With an album by Barry Bauer
continue reading "March Is Reading Month"

continue reading "Safety, state mandates impact SJPS athletics"

Main component of bond issue
continue reading "Academics drive renovations at St. Johns High School"

The St. Johns Schools for Tomorrow Committee
continue reading "SJHS tour scheduled"

Redwings rejoiced after taking the Division 2 State trophy Saturday – the school’s first state title since 1926 – when it beat Allegan 31-30.

See the album
continue reading "Parade to celebrate wrestling championship is March 8"

St. Johns certainly has a lot to be proud of after last weekend
continue reading "SJHS has a big weekend indeed"

Bond proposal on May 4 ballot
continue reading "St. Johns Schools for Tomorrow begins information series"

The musical production Villain of Venice
continue reading "LCS presents Villain of Venice"

National Eye on Biodiesel Awards
continue reading "St. Johns bus fleet manager among winners"

by Dr. Ken Ladouceur, Superintendent
St. Johns Public Schools
continue reading "Residents turn out for bond informational meeting"

St. Johns Public Schools will host a kick-off meeting
continue reading "School bond meeting is Monday Feb. 1"

District drama schedule
continue reading "Theater districts are Jan. 30"

Who says school has to be called off for it to be called a Snow Day?
continue reading "Kindergarten Snow Day"

Coming to St. Johns High School Jan. 29
continue reading "Coaches vs. Cancer – Suits and Sneakers"

The St. Johns Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously January 8
continue reading "Board of Education declines participation in “Race to the Top” Initiative"

The students at Gateway North are excited to share concert details with the community. The children have been working to prepare a special concert for our veterans. For several years we’ve held this concert in November, but due to scheduling difficulties, we’ve moved our concert to December this year.

We hope that all veterans and community members will be able to join us on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at Gateway North Elementary for our annual concert honoring all veterans, servicemen and women.

Concert times will be 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Both concerts will be held in the Gateway North Elementary Commons and will be approximately 45 minutes long. There is no charge to attend our concert.

Gateway North Elementary School is located at 915 North Lansing St. in St. Johns.

The Board of Education for St. Johns Public Schools held a special meeting Nov. 18 on budget issues, following recent reductions in per pupil funding to public school districts across Michigan. Since the current 2009-2010 budget took effect July 1, the state’s foundation allowance for this school year has been cut by $292 per pupil; a loss of $950,000 for St. Johns schools.

Due to the financial shortfall facing the district as a result of the lost funding, the board accepted Superintendent Ken Ladouceur’s recommendations to terminate the employment of four administrators: Director of Technology, Mike Andrews; St. Johns Middle School Principal, Jeff Elford; Transportation Supervisor Janet Kayser; Eureka Elementary Principal Roberta Glasier. Terminations take effect immediately. None of the positions will be filled.

In his comments at the meeting, Superintendent Ladouceur stressed the fact that the terminations were made necessary only because of the budget shortfall; it was not a job performance issue or due to negative evaluations.

The superintendent and board president Bill Tennant expressed their gratitude for the service that each administrator had provided to the district, adding that the decision to terminate the contracts was “very difficult.”

They also noted that additional cuts will be necessary, both in the current school year and looking forward to 2010-11. Indications are the state may implement an additional proration in per pupil funding for the current school year, and even larger cuts for the 2010-11 school year.

Tennant said that the board will discuss options for additional reductions in the current budget at its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 23.

St. Johns Public Schools newsletter is going digital. Beginning with the November issue, “Spotlight” will not be printed and mailed, but will be distributed via the district and other web sites to save printing and mailing costs.

You can check out the current “Spotlight” right here on the St. Johns Independent. Open the newsletter now. [9 MB]

Set in a square little town in the middle of a square decade, a guitar playin’ roustabout changes everything and kick-starts a hip-hoppin’, lip-curlin’ musical fantasy that will have audiences jumpin’ out of their blue suede shoes.

This year’s musical combines all-time favorite Elvis hits such as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Burning Love,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Don’t be Cruel.”

“I think audiences will love ‘All Shook Up,’” said Ashley Bowen, co-director of the Performing Arts department. “When I saw it this summer, I thought, ‘Here’s a musical that’s joyous, energetic, truly engaging and clever with a book that seems to flow so well in and out of every song.’”

Bowen describes the cast as “first rate” and believes the show will grab the audience from the beginning. “We are particularly excited about this show. We have some real powerhouse performers who have worked hard to make this an outstanding show. The show also features St. Johns High School’s varsity dance team which adds a whole new level of excellence to the production.”

