| Nursing assistants win profession certification
HOLYOKE - In the light of midday, the large, corner conference room at the Holyoke Health Center, with its bank of third-floor picture windows overlooking downtown, was brighter and seemed larger than it did during winter evenings over the previous nine weeks, when the two dozen Latina nursing assistants had studied hard to pass their certification tests. The courses were specially prepared and taught by staff from the Holyoke Community College, who had worked with the health center to help their uncertified medical assistants earn their certification. On this day in early March, administrators from the college and the health center were gathered together with food, beverages and words of congratulations for the students who had taken the course, even for those who - on their first try - did not pass the test.
School board considers cuts
Eureka City Schools is facing a budget problem that stems from a cause-and-effect situation 10 years in the making. The cause: 10 years of declining enrollment. The effect: less revenue coming into the district. Other factors, including rising health care and workers' compensation costs, have contributed to the district's $2.1 million deficit, but the most substantial problem has been the 1,052 students the district has lost since the 2000-01 school year. During a special meeting Monday night, the ECS Board of Education received a report from interim Superintendent Denise Jones and Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Jerry Johnson on the district's fiscal stability plan. Each year, school districts must present the Humboldt County Office of Education with a three-year plan, forecasting where each district stands in terms of a balanced budget.
Three locals try making a difference in Haiti
A taxidermist, a nurse and a pastor may not seem to have that much in common, but recently three in those professions banded together to help elicit change in their world by taking a trip to Haiti. Lindy Heitschmidt, a registered nurse, first became interested in the trip when Pastor Ken Hathaway was telling her about it. "He made a comment that doctors go down to see people, because they don't have the money or the opportunity to see doctors," Heitschmidt said. "So the doctors go down to help the people, and he said that they were always in need of nurses." Feeling that she wanted to use her skills in an environment where they would be greatly needed, she decided to go on the trip. Tom Stinson, a taxidermist in Liberal, also decided to go on the trip and offer whatever help he could.
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