By KARA L. RICHARDSON Staff Writer
Published in the Courier News on December 20, 2004
MONTGOMERY -- Anne Marie Weber can be downright giddy when talking about the new Montgomery High School, a project that she has worked on for the past six years. "I love seeing it come alive. It was a just a plan on paper," Weber said about the construction.
Weber, who was the district's high-school principal for 16 years, dedicated herself full-time to the project two years ago. She serves as assistant to Superintendent Stuart Schnur and will retire from Montgomery Township Schools about two months after the school's ribbon cutting on April 16. It is expected to officially open in September 2005, one semester behind schedule.
In 1998, Weber started working on the building specifications of the $57 million high school on Route 601 southwest of the intersection of Skillman Road. The more than 100 classrooms will stem from the school's central commons area, which will seat 600 students.
The new commons will replace the existing high school's cafeteria, which is so small that there must five lunch periods, beginning at 9:30 a.m., to feed all of the students, Weber said.
The new school could fit 2,100 students, a number based on township population projections for the next decade.
The existing high school was built to fit 875 students, so 17 trailers have been brought in to accommodate the enrollment, which has surged to about 1,400. When the new high school opens next fall, that number is expected to exceed 1,550 students, she said.
"You don't want to be hampered by a building," Weber said, before switching from red heels to a pair of grubby shoes to tour the dusty construction site.
There are palettes of ceiling tiles, lights hung with protective coating and doors yet to be hung in the corridors of the high school. Much of the heavy lifting and infrastructure is done. Weber just recently was able to walk through the project without a hard hat.
"It's really beginning to take shape," Weber said before stepping in the aquatic center, where workers were binding together the mold for the six-lane swimming pool. A large green tile "M" for Montgomery was already on the wall.
Planners didn't want the 400,000 square-foot building to feel too big. So the four administrators offices will be split up into four different areas.
Weber said students will likely have an extra minute between classes because of the size of the building. It takes a while for kids to get to class in the existing high school because the hallways are bottlenecked with congestion.
Weber glows when talking about the 1,000-seat performing arts center with orchestra pit. She was involved with drama programs when she was a teacher.
"I'm just so pleased that the school can have this kind of facility," Weber said.
Francine Bridy, an electrician with IBEW Brotherhood of Electricians Local Union 269, has been working on the project for 13 months now. She can't begin to count the miles of wire she has installed in the school.
"This school is unlike any school that I've done," Bridy said. That's because all of the lights in the building are operated by switch and motion-detector to conserve energy. When there isn't movement in approximately 12 minutes, the lights will shut off, she said.
Bridy spent Wednesday making sure the electrical work was complete on the second floor, collecting loose wires and making sure every single switch worked. There are 1,300 switches in the classrooms alone.
The building was originally set to open this month. Severe weather during the winter and a wet summer in 2003 set construction back more than 90 days. Structural steel for the new 356,000-square-foot building started going up in December 2002. When the new building is complete, the old high school will be used to alleviate overcrowding at the elementary school.
- Kara L. Richardson can be reached at (908) 707-3186 or krichard@c-n.com.
Adding up Montgomery's new High School:
Location: Route 601 southwest of the intersection of Skillman Road. The site, bought from the state, was the former Lloyd McCorkle Training School for Boys.
Grades: 9-12
Size: About 400,000 square feet
Classrooms: More than 100
Computer labs: Six
Stories: Two
Estimated completion date: September 2005
Source: Montgomery Township Schools
Special meeting to discuss the new school's progress:
If you go: The Montgomery Township Board of Education will hold a joint meeting Jan. 4 with the Montgomery Township Committee to give an update about the high-school project, budgeting and funding issues, use of the new facilities, expanded shared services and other matters. The stadium, pool and performing arts center will be discussed. The 7:30 p.m. meeting will be in the current Montgomery High School media center, 375 Burnt Hill Road.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
IBEW Local 1579 (Augusta, GA) members affected by downsized Savanahh River (Nuclear) Site
Posted on Mon, Dec. 20, 2004
Layoffs could also drain talent pool
Aiken, which has weathered other massive job losses, is fighting for new projects
By BEN WERNER
Staff Writer
This won’t be first time jobs have been lost at the Savannah River Site, but the latest announcement has community leaders concerned.
The Washington Group, which operates the plant for the U.S. Department of Energy, last week requested permission from the agency to lay off 1,200 workers by Sept. 30, 2005, and 600 to 800 more a year later.
The cuts were long rumored to be in the works, said Aiken mayor Fred Cavanaugh. What he worries about, though, is the potential talent drain from the area.