“The show grabs you from the first moment with the excitement of “Jailhouse Rock” and doesn’t let go until the final number, “Burnin’ Love.” It will be hard to leave the theatre without humming these great Elvis tunes. It will be a treat for the whole family.”

All Shook Up is directed by Andrea Makarauskas and Ashley Bowen with the orchestra under the baton of Justin Valla. Technical direction is headed by Josh Heethuis, and acting coach, Barry Palmer round out the creative team.

The musical will show November 20 and 21 at 7 PM and on November 22 at 2 PM.

Tickets will go on sale on Monday, November 2, 2009. Call the box office at 989-227-4210. Tickets are reserved seating and $8.

The St. Johns Public Schools have announced the closing of East Olive School until Monday October 26. The closing was made on the recommendation of the Mid-Michigan District Health Department due to high rates of absences. Flu-like illnesses have produced absence rates of 30 % in the rural school.

East Olive Elementary School Principal Pat Steinhoff-Lokey and Superintendent Kenneth Ladouceur sent a letter to parents explaining the situation. They added that the decision was being made to prevent the spread of illness and that there have been no known hospitalizations of students or staff in the school.

Over 3 million miles that is and all of those on soy biodiesel Few, perhaps none, can tout the successes that St. Johns Public School District can on their track record of bus longevity and reduced service needs. This can, in part, be attributed to their attention to detail and their use of B20 (soy biodiesel). These successes can be traced back to the persistence of Wayne Hettler, Garage Foreman and Head Mechanic for St. Johns Public Schools since 1997 and the directive given to him when he hired in which was to keep good maintenance records and save the tax payers money by providing safe, affordable transportation for the students. To this day, especially with the state’s economy and continued budget cuts within the district, this directive still holds true.

Wayne began keeping better records upon his arrival at St. Johns, but all along he knew that in order to save the district money, they needed to make more changes.

“I knew we needed to not only keep current, but to stay ahead of the curve and be forward thinkers,” said Hettler. “One of the first big changes we implemented came in 2002 when we transitioned our entire 31 bus fleet and 9 diesel support vehicles over to B20 (20 percent soy biodiesel fuel and 80 percent regular diesel fuel). We made no modifications or changes to any of these vehicles.”

After just two years of keeping records since the transition, Hettler proved he saved the district approximately $3,575. “That cost savings really made the administrators and school board take note,” Hettler said. “Our administration has always been supportive of biodiesel and trusted my judgment and proof that this was the right thing to do for St. Johns.” Because of buses being traded and sold over the years, it’s been more difficult to compare apples to apples between their current fleet and the fleet which they started on B20 in 2002. And, with other cost-savings measures through the years, they’ve become a very tight run operation that, Hettler feels.

Since they switched to biodiesel, because of the added lubricity to the engines, St. Johns has been able to extend their engine oil changes from roughly 6,000 miles between changes in 1997 to 12,000-18,000 mile intervals, depending on the engine type. That alone cut filter costs down by more than half. Wayne pointed out that the other buses they service for surrounding school districts get their oil changed at 8,000-10,000 miles. “They’re not fueled with biodiesel and we don’t feel we can push them as far between oil changes.”

Wayne is also the creator/coordinator of Mid-Michigan Bus Parts Buying Group which brings together many transportation departments to buy items such as oil filters in bulk. “When I came in 1997 we were paying $21 per filter, now my cost is $10.71.” Additionally, three years ago St. Johns began using recycled oil. “It’s the cheapest thing there is and we’ve never had any trouble with it. It’s a no-brainer to pay only $1.77 per quart rather than in upwards to $7.00 per quart for other brands,” added Wayne. “I cannot see any performance difference between the oils and I’ve tested every kind of oil there is.”

All this time, Wayne continued using B20 in the fleet. “We have always secured our biodiesel from Wacker’s in Manchester. I trust them and have never received bad fuel from them. No matter how cold it gets, we’ve never had any gelling problems. Wacker’s delivers the fuel winterized, just like they do any other diesel fuel.”

Tim Wacker, Vice President at G.E. Wacker, Inc. said, “Wayne was one of our early customers on B20. With good fleet maintenance and biodiesel use, he’s never had any trouble. We guarantee our fuel to run year-round, and when it’s cold we have our special blend of additives to ensure the bio flows like it should. We supply biodiesel to farmers, universities, state fleets, schools, and even to several customers in the Upper Peninsula who also have not had trouble with our biodiesel.” Wacker provides fuel for both on and off-road vehicles and also for home heat.

