1 of 9

mailto:amgroup01@msn.com
717.427-1621 Fax

Stanley J. Caterbone, Pro Se Litigant

Advanced Media Group
1250 Fremont Street
Lancaster, PA 17603

April 26, 2007

Judicial Council
3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Courthouse
601 Market Street
Philadelphia Pa 19106-1790
Re:

Future Federal Courthouse in Lancaster County

Dear Sir or Madam:

With respect to your efforts of bringing a Federal Courthouse to downtown Lancaster, I would be
remiss if I did not share this information with you. In all due respect for the Federal Courts, I would like
to caution you regarding the conduct of Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Pennsylvania
personnel. I assume many of whom may wish to seek employment, should the opportunity arise.
I have had such horrendous experiences with respect to Court filings, rulings, and procedures, I
would hope that you would plan ahead to prevent the same problems from occurring at the Federal level.
Justice is the fabric or our nation, and it should be treated with respect and honor.
Enclosed are some copies of correspondence that I would like to share with you in the hope that
when the Federal Courthouse in Lancaster is operational, there will be an opportunity for me to conduct
my litigation free from misconduct.
I look forward to your decision on a location, and seeing your efforts come to fruition.
Respectfully,

Stan J. Caterbone, Pro Se Litigant

Advanced Media Group
cc:

Rick Gray, Mayor of the City of Lancaster

Senator Arlen Specter
Randy Patterson, Lancaster City Director of Economic Development
U.S. Congressman Joseph Pitts
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel

Enclosures

2 of 9

LancasterOnline.com:News:Feds eyeing much of city

1 of 2

Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era

Feds eyeing much of city

In search for courthouse site

Article

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/249582

Mar 08, 2010 00:24 EST

Harrisburg Pike and Dillerville Rd

Don't Link Tags

Map Related

By TOM MURSE, Staff Writer

Related Topics
Rick Gray (686)
government (224)
development (218)
Armstrong World Indust... (179)
Franklin & Marshall Co... (82)
courthouse (31)
Lancaster General (17)
Related Stories
Economy continues to leak jobs
Government workers, officials ta...
Why our leaders get a better deal
New fraternity might be moving t...
Visitors Bureau escapes latest p...

The federal government is looking beyond downtown Lancaster for a site to

build a $27 million courthouse, new documents reveal.
It's also considering the north and northwest parts of the city, an area that
includes the vast property being redeveloped by Franklin & Marshall College
and Lancaster General Health.
The decision to look outside the center of the city likely is due to the extensive
security requirements of federal courthouses, namely street setbacks and
secure parking, a congressional source familiar with the site-selection
process said Sunday.
"I assume this would preclude certain locations downtown and generally in a
more congested area," the source said.

Featured Jobs

The parameters of the government's search are outlined, for the first time, in
an "expression of interest" solicitation posted online at FBO.gov, the federal
government's procurement clearinghouse.
In geographic terms, they extend beyond the downtown locations judicial and
congressional sources described late last month.
The posting, which went online Thursday, is considered the first official step
in trying to find a location for a one- or two-courtroom building.

The General Services Administration, the agency of the federal government that owns property and leases it to the
federal courts, said it is looking for a 1-acre to 2-acre site.
It also describes the search location as being much of the downtown and including property as far north as the Amtrak
line between Dillerville Road and North Lime Street.
Though the specifications don't specifically mention any site, the parameters include the 77-acre site of the former
Armstrong World Industries floor plant.
F&M has developed about 30 acres of the razed former Armstrong World Industries Liberty Street floor plant into
athletic fields.

More Jobs

Lancaster General intends to use 17 acres for its facilities.

Local Video

"There's an awful lot of property there," said Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, who will meet with federal officials this week
to discuss plans for the courthouse. "It really depends on what Lancaster General does in the way of utilization of
their part of the property. LGH has considered a lot of different alternatives. I'm not sure any of it is firm."
The GSA said it is seeking property that is for sale or could be donated to the federal government. It has set a March
25 deadline for receiving proposals.
Finding and acquiring a suitable property likely will take months, but the feds expect to have a one- or two-courtroom
building constructed within three years.