These are highly skilled workers trained for specific jobs, he said. For them, finding new jobs means moving away unless a new project comes to SRS.
“We need to get the Department of Energy and elected officials to get us other projects that they have talked about for years,” Cavanaugh said.
In 1992, employment at SRS was about 22,000. About 11,000 workers were laid off during the next few years.
“We thought that was going to be devastating to our community,” Cavanaugh said. “But it wasn’t because a lot of people retired and stayed in the community.”
Clay Killian, Aiken County administrator, echoed Cavanaugh’s hope that many laid-off people will decide to retire and stay in the region, but he’s not optimistic.
“Anytime you lose that number of folks in a short period of time, they’re going to want to find work and some of these people with specialties could find jobs at other DOE facilities,” he said. “I hope these folks can find work here and stay here.”
That’s why Killian said it is important for the community to rally behind a new mission for SRS.
“We’re always trying to sell our community,” Killian said.
But Johnny Hutcheson, assistant business manager and organizer for the electricians union IBEW local 1579, said unless a new mission comes to SRS, many workers will move away.
“Most of these guys won’t have anywhere else to go,” Hutcheson said. “They’re going to have to find new careers.”
He worries that even if his union members undergo career training, they still might be forced to leave the region to find work unless new jobs can be created in the SRS area.
Hutcheson is not sure how many of his union members will laid off. Most of the positions, he said, were operational — the people such as engineers who run the plant.
“This unfortunate news underscores the need for us to continue to fight for new missions at the SRS and to work hard to ensure the site maintains its ability to lead and support the development of our nation’s energy policy,” said U.S. Rep. J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C. The Savannah River Site is in his district.
“Overall, great strides have been made this year in terms of funding for the SRS, but that does not mean that we cannot work to do better,” Barrett said.
Will Callicott, a spokesman for The Washington Group, said it is still being decided exactly which positions will be eliminated. “It will cover a pretty broad spectrum of jobs up to and including senior management,” he said.
Reach Werner at (803) 771- 8509 or bwerner@thestate.com.
Layoffs could also drain talent pool
Aiken, which has weathered other massive job losses, is fighting for new projects
By BEN WERNER
Staff Writer
This won’t be first time jobs have been lost at the Savannah River Site, but the latest announcement has community leaders concerned.
The Washington Group, which operates the plant for the U.S. Department of Energy, last week requested permission from the agency to lay off 1,200 workers by Sept. 30, 2005, and 600 to 800 more a year later.
The cuts were long rumored to be in the works, said Aiken mayor Fred Cavanaugh. What he worries about, though, is the potential talent drain from the area.
These are highly skilled workers trained for specific jobs, he said. For them, finding new jobs means moving away unless a new project comes to SRS.
“We need to get the Department of Energy and elected officials to get us other projects that they have talked about for years,” Cavanaugh said.
In 1992, employment at SRS was about 22,000. About 11,000 workers were laid off during the next few years.
“We thought that was going to be devastating to our community,” Cavanaugh said. “But it wasn’t because a lot of people retired and stayed in the community.”
Clay Killian, Aiken County administrator, echoed Cavanaugh’s hope that many laid-off people will decide to retire and stay in the region, but he’s not optimistic.
“Anytime you lose that number of folks in a short period of time, they’re going to want to find work and some of these people with specialties could find jobs at other DOE facilities,” he said. “I hope these folks can find work here and stay here.”
That’s why Killian said it is important for the community to rally behind a new mission for SRS.
“We’re always trying to sell our community,” Killian said.
But Johnny Hutcheson, assistant business manager and organizer for the electricians union IBEW local 1579, said unless a new mission comes to SRS, many workers will move away.
“Most of these guys won’t have anywhere else to go,” Hutcheson said. “They’re going to have to find new careers.”
He worries that even if his union members undergo career training, they still might be forced to leave the region to find work unless new jobs can be created in the SRS area.
Hutcheson is not sure how many of his union members will laid off. Most of the positions, he said, were operational — the people such as engineers who run the plant.
“This unfortunate news underscores the need for us to continue to fight for new missions at the SRS and to work hard to ensure the site maintains its ability to lead and support the development of our nation’s energy policy,” said U.S. Rep. J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C. The Savannah River Site is in his district.
“Overall, great strides have been made this year in terms of funding for the SRS, but that does not mean that we cannot work to do better,” Barrett said.
Will Callicott, a spokesman for The Washington Group, said it is still being decided exactly which positions will be eliminated. “It will cover a pretty broad spectrum of jobs up to and including senior management,” he said.
