I almost cried when I read “Roxaboxen”, written by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. It was such a sweet story and it reminded me of my own childhood game with friends. In the back of the book, the background behind the story, the author shared that it was about her mother’s childhood. She researched from relatives, former residents […]

I was the high school principal in Montourville, Pennsylvania, when TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island in July 1996. The recent tragedy in Connecticut, like the other school tragedies we have witnessed, always brings thoughts not only about the disaster itself, but about the tragedy that follows such a disaster. In 1996, our school lost 16 students and 5 […]

USDA’s Business & Industry (B&I) loan program is designed to improve business, industry, employment, and the overall economic and environmental climate in rural communities. In an effort to ease the credit crunch on “Main Street,” the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) aims to boost the existing B&I program to encourage lenders to participate. ARRA provides several B&I program enhancements, […]