Greenberg's Toy &

Tr...
0:01:34

The government has appropriated $6.5 million for site acquisition and design. The remaining $20.5 million would go
toward construction.
The U.S. Senate has authorized spending the $27 million for the courthouse; the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee also must authorize the spending.
Congress must approve of the proposal in the financial services and general government appropriations bill.
Elected officials, local law enforcement and attorneys have been seeking a federal courthouse for Lancaster for more
than 20 years.
Several possible locations in the city have been repeatedly mentioned: the vacant Bulova building on Lancaster
Square at North Queen and East Orange streets; the former Sovereign Bank office building at 23 E. King St., owned
by the Girard Estate; and the site of the former Gunzenhauser Bakery at 811 N. Prince St.
tmurse@lnpnews.com

Pet of the Week:

Buddy
0:00:36

And the Oscar goes

t...
0:05:00

Recent Posts
TalkBack comments about this article
Comment on this article
Why does it have to be in a city at all? Why not build it off of Route 283 near Mount Joy? What about southern
Lancaster near The Buck?

SMART REMARKS:
What ...
0:02:58

Andyinpa
One thing that is necessary is accessible public transportation for jurors. The City's proximity to the train station
and bus service makes it the only location to really fit the bill.

Pianos will take to ...

0:00:57

WriteofPassage
Crews raze former
Qu...
0:01:12

Comment on this article

Top Ads

3 of 9

3/8/2010 2:18 AM

Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era: Site sought for fed court

1 of 2

http://eedition.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/edition/CEAM/20100227...

Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

Site sought for fed court
Process likely to start next week

BY TOM MURSE, Staff Writer

The decades-long effort to open a federal courthouse in Lancaster is expected to
take a crucial step forward next week.
The federal government plans to launch a site-selection process for a $27 million
facility that would be built downtown, judicial and congressional sources said
Friday.
Finding and acquiring a suitable property likely will take months, but the feds
expect to have a one- or two-courtroom building constructed within three years.
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel, a former county judge who lives in
Lancaster and commutes to Philadelphia, likely would preside at the new
courthouse.
In an interview, he said all branches of the government are committed to moving
forward the much-anticipated project.
"It's clearly a priority of the East District, and it's clearly a priority for the General
Services Administration," said Stengel, 57. "There's a push to get this done. The
process of site selection and acquiring and hiring of an architect -- once those
things are done, construction should proceed rapidly."
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts announced Friday that the GSA, an agency of the federal
government that owns property and leases it to the federal courts, will begin
seeking "expressions of interest" for property in the city.
The agency will post the request online at FBO.gov, the government's
procurement clearinghouse. FBO stands for Federal Business Opportunities.
The request is a sort of open invitation to the private sector, namely property
owners and real estate firms who can help identify a suitable site. The
government has appropriated $6.5 million for site acquisition and design.
The remaining $20.5 million would go toward construction of the facility.
The U.S. Senate has authorized spending the $27 million for the courthouse; the
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also must authorize the
spending.
Congress must approve of the proposal in the financial services and general
government appropriations bill, said Tom Tillett, district chief of staff for Pitts.
Elected officials, local law enforcement and attorneys have been seeking a federal
courthouse in Lancaster for more than 20 years.
"A federal courthouse here will aid in the prosecution of gang-related offenses,
illegal firearms and other serious criminal cases since police officers will no longer
have to travel to Philadelphia in order to testify," Pitts said in a statement.
"I'm going to work closely with my colleagues on the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee to move the project forward," said Pitts, a Republican
who represents Lancaster County. "Lancaster has waited decades for a federal
courthouse, and today's action is a concrete step toward beginning construction."
Lancaster's facility is expected to be modeled somewhat after smaller satellite
federal courthouses, such as the one in Reading.
It is expected to consist of one or two courtrooms, two judges' chambers, a U.S.
Marshals Service office and other offices for court personnel.
Craig Stedman, Lancaster County's district attorney, said the latest development
was "encouraging news from a law-enforcement perspective."

4 of 9

2/27/2010 5:01 AM

Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era: Site sought for fed court

2 of 2

http://eedition.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/edition/CEAM/20100227...