Wayne went on to say, “From our 15,000 gallon tank, our drivers fuel their own buses and also have shared their excitement over the biodiesel.” Linda Rogers, a dedicated St. Johns Public School transportation driver for the past twenty years, has noticed and appreciates the differences with biodiesel. “When I started driving, we used full strength regular diesel fuel and in the winter the air around the bus lot was blue from the exhaust and smelled really strong. Since switching to biodiesel, it is much cleaner and smells much better. When fueling, you don’t have the smell on your hands all day. Your clothes don’t smell like diesel all day. It is a much better work environment and much healthier for the kids and the community.” Hettler says, “I think I’d have a revolt on my hands if we ever went away from the biodiesel. And, I know without a doubt that driver absenteeism has also gone down since we’ve fueled with B20.”

Currently, St. Johns Public School’s fleet includes 28 buses and 12 support vehicles. “Of our current fleet, 14 are still from the original buses we started using biodiesel in back in 2002. These used regular diesel before the switch. The remaining 14 have only ever been run on biodiesel,” according to Hettler. “14 of our 28 buses are tallying over 200,000 miles each, something we’re proud of. And our bus #14, a Freightliner with a Cummins engine, will roll over the 300,000 mile mark this week! Our total bus fleet mileage is now well over 3 million miles on B20.”

There’s an interesting story to bus #14 which is currently being driven by Rhonda Weaver who, although she doesn’t have the history of fueling with straight diesel ever at St. Johns, appreciates the district’s commitment to biodiesel and has never had a bus problem that was fuel related.

Hettler explains, “On October 10, 2002, bus #14 had 119,621 miles on the odometer. That was the first day of the rest of its life on biodiesel. And it’s important to note…it’s still running, and running strong! I believe that there is no other school bus being used on a daily route with over 300,000 miles in Michigan. The maintenance on this engine since it began on biodiesel is very low. One $160 lift pump and one $90 injector is it for unscheduled maintenance. We did replace the piston rings at 204,497 back on October 26, 2005, but this was work that we routinely performed on the ISB Cummins engines. We do this work as a scheduled maintenance because we feel that by doing this it will save us money down the road. Because we run our engines longer than anyone else, we don’t want to risk hurting an engine block.” Wayne also noted, “Bus #14 has the original VP44 pump on it. Long ago, Cummins had a campaign to replace those pumps, but #14 still has the original one on it. If not enough fuel pressure went to the pump, then the pump would fail. But, we had better lubrication of the pump by using biodiesel and haven’t had any problem with it.”

One area that people always question is any warranty issues. Wayne can verify he has had zero troubles with warranties. Cummins is actually warranting B20 and the others, “Well,” Wayne supposes, “After they hear of our successes, maybe they will come on board.” Perhaps they want larger scale fleet testing first, but Wayne feels he has all the proof they need. “Reliability, safety, reduced repairs, reduced oil change intervals and more! It was shortly after some testing Bosch did on our buses that Cummins began warranting B20.”

Much to Hettler’s dismay, due to additional budget cuts and a recent increase in the cost of biodiesel, their transportation department had to purchase a lower blend of biodiesel. They went from B20 to B5 for a short timeframe, but hope with their next fill to return to the B20 level. Hettler continued, “With a price difference of 12 – 20 cents per gallon more for the soy, we couldn’t quite cover the difference, but at 6-8 cents, we can. With the cost-savings we’ve experienced, I hope the community and administrators will find it important to not cut the fuel budget and allow our schools to continue fueling with B20. You cannot put a price on health, and I feel that by fueling our buses with B20, we have improved the overall health of our staff, the children, and the community.”

Five of St. Johns current bus fleet was here when Wayne started with them back in 1997. Their oldest bus in the fleet is a ‘96 and the newest is an ‘09. Hettler has set his buses up for the long haul…100,000, 200,000, 300,000 miles and beyond. “We used to consider a bus with 200,000 miles was ‘high mileage,’ but now that’s not the case for us any longer.” He’s not sure what the new “standard” will be set at for a “high mileage” bus, but he knows he’s broken the 300,000 mile ceiling and according to Hettler, he’s not done pushing these buses. “We figured 300,000 should be the limit on a bus, but bus #14 will have 315,000 miles by yearend, and we don’t expect to replace it. Now I realize 300,000 is not the top of the limit. Within a three-year period we’ll replace five buses, but I feel we can get closer to one bus every year…at least until I retire,” he joked. Roy Piggot, Business Manager for St. Johns added, “Wayne’s worth his weight in gold. I don’t know any mechanic around who could do what he has done with this fleet. We put our faith in him and his maintenance team. They’ve kept our buses on the road and the children safe all while maintaining an excellent maintenance schedule which we feel has been reduced in part by Wayne’s foresight of the benefits buses have with consistent biodiesel use.”

