A potpourri of miscellaneous news SCRIBBLED IN A REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

OPINIONS WANTED, MAYBE : The Brandywine School District is publishing daily newspaper notices between Nov. 1 and 14 soliciting public comment on proposals to waive provisions in state law imposing a 22-pupil limit on the size of classes in kindergarten through third grade and requiring that 98% of the number of state-authorized teacher positions generated by any school's enrollment be allocated to that school. The notice said the school board will hold a hearing on the proposals as part of its business meeting on Nov. 21. Written comments are due that afternoon. Since the law requires action before Dec. 1, the board presumably will grant the waivers, any comments received not withstanding, that evening.

One hitch in all that: Wendy Lapham, the district's public information, responding to a Delaforum request for such details concerning the waivers as which schools are affected and how many elementary-level classes are over the limit, replied on Nov. 12, "I'm still pulling together the other information on class size waivers and when they will be brought to the board." Even more curious than how someone can be expected to comment intelligently on an issue not yet defined, is why lawmakers would impose firm limits but allow the entities on whom they are imposed to unilaterally exempt themselves from those limits by a simple majority vote -- as Brandywine and other districts have done each year since the law was enacted.

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LEFT TURNS MADE EASIER: Area residents have been wondering why a vividly-marked left-turn lane suddenly appeared on Grubb Road, after its recent resurfacing, at the entrance to only one suburban community along the way. That community happens to be Clair Manor and Clair Manor happens to be where re-elected state Representative Wayne Smith lives. Pure coincidence, said Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Williams. The lane "is new only in the sense that the striping provides for a left turn where the old striping allowed for by-pass traffic on an intermittent basis," he told Delaforum.

Providing room for the lane was  a condition for subdivision approval, a county process which occurred long before Smith, or anybody else, moved in. Regarding the absence of turn lanes elsewhere on Grubb Road, Williams said, "Widening to provide [them] would have impacted the project in a number of ways including additional construction costs, right-of-way acquisitions, ...  the need for storm water management, and generally more disturbance to the existing character of the road which the public seemed to want to preserve." One political pundit observed with regard to conservative Republican Smith that it is hoped that easier turns to the left will apply only when he's driving home and not while he's in Dover legislating.

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When 3:30 p.m., the scheduled time for a New Castle County Council executive committee meeting, arrived only two Council members were seated at the conference table --- newly elected Patty Powell and William Tansey. As is the common practice with most meetings, the one on Nov. 12 started fashionably late. The newcomers no doubt will learn the ropes soon enough.

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DIRE CONSEQUENCES:

		If that's what happens to the violators, think of all the bad things that might befall their cars in this parking lot at 10th and West Sts. in Wilmington.

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A feasibility study looking to the possibility of establishing a 'Nativity model' school in Wilmington is expected to be completed around the turn of the year. Such a school could open as soon as September, 2003.

 The schools are faith-based middle schools intended to motivate and prepare low-income children in urban areas to qualify for admission to and to succeed in the academic environment of private college-preparatory high schools, according to the Rev. Thomas Curran, president of Salesianum School. The model, which has proven successful in several cities, was devised by the Jesuit religious order, but over the past 30 years has been used by a variety of sectarian and non-sectarian sponsors. The tuition-free schools offer offer same-sex education to no more than 60 students in the fifth through eighth grades. Operated independently, they have an extended school day and Saturday and summer activities.

Brendan Kennealey is conducting the Casson Foundation-financed study to determine if there is a need for such a school here, are resources available to support it, and who is best able to conduct it.  A graduate of Salesianum and Boston College, he taught in such a school and, at age 26, was founding principal of the one in New Bedford, Mass. Curran said that, if it decided to go ahead with the project, it most likely would involve the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, who own and operate Salesianum. It is not intended, however, to compete with any existing or planned school.  (Click here to access additional information about the model and to read about some of the schools.)

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HELPING HANDS: Friends and relatives turned out on Nov. 9 and 10 to help prepare an historic house for its new residents. Lauren Coughlan and her fiancée, Michael Gunton, purchased the property at Manor and Melvin Aves. and intend to restore it to a Victorian-era appearance in time to be married there and to exhibit it on Dec. 14 as part of the society's Christmas house tour. Originally a barn on a farm which dates back to the area's original Swedish colony, the structure was converted into a house some time around the turn of the last century. Coughlan said her interest came naturally because "I grew up in a house like this" in Hilltop Manor.

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Results of the Wilmington Area Planning Council's study of a possible monorail or automated guideway transit system for northern New Castle County will not be available until at least early December. "It has taken longer than anticipated to get the needed data." Heather Dunigan, the council's senior planner, said.

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PROGRESS REPORT:

	Framework for the sides and roof of the new Smith Bridge are now in place as work on building the covered bridge proceeds toward a scheduled December completion. (Click here to access the previous Delaforum article.)

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We wonder why folks are lining up six and seven cars deep on the days that some gasoline stations are offering petrol at 5¢-a-gallon off. That totals all of a 50¢ 'savings' with a typical 10-gallon fillup.

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RETURN DAY:

The gap in certifying Delaware elections is hardly news. In Sussex County, it has long provided an excuse for a biennial party, Return Day in Georgetown, which has attracted a fair about of national attention. Re-elected state Representative David Ennis waves after passing the reviewing stand during the 2002 event.

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