Reach Werner at (803) 771- 8509 or bwerner@thestate.com.
Monday, December 20, 2004
IBEW Local 2020 (Columbus, OH) Signs Agreement with Lucent Technologies
Posted on Mon, Dec. 20, 2004
Unions Ratify Contract With Lucent
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - Two unions have formally approved a contract with Lucent Technologies Inc. that gives workers raises of more than 16 percent over the course of the next seven years.
The contract also calls for a cost-of-living adjustment starting in 2008 and a $1,000 ratification bonus. The agreement covers workers from the Communications Workers of America and members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
A tentative contract was approved on Nov. 9, shortly after the old contract expired at the end of October. Bargaining was overseen by a federal mediator.
More than 90 percent of CWA members voted to approve the new deal, union spokeswoman Candice Johnson said Monday.
The contract also creates a new job classification for installers, Lucent spokeswoman Mary Ward said. They will be paid market rate wages and benefits, which will vary by locations, she said.
The company wanted union retirees to help cover their health insurance, and the contract increases medical co-payments and deductibles.
Those younger than 65 would contribute 3 percent of their monthly pension rate for health care, or about $28.50 on average. Family coverage for those retirees will be 5 percent of the monthly pension rate, about $47.50 on average. Retirees over 65 will pay 2 percent of their monthly pension for single coverage and 4 percent of their monthly pension for family coverage.
Contributions for both groups will increase by one half of 1 percent per year over the contract term. Workers who retired before March 1, 1990, will continue to have employer-paid premiums.
With about 3,250 union members, Lucent has some 70,000 union retirees, with 50,000 dependents, for whom it was given responsibility when the company was spun off from AT&T Corp. in 1996.
The Murray Hill-based maker of telecommunications equipment has about 31,800 workers worldwide, including about 500 CWA members in New Jersey. All but about 250 of the workers around the country who are covered by the contract are represented by the Communications Workers of America. The CWA members include technicians at Bell Labs and installers.
Most of the IBEW members at Lucent are clerical and technical workers based in Columbus, Ohio.
Lucent company already has cut health benefits for thousands of nonunion retirees and their families.
In October, Lucent recorded its first profitable year since 2000. In past years, it had multibillion dollar losses and shed 80 percent of its work force through spinoffs and layoffs.
In trading Monday, Lucent shares rose 5 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $3.82 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $2.70 to $5.
© 2004 AP Wire and wire service sources
Unions Ratify Contract With Lucent
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - Two unions have formally approved a contract with Lucent Technologies Inc. that gives workers raises of more than 16 percent over the course of the next seven years.
The contract also calls for a cost-of-living adjustment starting in 2008 and a $1,000 ratification bonus. The agreement covers workers from the Communications Workers of America and members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
A tentative contract was approved on Nov. 9, shortly after the old contract expired at the end of October. Bargaining was overseen by a federal mediator.
More than 90 percent of CWA members voted to approve the new deal, union spokeswoman Candice Johnson said Monday.
The contract also creates a new job classification for installers, Lucent spokeswoman Mary Ward said. They will be paid market rate wages and benefits, which will vary by locations, she said.
The company wanted union retirees to help cover their health insurance, and the contract increases medical co-payments and deductibles.
Those younger than 65 would contribute 3 percent of their monthly pension rate for health care, or about $28.50 on average. Family coverage for those retirees will be 5 percent of the monthly pension rate, about $47.50 on average. Retirees over 65 will pay 2 percent of their monthly pension for single coverage and 4 percent of their monthly pension for family coverage.
Contributions for both groups will increase by one half of 1 percent per year over the contract term. Workers who retired before March 1, 1990, will continue to have employer-paid premiums.
With about 3,250 union members, Lucent has some 70,000 union retirees, with 50,000 dependents, for whom it was given responsibility when the company was spun off from AT&T Corp. in 1996.
The Murray Hill-based maker of telecommunications equipment has about 31,800 workers worldwide, including about 500 CWA members in New Jersey. All but about 250 of the workers around the country who are covered by the contract are represented by the Communications Workers of America. The CWA members include technicians at Bell Labs and installers.
Most of the IBEW members at Lucent are clerical and technical workers based in Columbus, Ohio.
Lucent company already has cut health benefits for thousands of nonunion retirees and their families.
In October, Lucent recorded its first profitable year since 2000. In past years, it had multibillion dollar losses and shed 80 percent of its work force through spinoffs and layoffs.
In trading Monday, Lucent shares rose 5 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $3.82 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $2.70 to $5.
© 2004 AP Wire and wire service sources
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