PONT MISS MLK CEREMONY STORY, PHOTOS ON COMMUNITY LIFE, Page A-5 The^festfield Record Thursday, January 19, 1995 A Forbes Newspaper 50 cents Construction stays on list School planning panel narrows options to four By NtC<H£ A. GAVINO ing mechanisms were suggested for any of the propo:;;ils, although THE RECORD Finance Chairwoman Su^ari Ju- The Long Range Planning Com- cobson :;;iid money for the propos- mittee of the Board of Education als is rKit available in I lie budget. Tuesday presented an outline of Cominittre ChaWwuman Melba considerations to handle the surge Nixon :;;iid they will pioceed will1) in elementary enrollment. The gathering information, including panel will present an interim re- educational and financial pros and port in May after further study. cons, and pie:;ent an interim report The committee will proceed to May 1T>. A final ileeisinn wa.s prom- examine: ised by I he end i»f l!)!)fj. • renovating Lincoln School for lioard members F.ileen Satkin, use as a prc-K and kindergarten Mrs, Jaeobs<m, ;ind .Sn:;;in Pepper, center, or as an additional elemen- as well as numerous citizens ex- tary facility; pressed discomfort and dissatisfac- • moving the fifth grades to thetion with tin' liin'.-liiie. They felt, if intermediate schools and studying construction or bonding is neces- programs for changes to allow sary, it could be two Id three years more space; before a solution. Dave Hewitt • building additions at only Jef- noted the makeup nf (lie board ferson and Wilson schools; could change :;ub:-,lanlially after • and using two adjacent schools the April clee'ion. Several citizens as one joint school for attendance voiced their I'l jslration over board purposes and review elementary divisive-ness a; 'I indecision. space. "I can't Iwl eve I'm paying a To address challenges in thebabysitter for tins," Christine Fnlcy 1995-9G school year, the committee said. "It's just the same stuff over recommended the Programs and and over. We elected y< HI to repre- Policies Committee review policies sent us. Sooner ur later you've just concerning class size and the vise got to t >ake a deei'-inn and time is of aides and additional teachers. of the essence. 0'ir students an; in They also advised consideration of crowded school.1, tow." Pancake time an open enrollment policy, wherein Iioaid and ci^nmiltcr' member RANDALL MILLER/THE RECORD if a child was in a class over 28, Tom Maclaras s;i'nl they were woii: Frank Willis measures batter onto griddle early Monday morning at the Community Center where the annual Martin Luther parents could elect to move their ing as quickly as |«>s:ible to find King Day pancake breakfast took place. The breakfast was only the first of a nearly day-long series of events. More photos child to another school. the Ix-st solutitin that stands the and a story are on page A-5 in this issue. The committee charged itself greatest cliance ot su'-cess and with monitoring enrollment, study- could offer no deadline, ing the high school programs, and "We have a commitment to fi- considering the use of Lincoln nalize this decision at the earliest School as a high school annex. possible date, when !; -_• procc-i.;; i. Board member Dandle Walsh finished," he ;;. id. "I,et u? start, the was concerned how the reeom process, get sunn? information and ShopRite bashers show power mendations will affect this year's as soon as we know, we'll set a Planners deluged with gripes in marathon Saturday meeting budget. No cost estimates or fund- elate and live bv that date." •y NICOLE A. GAVINO urday. field Lumber site on North Av- trucks, children's safety, air and Although it seemed only a hand- enue. The public will have more Sullivan's set to join THE RECORD noise pollution, and real estate val- ful of the more than 300 citizens chances to testify as ShopRite ues echoed throughout the day. Citizens gave the Westfield Plan- present were able to testify, the meetings are set for every other "I feel very strongly that the ning Board a resounding "No consensus was against the su-Thursday through April, if needed. construction and operation of a ShopRite" at a public hearing Sat- permarket proposed for the West- Concerns over traffic, delivery ShopRite 'super-store' is uncalled council for 3d Ward for and would be detrimental, not only to my neighborhood but to Westfield as a whole," Fourth Av- Briefs enue resident Robert Miller said. at Tuesday's meeting "Should we jeopardize the safety of 1 our children by selling our souls to By NICO1E A. GAVINO ence ami business administrate . and a work biickgimuul in finance. A brown bag lunch at noon pre- the devil in the name of ratables?" 