The Desert
Independent
Blythe, California
Publisher
Howard Markle
(Temporary E-mail)
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com
Reporting/Editorials
Bob
Jensen
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com
Editor/Webmaster
Robert
Winkler
desertinde-bob@yahoo.com
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Monday, May 12, 2008 |
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News and Opinion By
Robert E. Jensen BLYTHE, Calif – Activity prior to Tuesday’s School Board meeting began with the picnic and rally for the California School Employee’s Association held in the park for two hours. Very scary people there – janitors, secretaries, nurses, teacher’s aides, groundsmen, maintenance, bus drivers – all bringing their families, scarfing down hot dogs and hamburgers and making plans for making an assertive entrance to the regularly scheduled board meeting at 6:00 PM. More Assembled from A Variety of Sources The Palo Verde Unified School District appears to be saddled with the same problems today that affected the Elk River (MN) School District prior to 2005. Hindsight is always better than foresight, but perhaps if the recruiting members of the Board of Trustees would have done a little research prior to inflicting the current Supt. on us, thing may have been different. As is, things are now a mess. What parallels can be drawn? Let’s see… In Elk River (ER), the Supt. bankrupted the district by “balancing” the books by predicting a 6.5 percentage growth in ADA when it was actually less than 2%. The next year, the district needed to hire 25 more teachers but could not pay for them as the District was strapped paying back the State of Minnesota for this “mistake”. In PVUSD, the Supt. intentionally brought us to the brink of bankruptcy to portray to the State that we were a “needy” district that ought to have the new Appleby entirely funded by the State. More than 50 positions have had to be cut because this smooth move in conjunction with the UberGovernator’s cuts. More |
Letters to the Editor If you have something to say and want it printed, just Email us. You can have your name in or we can keep it out (of course we need to verify the writer). PVUSD Sheds Staff Assembled from A Variety of Sources At last count, the Palo Verde Unified School District has shed a lot of staff - unofficially, it's three administrative positions, 15 teachers and 37 classified employees. All explained, of course, by the Governor's budget cuts. However, one wonders how many of these positions could have been spared the axe if this district didn't have to travel so far afield to find replacement staff? One wonders how much it cost the district in hotels, meals, mileage, plane fare and even aviation fuel for the Supt.'s own plane(s)? How much did it cost to "recruit" in Spain, Minnesota, Michigan, Baltimore, North Carolina and Salt Lake City? How can a citizen find out? More
River Bottom Auto Body Shop
Danny Barnes Auto Electric
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Announcements
Go Green! Now is a good time to “Go Green” and recycle your old car by donating it to Cars4Charities. You can complete the entire donation process online 24/7 at www.cars4charities.org. In addition to being convenient, the online option is better for the environment since it reduces the use of paper and other consumables. Donated cars that need significant repair are completely recycled. Others are sold for repair and reuse. Cars4Charities handles the entire donation process and can have your car picked up in a matter of days, free of charge. The proceeds from your car will be used to help one of over 1,000 charities, including Prevent Cancer, Autism Speaks, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and area food banks, homeless shelters, etc. In addition to helping a very needy charity, you will be eligible for a tax deduction of up to $500 or what your car is sold for, whichever is greater. Complete details are available at www.cars4charities.org or 1-866-448-3487 (GIVE-4-US).
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The
southern California office of California Police Youth Charities “Cops for
Kids” is proud to announce the first annual “Tee Up Fore Kids” celebrity
golf tournament. The festivities will kick off with a paring party and
dinner on Saturday night May 31 at the California Palms restaurant in Hemet.
This event will include a live and silent auction, live entertainment, plus
a meet and greet with all the celebrities. If you are already signed up as a
golfer this event is included in the green fees. Public is more than welcome
to participate, the ticket price at the door is $20.00. The golf tournament
itself will take place on June 1 at the Golden Era Golf Course at 1981
Gillman Springs in San Jacinto. This will be a fun filled event with many
contests and prizes. There will be a shot gun start for all golfers with
lunch on the links and a lovely dinner and ceremony at the conclusion that
will include a wine tasting from local wineries. Guests are also welcome.