Latest news with #LinntownIntermediateSchool
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Young environmentalist rallies friends for ocean cleanup fundraiser
LEWISBURG — Ten-year-old Anna Langdon heard about a problem and didn't wait for someone else to tell her how to help. The fourth grade student at Linntown Intermediate School in the Lewisburg Area School District learned about plastic waste being dumped in the ocean, so she looked up a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, organized a fundraiser at the Lewisburg Arts Festival and convinced six of her friends to help. Together they raised more than $1,000 toward ecological protection of the ocean. "It's so stupid that people dump plastic into the ocean. Why there?" Anna said. "The ocean was here way before the land. It's a lot older than land and humans. We should probably take care of it since it was here first." Last year, Anna, the daughter of Crystal and Bryan Langdon, of Lewisburg, found out about The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization that is developing and scaling technologies to rid the world's oceans of plastic. Their aim is to remove 90 percent of floating ocean plastic by 2040. Humans produce 400 million metric tons of plastic annually, with an estimated 1.15 to 2.41 million metric tons entering the ocean each year, according to The Ocean Cleanup. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), located in the Pacific Ocean halfway between Hawaii and California, is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world's oceans. The GPGP covers an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France, according to The Ocean Cleanup. Anna reached out to the Lewisburg Arts Council to inquire about setting up a booth at the Lewisburg Arts Festival on April 26. She was granted a free booth at the community commons section of the festival. Anna brainstormed with six of her friends about their booth. Because it was a free booth for nonprofits, they were not permitted to sell anything, so a bake sale was off the table. Instead, they set up a kiddie pool where children could fish for Skittles among pieces of plastic. They held a drawing contest where the winner received a board game called "Mission Ocean," and they gave out seashells. While the children were distracted, Anna talked to the parents. She showed them a PowerPoint presentation and posters she made about ocean pollution and ways to help. Afterward, she explained they could donate to the cause in person or through the Ocean Cleanup website. In total, they raised $1,086. Asked why she had such a passion for the project, her answer was simple: "No one else is doing it." Crystal Langdon said she helped with some of the logistics of the project, but mostly she wanted to be hands-off with her daughter and her friends' idea. "I am just so impressed with their ability to brainstorm ideas. Anna, in particular, is not afraid to speak to people," Langdon said. "I was also impressed by their energy and effort. It was very successful." As a family, Langdon said they give back to the community, but Anna "took it to a whole other level." "The focus on the ocean and environment is all her," Langdon said. "With all the negativity in the world, it's very inspiring for her to do something positive." Della Hutchison, chair of the arts festival committee, said she stopped by Anna's booth early in the day to talk with her. "I told her she was my hero," Hutchison said. "I was just so blown away that a fourth-grader would be aware that the ocean needs help. I had no idea about that when I was in fourth grade. I certainly wasn't paying attention. I complimented her on coming up with an idea and following through. I wish we had more young people like Anna. I am super excited to hear that she did so well with her efforts." Additionally, Anna has a poem called "Global Warming," which she wrote and was chosen to read at the Bucknell National Poetry Month Project Community Reading as the fourth-grade selection. Anna said she wants to organize more fundraisers and events to help the environment. Anna's fundraising page can be found at
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lewisburg Area expected to raise taxes for 2025-26 school year
LEWISBURG — Lewisburg Area School District is expected to increase real estate taxes between 2.2 and 3 percent in the 2025-26 school year. At Thursday night's public meeting, the school board members directed Business Manager Kyle Winton to work on a budget that included a potential property tax increase within that range, a $400,000 transfer to the capital projects fund and the addition of three staff positions. The preliminary budget would be ready for approval at the May 8 meeting and the final budget would be adopted at the June 12 meeting. Winton presented an updated look at the budget with revenues at $44,695,058 and expenditures at $44,961,594. Winton said the deficit went from $211,000 at last month's public meeting to $86,157 at Thursday night's public meeting. The main differences are updated revenue projections in local contributions, basic education funding and Ready to Learn Block Grant, but there is less funding for special education. There are fewer personnel expenses, but increased costs in liability insurance, electricity for all buildings and natural gas for Linntown Intermediate School, Winston said. A 3 percent increase would equal .6 additional mills, which would bring the total millage rate to 20.67. An average property owner would see an annual increase of $87, Winton said. Historically, the district did not raise taxes in the 2020-21 school year. It increased taxes by 2.94 percent in 2021-22, 2.75 percent in 2022-23, 3.5 percent in 2023-24 and 3.5 percent in 2024-25. Superintendent Cathy Moser said the new staff members would be a middle school assistant principal, a new special education teacher and a board-certified behavior analyst. "There's rationale and justification for each of those," Moser said. Moser and school board members and officials praised Winton for his work on the budget. "The effort to bring the budget information, I greatly appreciate your work," Moser said to Winton. Director Cory Heath said the presentation was "informative" with some "pleasant news." "That's not always the case," Heath said. In unrelated business, Phillip Campbell, the director of college partnerships at Lackawanna College, presented a pre-college agreement that would allow students to participate in dual enrollment from Lewisburg Area. Campbell said dual enrollment students would spend $100 a credit, which means they would spend $1,300 for a typical semester instead of $9,200. Dual enrollment students can take college courses while they are attending high school. Campbell said one student will graduate from Lackawanna before they graduate from high school. He said his own daughter accumulated 30 credits before she graduated from high school and completed her bachelor's degree in three years instead of four. While the school board did not vote on the agreement, School Board President Erin Jablonski commented that she liked the presentation. In other business, the school board members approved: * Forrester Environmental, Inc., of McAdoo, to perform asbestos flooring abatement proposal for three middle school rooms for $20,300. * Clark Contractors, Inc., of Bedford, to perform Kelly Elementary School playground asphalt replacement for $67,083.04.