Although the whole school board has turned over since 2002 when we started on biodiesel, the board and administration still believe in the B20 program. Piggot added, “We’re glad we stayed with the program and it will likely pay off for us. Using biodiesel has allowed us to far exceed the reach of any other fleet in the state or nation that we’re aware of.”

With their fleet running close to 500,000 miles per year on biodiesel, they have proof that they have had far less problems on pumps and other maintenance issues then fleets not on biodiesel. “Back in 2002 when we made the switch to biodiesel, we knew it was a good thing, but until now we didn’t know how good of a thing we were onto,” Wayne boasted. “We found we set ourselves up to get more out of these buses and our fuel system than anybody else and perhaps more than we ever even realized we would. We are in a place where we go a little further on mileage. We’ve saved money every year on maintenance costs by using B20 which will hopefully get us through this financial crisis. We are glad to have stayed the course and there’s no doubt it has paid off.”

So, what’s up-and-coming for St. Johns? Most recently they’ve added a few super single tires instead of the dual back wheels. “Bus #14 happens to be one of the buses the super singles are on,” noted Wayne. “We’re testing them out for Michelin. Our drivers get excited about testing opportunities on their bus. We have many that jump at the opportunity knowing how great past ‘tests’ have turned out for us. It’s always fun to be on the cutting edge of the next cost-saving breakthrough.”
Hettler hopes that other school districts will follow and make the change to a more environmental friendly fuel. They’re unable to step up and do it because they like the safe zone. “We wouldn’t have all these successes and cost-savings if we weren’t always looking outside the box. B20 was a piece of the puzzle to cost savings, the first piece for us. B20 has extended the life of our buses and has saved our tax payers money without jeopardizing any safety. Outside of hydrogen, natural gas and propane, I don’t see us moving from where we are at now on the fuel end of it…maybe after I retire,” concluded Hettler.

A few quick facts:

* According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for every unit of fossil energy needed to produce biodiesel, the return is 4.5 units of energy.
*Petroleum diesel yields only 0.84 units of energy per unit of fossil energy consumed.
* Biodiesel made from soybean oil has a high energy balance because the main energy source used to grow soybeans is solar.

[Coutesy of Gail R. Frahm, Executive Director, Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee]

by Barry Bauer

The five members of the 8th grade graduating class of Harper School on Parks Rd. in St. Johns recently held a get together at the Bob Evans Restaurant in Owosso. They went on from the Kindergarten through 8th grade country school to graduate from the Rodney B. Wilson High School, Class of 1965.

Front row l. to r.: Louise Hicks Ferguson, Ken Love, and Lorraine Hicks Upton
Standing l. to r.: Les Warner and Dennis Blakeslee

Harper School, like so many other country schools in this Nation, no longer exist but the memories remain.

Bottom row: Steve Harper (not sure), Diane Williams, Dan Monke, Deb Harper, Keith Love, Sue Monke and Mark Williams

2nd row: Kendra Harper, Lynn Warner, Dee Ann Gill, Dave Harper, ? Suchek, Erik Monke, Linda Harper

3rd row: Wade Williams, unidentified, Les Warner, Louise Hicks Ferguson, Pat Harper, ? Fedewa, Norm Love

4th row: Kathleen Williams, Ken Love, Mrs. Wiseman (teacher), Dennis Blakeslee, Rosalee Yurcso, Tom Harper

Top row: Dean Harper, Lorraine Hicks Upton, Russ Hicks, Deb Yurcso

The St. Johns Varsity Football Team clinched a playoff berth win a 39 – 20 win at home over Owosso .

The Redwings take a 6 – 2 record to DeWitt next Friday night for the season finale.

.

Seniors
Brad Ivan
Mitchell Jewell
Connor Petersen
Ben Potter
Travis Scott
Jordan Terrill
Trisha Bellgowan
Audrey Canfield
Holly Hamlin
Aubree Loznak
Rachel Warner

Juniors
Breann Hartenburg
Connor Kingsbury

Sophomores
Jordyn Nurenberg
Jonathan Harden

Freshman
Cameryn Shaver
Seth Sutherland

St. Johns beat Charlotte tonight 31 – 21.