111K RECORD Special meeting Environmental into cedes the 1 p.m. public program. John Cantazaro, also a Fourth Mr. Sullivan believes there are The Local Assistance Board of Farcr Siegal Fersko law firm will Republican Neil Sullivan will be two interrelated then,is el pressing Call the church office at 233-4211 Avenue resident, said although 1 1 Westfield meets 3:30 p.m. today in conduct a breakfast seminar "Min- issues t'.'innj. the Imvn (IIL bal- for details. ShopRite should bring in about appointed to the Westfiekl Town the Mayor's Conference Room, 425 imizing and Recovering Environ- $40,000 a year in tax revenue and Council Tuesday night, taking the ance nf prudent financial man- East Broad St. mental Costs," today at the offer some jobs, the taxpayers will place of Third Ward representative as'.e.'inent and maintenance of qual- The board will elect officers, se- Schackamaxon Country Club. Country western night pay for the store in the long run. Kenneth MacRitchie. ity town seiA'iees lect meeting dates and discuss pol- Round up your partner and lie said capital expenses for traffic Mr. MacRitchie resigned last "1 hope lhat >.>me of I lie tech- icies. mitigation is estimated at $1.5 mil- month to assume the position of niques used in business might Miller-Cory Story come to a dance party and indoor 1 chuck wagon dinner 8 p.m. Satur- lion, of which ShopRite must only deputy chief of the state's Bureau help to provide I'm continuing im- Dr. Homer J. Hall, Westfield His- pay $46,000, leaving the rest to the of Securities. Mr. Sullivan, a 1(>-provement of what is already a Newborn news torical Society archivist, will dis- day at Temple Emanu-El. Mail taxpayers. He also pointed out on- year-resident, will soiA'e Chn.'Uf'11 very well mil town," Mr. Sullivan La Leche League of Westfield, a cuss 'The Miller Family, the Cory your check for $25 per person to going costs for additional road 1995, the remainder of Mr. Mac- said. "The Town Council has the breast-feeding information and Family, and the Miller-Cory Farm," Sisterhood Temple Emanu-El, 750 maintenance, police and crossing Ritchie's elected term, job of ensuring that taxes are kept support group, will meet 10:15 a.m. to the Senior Fellowship at First E. Broad St. guards. Mr. Sullivan feels well-equipped in line, wliile at the same time it today at the Cranford Library. Call United Methodist Church to- "We fear losing what we have — to serve the council with an educa- must ensure the high quality of 709-1261 for more information. morrow. {Please turn to page A-2) (Please turn to page A-2) tional background in political sci- (Please turn to page A-2) Minority hiring in town, schools moves slowly By NICOLE A. GAVINO and 10 percent of the non-certified staff is minority, but not due to extra efforts on the part of the school THE RKCOKD district. David Tuller is director of Human Resources Although only 5 percent or Westlield's total popula- and Affirmative Action Officer. WtNtfillrt Scotch Plains l-amwmd ( I;II UMIMI kenil worth tion is minority, the town and school district lx>th "We have actively sought minority candidates in Cranford employ higher j>cicoiitiiges of minorities — seemingly the past, I«»st year, we tried to target minority ' i African Americans by chance. schools, such »s Lincoln University in Pennsylvania to u hiics in population 2.9 5 13.3 5.8 0.61 2.6 The town hus no formal minority recruitment pro- and Howard University in Washington, to see if we gram or policy; the school district's program has could increase the minority level," Mr. Tuller said. "A ' i S\\ el II |uil lit ' niiiioi il\ 6.1 6.7 10 6.6 0 10 found no success thus far. lot of effort was put into it last year, but unfortu- According to town records, H.5 percent i>f all its nately, we had no success. There were no new mi- ' < ( )llk"l low n employees iire minorities, In the ]*<lici" department, nority hires from those efforts." employees ri I nit IT ilv 3.4 8.5 10.5 3.5 3.5 4.9 Mr. Tuller said many of the potential recruits sim- 0.7 percent of nil the sworn officers are minorities, ' • Ic.K IK'I S, oilier "We do not have ;i formal recruitment program," ply don't want to relocate to (mother state, so the iVI Illli'd olllCltni s 2 5 6.8 0 0 Town Administrator Kd Ciottko said. "We simply don't district is rcfiK'Using its efforts in visits to state iinri.it n\ have the kind of turnover in sUilT for it to be woith- schools such as Unifiers, Ki-.'in and Seton Hall.