HAPPY HOLIDAY PROGRAMS

The November book discussion at Grace Lutheran Church at 1552 Westfield Street will take place on Sunday November 21st at 11 a.m in the church parlor. The book to be discussed will be "Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by Greg Mortenson. Over the past seventeen years, Mortenson, through his nonprofit Central Asia Institute (CAI) has worked to promote peace through education by establishing more than 145 schools, most of them for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The story of how this remarkable humanitarian campaign began was told in this bestselling book, "Three Cups of Tea" Picking up where "Three Cups of Tea" left off in late 2003, "Stones into Schools" traces the CAI's efforts to work in a whole new country, the secluded northeast corner of Afghanistan. Mortenson describes how he and this intrepid manager, Sarfraz Khan, barnstorrm around Badakhshan Province and the Wakhan Corridor, moving for weeks without sleep, to establish the first schools there. Their stories are ones you will not soon forget. Everyone is invited to this discussion. For more information, call Carolyn at 739-0790.
Other November events are as follows: Class on Lutheranism 101 on Sunday, November 7th and 21st, from 11 a.m. - noon; AA meeting every Sunday evening from 6 - 8 p.m.; Al-Anon meeting every Saturday evening from 8 - 9 p.m.; Bible study led by Pastor Harmon on Tuesday mornings from 9 - 10 a.m. followed by meeting of the Needlers from 10 a.m - noon; Women of the Bible led by Carol Goulet on Tuesday evenings from 6 - 7:30 p.m. There are services with Holy Communion every Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Everyone is invited to all of the above. Call the church at 734-9268 for more information.

Grace Lutheran Church has space available for crafters interested in their 32nd Annual Holiday Fair to be held December 4th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the church hall at 1552 Westfield Street in West Springfield. The fair will feature local craft persons and traditional church shops. This event will be promoted in local papers, on radio and TV stations and with posters in area churches. Posters for this event will go to the Women in Christ group to help fund their missions. For more information or an application, please call Sue at 562-7784.

Tony's contribution to the program was a taped performance of our National Anthem and Kate Smith's "God Bless America"

Senator Brown delivered a dynamic message.

Rotarian Greg Neffinger and Senator Brown.

Our new Senator Jim Welch.

Just a note, the Superintendent and the Mayor along with the Strategic buildings project manager held and informational forum for residents last night at the high school. The forum which will be held possibly monthly to keep the public informed as we move forward with the new high school in a timely manner. I know most of you have been on this mailing list when a new HS was just a blip on the radar, but now it is fast becoming a reality. The goal is for ground breaking on November 2011 and Students to enter the new building Ion September 2013. There are three model schools being considered and I have the 3 architects’ websites attached to this email for you to review. There are already several schools in MA that have been approved and broke ground based on these model schools. Also the MSBA model school website is below.

As a recap from last night, and I didn't take notes, sorry, but a few major concerns brought up and addressed were: the pool and the auditorium, and the swiftness of the process. Mayor Gibson assured the public that we would either renovate or incorporate a new pool, which ever is most cost effective, in the new school. This will be funded totally by the town under the MSBA restrictions. The Auditorium can also be enlarged, probably not to the 1100 seats we have, but to an acceptable number, also at the town’s expense.

Please remember that with the model school, we will be getting between 76-80% reimbursements during the entire process. This means the town really doesn’t put out a lot of money during any phase. Mayor Gibson will request bonding, and then when reimbursed by the MSBA, will request that the bond be eliminated, and funds be moved from the free cash to pay the balance off. This will happen throughout the process. This can only be done if we use the model school program. A question was brought up as to why use the model school instead of designing our own to fit the site. The process is a lot longer during the feasibility and design phase (6-12mos more) and then the bidding and the construction is also a longer process (6-18mos). The market now is quite favorable to lending and construction. Also, the funds would have to be paid upfront as we did with the Middle school, and after completion of the project we would get a maximum of only the 76%. Major Gibson is confident that we will qualify for the full 80% and the MSBA is currently in this phase reimbursing 76%, but once we reach the 80%, the MSBA will retroactively reimburse all phases at the 80%. Major Gibson is also confident that the reimbursement process will save tax payers dollars during the project (next 3 yrs) and will stay under the prop 2 ½.

I hope that clarifies any questions you may have. There will be a public hearing on Tuesday November 16 at 6 pm in the HS library. The 3 architectural firms will come and present to the planning board their designs, and why each design would be a good fit for our site. Please try and attend. It may not be a time for Q & A, but it will be informative and if you have any input, please present it to the planning board before Thursday the 18, at which point they need to make a final decision on the design.

Sincerely,

Diane Merck

www.ai-3.com

www.mvgarchitects.com

www.smma.com/portfolio/portfolio.cfm?menu=k12&project_id=1

www.massschoolbuildings.org/about_ektid1004.aspx

To join the WSPG email list please email d.merck@comcast.net