Al Nelson officially became the newest member on the St. Johns Public Schools Board of Education, taking the oath of office at the July 13 organizational meeting. Nelson ran unopposed in the May school election, assuming the seat vacated by Chris Harris who opted not to run for a second term.

Board officers for the 2009-10 school year remain the same: Bill Tennant, president; Scott Marier, vice president; Nick Koenigsknecht, secretary; Rick Drabek, treasurer. In addition to Nelson, trustees include Rhonda Dedyne and Phil Schrantz.

The organizational meeting also was a first for Dr. Ken Ladouceur who assumed responsibilities July 1 as St. Johns Public Schools superintendent.

St. Johns Public Schools recently recognized Chris Harris for his years of service as a member of the Board of Education, honoring him with a plaque during the Board’s June 22 meeting.

Board President Bill Tennant commended Harris for his dedication and commitment to the district, presenting him with a gift on behalf of Board members.

Harris served a four-year term on the Board, opting to not run for re-election.

The 2008-2009 school year is winding down, yet students are not only eagerly anticipating the approaching summer vacation but they are also looking back with pride at their accomplishments over the past nine months.

One of the activities undertaken by students at St. Joseph School in St. Johns earlier this year was a Lenten service project by the 1st and 2nd graders.

They gathered over 300 stuffed animals to give to the St. Johns Baby Pantry, Clinton County Ambulance Service, Clinton County Sheriff Department, and Pewamo Fire Department. The stuffed animals were to be used by these organizations to comfort children who had been through a traumatic situation.

Front row: Ellie Palmatier, Katie Protasiewicz, Kaitlyn Knapp, Jacob Wells, Tommy Brewbaker, Mitchell Gifford. Back row: Nicole Miller, Abbey Voisinet, Christina Martinez, Oliver Glinke, Gabby Dobernick, Erin Middleton.

Consolidation in works for pair of elementary buildings

A decision by the St. Johns Public School Board of Education at its May 18 meeting will result in the consolidation of two elementary buildings at the start of the 2009-2010 school year. East Essex Elementary will close at the end of the current school year, and classrooms at Eureka Elementary will be used next fall for student instruction in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The decision to close East Essex followed lengthy debate at the meeting where a number of parents and residents spoke in support of keeping the school open.

Board members voted 5-2 to close the school; Chris Harris, Nick Koenigsknecht, Scott Marier, Phil Schrantz and Bill Tennant supported the closure while Rhonda Dedyne and Rick Drabek opposed the motion.

Enrollment numbers at both schools was cited as a key reason for the consolidation. Using Eureka as a full, K-5 building is estimated to save the district $125,000 according to a report compiled by Superintendent Bob Kudwa that also cited student safety and an improved learning environment among the factors for combining the two schools.

Board members voting against the motion to close questioned the estimated cost-savings, noting that loss of students whose parents may opt to enroll their children in other districts was not factored into the projected saving. Additional concerns included a future use for the vacant building, and the perception expressed by families in that area that the district had not fully explored other options.

Members supporting the closure indicated their decision was not based solely on finances, stating safety concerns as a reason to combine the school buildings and benefits for parents in having all students together in one building. Under the current configuration, families may have students at both East Essex and Eureka.

East Essex has operated as a K-2 building, and Eureka has housed classrooms for students in grades 3-5 since 2002-03. Prior to that time, both had been used as K-5 buildings.

A total of 83 students are enrolled at East Essex: two kindergarten classes with 16 students each, 25 in first grade and 25 in second grade. Eureka’s current enrollment is 88: 26 in third grade, 30 in fourth grade and 32 in fifth grade.

St. Johns Public Schools is asking district residents and staff for guidance following the May 5 election and failure of the bond extension vote. Residents within the district are encouraged complete an online survey that is accessible on the home page of the SJPS web site.

“We thank everyone who took the time to vote in the May 5 election and appreciate their participation no matter how they voted,” says SJPS Board of Education President Bill Tennant. “Before making necessary adjustments to our strategic plan, we need to again listen to our community and our staff for their opinions and suggestions.”

All survey responses are anonymous unless the respondent chooses to provide their name.

Look for the link titled “Bond Issue Follow-up Survey” on the St. Johns Public Schools web site home page at http://stjohns.edzone.net.

The survey can also be accessed directly by copying and pasting the following URL address into your browser: http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/405cg3d66d.