"We have a long-standing partnership with the U.S. Attorney's Office in

prosecuting some of the worst criminals in the county in federal court," he said.
"One of the only drawbacks so far has been the distance police officers, witnesses
and prosecutors have to travel in order to take advantage of more serious federal
sentencing guidelines.
"Anything which will cut the travel time will lessen the burden on witnesses and
give the police more time to work cases rather than sitting in a car to and from
Philadelphia," Stedman said.
In April, federal officials confirmed they were looking at sites for a satellite
courthouse in Lancaster city.
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray said there are several possible locations in the city:
the vacant Bulova building on Lancaster Square, at North Queen and East Orange
streets; the former Sovereign Bank office building at 23 E. King St., owned by the
Girard Estate; and the site of the former Gunzenhauser Bakery at 811 N. Prince
St.
Gray, who has been involved from the beginning with the plan to bring a federal
courthouse to Lancaster, said such a facility would save city police a lot of money
they now spend driving to other courthouses.
"Even if you have a pretrial conference, you have to go to Philly or go to
Allentown or Reading," Gray said. "It would certainly serve the community of
Lancaster -- not just the city, but the county -- by way of providing an easy,
accessible way to get to the federal courts, whether criminal or civil."
Stengel said the courthouse could also handle bankruptcy cases, so litigants
wouldn't have to go to Philadelphia.
tmurse@lnpnews.com
"It would certainly serve the community of Lancaster -- not just the city, but the
county -- by way of providing an easy, accessible way to get to the federal courts
... ."
Mayor Rick Gray

2004-2010 Lancaster Newspapers

PO Box 1328, Lancaster PA 17608, (717) 291-8811
Terms of Service Privacy Policy

5 of 9

2/27/2010 5:01 AM

Officials: Ex-bank best for federal courthouse

Pitts, Gray, Stengel all support East King Street site after tour of four possible locations.

By TOM MURSE
Lancaster New Era
Published: Apr 24, 2007 2:06 PM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - When it comes to finding a home for a federal courthouse in Lancaster City, elected officials here clearly
prefer the former Sovereign Bank building on East King Street.
The question is, will the feds go along with them?
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, U.S. Rep. Joseph R. Pitts and federal Judge Lawrence Stengel, who toured four potential sites Monday
afternoon, said housing a new courthouse at 23 E. King St. makes the most sense.
"It's the cheapest alternative. It's a great location. There's great parking already. It's available. You get in there right away," Pitts
said. "I think it could happen by the fall, but again you've got to give the courts and the GSA time to make a decision."
The GSA, or U.S. General Services Administration, is the branch of government that owns property and leases it to the federal courts
and other departments. It has the final say on which, if any, of the Lancaster sites will be selected for a courthouse.
The mayor's office is recommending the site to the GSA.
"My understanding of the process is we can provide information, and we've requested information in regards to that particular site,
that we will forward on to the GSA with a statement from the city that it is our preferred site," said Randy Patterson, the city's
director of economic development and neighborhood revitalization.
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who also went on the bus tour Monday, declined to say which of the four sites he liked best, but pledged
once again to bring a federal courthouse to the city.
"I think we're going to get it done," said the state's senior senator, noting that funding had already been approved for a Lancaster
court. "I'm not here wasting my time."
The three other proposed locations are the Bulova Technologies building at Queen and Orange streets; the Hager parking lot at North
Prince and West Grant streets; and a parking lot at North Prince and West Walnut streets.
Stengel said he, too, prefers the East King Street location.
"I certainly think there are great advantages to that site. It's capable of being secured. It's vacant. It's owned by the Girard Estate,
which has experience in leasing to government tenants," said Stengel, who lives in the county and commutes to Philadelphia.
"And it's about the right size for what we need to do, and it has the potential for secure parking and entry. It's in close proximity to
the Lancaster County Courthouse," Stengel added. "Those were the reasons articulated by the mayor's office, and I think they make
sense."
The former bank would cost about $15.4 million to renovate into courtrooms and offices. Two stories could be added to the existing
three-story building, said Patterson, who served as tour guide during the bus trip.
Specter said he met earlier this month in Washington, D.C., with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals about
bringing a federal courthouse to Lancaster.
"Meetings are on the docket through June and perhaps into the fall," Specter said. "It is ripe for a decision.
Officials have discussed bringing a federal courthouse to Lancaster for more than two decades, and have said many times that such a
decision was imminent. They said again today that they are optimistic it will happen soon.
"I don't think we're talking another decade. I would be surprised if it took us another five years," said Stengel. "It's the use of public
money, and so they're careful about how to do it ... It won't be within the next six months, but it's likely it could be within two
years."
Gray, who served on a local bar association panel in the 1980s that sought to bring a federal courthouse to the city, said he is

6 of 9

encouraged by the level of attention the issue has received.

