it be done at a lower level, like a state or a county? These ladies and men deserve a day to recognize everything they do, not only for newspaper reporters but for the general public.
Please keep up the good work.
A Final Thought
If you have any thoughts of things that might be covered in this weekly column, please send along an email or call 504-3182. There are plenty of good stories to be told in our area and these stories should be told, especially the positive ones.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.
