Sunday, February 10, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett's 2013-14 budget ties sale of state liquor system to a $1 billion grant for school safety, early education programs, individualized learning and science/math programs.
Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2013-14 budget, which he presented Feb. 5, contains an interesting cocktail that mixes the sale of the state's liquor system with funding of a public schools grant. Under his proposal, $1 billion obtained by the proposed privatization of the state's liquor sales would be used to create the Passport for Learning Block Grant that would focus on school safety; enhanced early education programs; individualized learning; and science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and programs. The $1 billion in revenue to fund that grant will come from the three- to four-year process of selling the Liquor Control Board: $575 million from the wholesale license process, $224 million from the Wine and Spirits retail …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The school organized the gathering for school and municipal/police officials Thursday morning in the wake of the Sandy Hill shootings.
In response to the recent school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf's sponsored Commitment to the Community Committee is hosting a presentation this morning by security experts John Hudson and Louis Gentile of J.P. Hudson and Associates Inc. John Hudson is the founder and owner, and Louis Gentile is president and CEO of the firm, which was hired by District Attorney Stephen Zappala to investigate the security issues at the Western Psychiatric Institute following the shooting last March 8 in which an employee was killed. Hudson and Gentile will discuss numerous aspects of school and municipal security and offer some solutions as well as possible funding sources/grants. "…
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Fear of gun control measures and safety concerns after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings have triggered gun sales.
As some people push for gun control, more stringent background checks on gun buyers or reinstituting the assault weapons ban, others are doing just the opposite—buying guns for the first time, adding more guns to their arsenals or at least stocking up on ammunition. Since 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected president, an estimated 67 million firearms have been purchased in the United States, according to the Kansas City Star—more than were sold in almost seven years before his first election. Nationwide, more than 2.7 million of those checks were recorded for December 2012, according to statistics kept by the FBI. Since late 1998, when federal law began mandating checks for prospective gun buyers, the only other month that exceeded …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Though Woodland Hills has had good secondary school security since a shooting more than two decades ago, the district is looking at its elementary buildings in a different light.
"On this day though, the sounds of people walking and talking in the hall were interrupted by five loud popping sounds directly outside my classroom. To me, it sounded like balloons popping. It was not balloons. Either Mr. Nelson saw what was happening or was familiar with the sound of gunfire and immediately closed the door and put a rolling cart with a TV in front of the door. Although I remember the pops, I don't recall hearing any screams. While we had no idea what was happening or happened outside the classroom, Mr. Nelson made sure that we didn’t go near the door. Although my memory about this event 20 years ago is a little fuzzy, I believe that he called the front office to let them know that he heard what could have been gunfire. …
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The device won't stop shooters but it can buy time and keep students safer.
Bob Ploskunak, a retired Woodland Hills teacher, has invented a safety device that can prevent shooters from entering school classrooms. WTAE-TV reports that Ploskunak's invention, JAMBLOCK, a lightweight piece of steel, can be slipped under a classroom door and secure it in place, preventing intruders from entering. While it doesn't directly protect students, it does buy more time until police arrive at the scene. Ploskunak, who had been an industrial arts teacher at Woodland Hills High School, retired from the school district in 2011 after 35 years of service, For more about Ploskunak and the device, click here for WTAE's story. _______________________ Forest Hills-Regent Square Patch is on Facebook and on Twitter. Don't forget to …
Joseph
1:47 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
I've been involved. I've seen the beast first hand. The only way to change it is to become a part of the special interest groups or run for office to diffuse the special interest groups (good luck winning an election without the support of special interest groups). more ›