"This is the most movement I've ever seen. Senator Specter has always been committed to it, but I've never seen so much activity,"
said Gray. "There's more positive energy surrounding this issue than I've seen in the last quarter century."
Gray, asked how soon he thinks the government will settle on a site, said: "If it does happen, my guess is it would happen within the
next year or so. The planets are all lining up right. And if it was the Sovereign building, it would happen a lot quicker than if it was
one of the other sites."

Specter: Time for U.S. courthouse

Officials look at four possible locations in city
By Brett Lovelace, Staff
Intelligencer Journal
Published: Apr 24, 2007 2:14 AM EST
LANCASTER, Pa. - U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter pledged Monday to bring a federal courthouse to downtown Lancaster, a long-discussed
proposal that has been delayed by problems with financing and finding a suitable location.
"I am determined to see that we move ahead and get this done," Specter said. "It has been in the planning stage for the better part
of two decades."
Specter took a look at four possible sites for a courthouse during a brief bus tour of the city. Along for the ride were Lancaster Mayor
Rick Gray; U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts, who represents Lancaster county; U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel, a former member of
the county bench; Randy Patterson, the city's director of community and economic development; and other city, state and federal
officials.
The four proposed locations include the former Sovereign Bank building, 23 E. King St; Bulova Technologies building, Queen and
Orange streets; Hager parking lot, North Prince and West Grant streets; and a parking lot at North Prince and West Walnut streets.
"Lancaster is a major metropolitan area," Specter said. "(Putting a federal courthouse here) has truly had a lot of problems, and
there are very tight budget constraints," Specter said.
"Candidly, there is a lot of bureaucratic red tape that has to be cut, but that's what Congressman Joe Pitts and Arlen Specter are
for."
Gray, a former lawyer, said he served in the 1980s on a committee formed to bring a federal courthouse to Lancaster.
He endorses the former bank building because it is close to the Lancaster County Courthouse, county offices, parking lots and
garages and the convention center and hotel being built in downtown Lancaster.
The former bank would cost about $15.4 million to renovate into courtrooms and offices. Two stories could be added to the existing
three-story building, according to Patterson, who served as tour guide during the bus trip.
Specter declined to say which of the sites he favored or how much the federal government is willing to spend on a courthouse here.
He did say, however, that he met earlier this month in Washington, D.C., with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit Court of
Appeals about bringing a federal courthouse to Lancaster.
"Meetings are on the docket through June and perhaps into the fall," Specter said. "It is ripe for a decision.
"It is a great inconvenience to people in this community who have cases in the federal court to have to travel to Philadelphia," he
said. "It takes police officers off the street when they have to spend several days in a courtroom in Philadelphia, and the litigants and
the lawyers ought to have the availability of a station here."
The bus tour was scheduled to start shortly before 3 p.m. It was briefly delayed while Specter and Gray snacked on ice cream at
Isaac's Deli, 25 N. Queen St.
Specter wanted a milk shake but had to settle for peanut butter ice cream because the restaurant does not serve shakes.
Stengel, who lives in Lancaster but has his courtroom in Philadelphia, is optimistic about a federal courthouse in Lancaster.

7 of 9

"I think we are close," Stengel said. "The strongest evidence of that is the people who are interested and the people who are pushing
for it.
"It's not happening because Judge Stengel wants it to happen. It's going to happen because Sen. Specter and Rep. Pitts are strongly
behind it."
Specter and U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. both attended an anti-gang conference in Lancaster last month.
Casey did not join Specter for Monday's tour but supports the courthouse project.
"While in Lancaster last month for a roundtable on youth violence, I discussed the need for a federal courthouse with local officials,"
Casey said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I had to be in Washington today and was unable to be in Lancaster.
"I will work with Sen. Specter, Congressman Pitts and local leaders to do everything I can to expedite a new federal courthouse in
Lancaster."
E-mail: blovelace@lnpnews.com

