by Thaddeus Flint
As the school year draws to an end, the Berlin School District honored newly tenured teachers and retiring employees at Tuesday’s monthly Board meeting. “We are here to celebrate you,” said Berlin Elementary School Principal Tricia Carlton.
[private]Newly tenured teachers are Gretchen Ruebel (4th grade), Matthew Turetsky (1st grade), Laura Witbeck (5th grade), Samantha Noles (Art) and Melissa Mooney (Special Education – Reading).
Retiring employees were Dorothy Stall (School Nurse and Typist), Leslie Conklin (Teaching Assistant), Nancy Austin (Teaching Assistant), and Carol Benson (5th grade).
District Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young thanked those leaving for their time and services and lamented the loss of experience that goes with those retiring. “It’s almost a shame we can’t bring the retirees back to mentor,” said Dr. Young.
Another member of the BCS team who will not be returning next September is the Elementary School Principal, Tricia Carlton. Carlton will be taking the position of Elementary School Principal in the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School District.
“She’s done a tremendous job of turning around not only the academic programs at the Elementary School, but the morale of the Elementary School as well,” said Dr. Young.
The District is already searching for a replacement but “It’s going to be very difficult to replace Trish,” pointed out Dr. Young, adding that he hoped to “find a clone” of her. Parents, students, teachers, staff – pretty much everybody, actually – might be hoping the same thing, as Carlton is well regarded at BCS.
Around 45 applicants have already applied for Carlton’s position. The hiring process is expected to begin right after graduation.
Those attending Graduation Day ceremonies on Friday, June 27, will probably notice that phase 2 construction of the Capital Project is underway. Unless you get there early you will certainly notice it because there may not be any place to park. Construction materials and a big trailer office now take up many of the parking spaces, as roofers work to re-roof the High School/Middle School. The District is looking into maybe establishing shuttle parking at the Berlin Municipal Center just down Route 22. Updates will be made on the District’s website as more is known.
Trees To Be Cut Down
Those attending graduation also might want to take one last look at the beautiful line of trees that borders the school’s property along Route 22. That may be the last you will ever see of them. According to the District’s Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, Cyril Grant, NYSEG intends to cut all of them down, as they apparently interfere with the right of way of their electrical wires. Grant has so far only managed to keep the trees standing by having the destruction postponed until after graduation.
“New York State Electric and Gas changed the criteria earlier in the year, whereby any trees that grow under a three phase utility line have to be removed, regardless,” said Grant.
As if cutting the trees along the road down wasn’t enough damage inflicted, trees on the south end of the property would be “trimmed to a point where eventually those trees would die,” said Grant.
“Have you asked them to move their poles?” asked Board Member Gina Goodermote, who wasn’t about to accept that beautiful healthy trees have to go just because the electric company says so.
Grant said that he had obtained a copy of the easement the District signed back in the 1960s allowing the poles to be placed on the property. It said that trees would be trimmed if they were within 10 feet of the lines but didn’t mention anything about lopping the entire tree down if it was under the line, which seems to be what they are saying now. Grant pointed this out to NYSEG but “Again, I was told that the trees would have to be removed.”
“It took a long time for those trees to grow,” pointed out Goodermote. Many of them were planted about 25 years ago, in fact, when the school was converted over to the High School/Middle School.
Goodermote, for one, is not about to let those trees go down without a fight. She pointed out that the same thing had happened at her own property. “And my trees are still standing,” she said.
“We will continue to fight the battle,” said Grant, who didn’t appear so certain that the battle will be won.
That battle might require more than just the efforts of Grant, Goodermote and the rest of the Board. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not,” said the Lorax, in the Dr. Seuss book that almost any child can understand the meaning of. The point, though, seems to have been lost on those at NYSEG if they ever read The Lorax. Either that or it was too difficult for them to grasp and so they favor a scorched earth policy that saves time and money in the long run.
There will, though, be plenty of trees to see in Costa Rica. Spanish teacher Karen Day received Board permission to start work on a 2016 trip to the tiny Central American country where students will tour rain forests, see volcanoes, visit banana and coffee plantations and possibly even visit a school to see how it compares to BCS. The one week trip will cost students a little over $2,000 and adults about $2,500.
“This is probably one of the most interactive trips that we have been on,” said Day.
The next scheduled Board meeting will be the re-organizational meeting on Tuesday, July 1, at 7:15 pm.[/private]