Man About Canton: Things are not always what they appear to be

DID YOU KNOW…

You may have seen the recent Canton Citizen headline and article telling us the sad story: “The Canton Public Schools budget shortfall could exceed $1 million in 2011.” Much of the shortfall has to do with the expensive cost of out-of-district services for special needs students that are mandated by state law. The story related that there is a net deficit of $360,000 for this current school year, which caused the School Committee to seek financial relief from the town’s cash reserves; and if that wasn’t bad enough, next year’s projected deficit is approaching $1 million, which is more than twice this year’s shortfall.

That being said, MAC saw the notice in the Citizen from the Canton School Administration seeking Canton parents of children between the ages of 3 and 22 who possibly have learning disabilities and thus are entitled to a free special educational evaluation through the Canton Public Schools. The ad also said the “child is not required to attend a Canton public school to be eligible for this service.” Since then, MAC has heard from residents who don’t understand why the school system is seeking children when special education costs have skyrocketed. So MAC investigated and learned that because of Director of Student Services Alan Dewey, Canton offers special education programs not provided by all towns, so some towns pay us to educate their students –— which helps offset some of our out-of-district placement costs. Another case of things not always being what they appear to be.

American Airlines has announced they will raise its check-bag fees next month to match those of its rivals, including Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, and U.S. Airways. Starting February 1, American Airlines will raise the fee for a passenger’s first check bag to $25 from $20, and to $35 from $30 for the second bag. The new fees apply to flights within and between the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada and Puerto Rico. Select passengers, including first- and business-class travelers and members of the armed services, will remain exempt from checked bag fees.

St. John’s is holding its annual father-daughter-someone special dance tomorrow evening (Friday, February 5) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the St. John’s Parish Center. All community girls are invited to attend. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door and cost $15 for adults and $10 per child. If you have any questions, call St. John’s School at 781-828-2130 or e-mail Mandy Hayes at paragon29@verizon.net.

Now that the special U.S. Senate election is thankfully over, some people say they are upset with the number of recorded political telephone calls they received seeking support. MAC agrees there were far too many of these unwanted calls, but will concede that it was only for a relatively short time, and it allowed candidates and their supporters the opportunity to reach voters with their recurring messages. The solution is simple, just hang up when you get one of these annoying calls and go back to doing whatever you were doing before you were disturbed.

Incidentally, did you notice that the only political lawn signs used in Canton were for Scott Brown? What happened to our so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” concerning such signs?

While the Canton selectmen’s meetings may seem boring to many observers, it recently woke up the Town Hall’s resident bat. The meeting was interrupted for about ten minutes when the bat decided to come out of its ceiling home. After flying around the meeting room to check out what was going on, the bat decided it wasn’t interesting enough for him, so he flew out the open door to the corridor, apparently intending to see if the Planning Board was holding one of its famous meetings.

Times are really changing. A recent news report said Burger King is opening its first U.S. restaurant that will serve alcohol in Miami Beach, Florida. A whopper, fries, and cold Budweiser combo will run you $7.99. MAC wonders how long it will take for McDonald’s to become a copy cat and offer suds to go along with a Big Mac?

Finally, the Canton High School Alumni Association held a winter social on Saturday, January 23, at the American Legion Hall. The fun-filled evening, which included a delicious Italian-style dinner and alumni recalling memories of their long ago CHS days, was an entertaining affair. Kudos go out to Stephen Hagan (Class of 1958), Ann Galvin (Class of 1959) and their committee for organizing the event.

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at
manaboutcanton@aol.com

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