8 of 9

Higher-ed
study spurs
Sturla to
action
Calls for community,
college advisory board
BY AILEEN HUMPHREYS
Intelligencer Journal Staff

When a national think tank Monday advised Pennsylvania to establish a higher

education advisory board, state Rep. Mike
Sturla announced plans to do just that.
Were trying to take advantage of the
fact that Pennsylvania has a wealth of
institutions of higher education, Sturla
said in an interview. This is about higher
education as (an) economic generator.
Sturlas proposal
would partner state
officials, academic
representatives
and businesses on
a board that would
make recommendations to the General
Assembly.
The recommendation by the Brookings Institution, a
nonprofit research
Rep. Mike Sturla group in Washington, D.C., came as
part of a report Higher Education
in Pennsylvania: A Competitive Asset
for Communities that acknowledges
many institutions already join forces with
their communities, but says the schools
resources arent fully tapped.
The report singled out Franklin &
Marshall College for its work with local partners including Lancaster General Hospital and James Street Improvement District in developing northwest
Lancaster. The school community was the
first in the state to be named a Keystone
Innovation Zone, a designation that gives

T U E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 0 5

HOME DELIVERY
$2.85 PER WEEK

50

Free to read
Students at Ephrata Middle
School can read whatever they
want, wherever they want,
every Friday morning.

Shutout in the snow

Amid furiously falling snow,
the Seattle Seahawks
pummel the Eagles, 42-0, in
Philadelphia.

Page B1

Page C1

A courthouse divided,
badly and bitterly

Site-based management
needs to go, study says
BY COLBY ITKOWITZ
Intelligencer Journal Staff

Please see STURLA page A4

In brief
Suicide bomber kills five
near Israeli shopping mall

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew

himself up among shoppers outside a mall
in Netanya, Israel, Monday, killing at least
five people. Page A2

Judge upholds some

charges against Delay

A judge dismissed conspiracy charges

Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but
refused to throw out money-laundering charges, dashing Delays hopes for
reclaiming his post as house majority
leader. Page A3

Lawsuit filed to
reinstate pay raises

A Philadelphia judge filed a lawsuit

Monday that seeks to reinstate the unpopular government pay raises, saying
that the Legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed the increases
two weeks ago. Page B5

W E AT H E R
Today: Partly sunny
and brisk. High 35.
Tonight: Mostly clear.
Low 21.
Wednesday:
Windy
and cold, chance of
flurries. High 32.

Lancaster Newspapers file photo

In this 2004 photo, Lancaster County Commissioners, from

left, Pete Shaub, Dick Shellenberger and Molly Henderson

attend a hearing in Conoy Township about a proposed ethanol

plant.

Convention center is
cause of breakdown,
commissioners say

Commissioners will
pay a hefty price for
infighting, critics say
BY DAVE PIDGEON

BY DAVE PIDGEON

Intelligencer Journal Staff

Intelligencer Journal Staff

For the Lancaster County commissioners, the political price of the past years divisive actions, court battles and infighting
is more than they can afford, according to
many community leaders.
Right now, they are under siege, former county Commissioner Paul Thibault
said last week. How are they going to
approach (the public) with a positive idea
when from the beginning of their term we
see them fighting with others?
Several critics predicted a frustrated
county constituency will be ready to
sweep Republicans Dick Shellenberger
and Pete Shaub and Democrat Molly Henderson out of the commissioners office in
the next countywide election.
If two years from now there is a lack
of progress, people may decide to go in
a different direction, state Rep. Mike
Sturla, a Lancaster city Democrat, said.

The commissioners say theyre working for the benefit of the taxpayers.
Yet many of their decisions have led
the county into expensive court battles
the proposal to turn a former railroad
right of way into a recreation trail; the
sale of Conestoga View nursing home;
Shellenberger and Hendersons opposition to the proposed hotel/convention
center; and the eminent domain takeover
of the Armstrong office building at 150 N.
Queen St.
I dont know how much attorneys
have made on their watch, but its
millions, state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong, a Refton Republican, said.

The turning point came on a Sunday

in May.
A rancorous debate about the proposed
hotel/convention center for Penn Square
had enveloped Lancaster city for weeks,
but county Commissioner Dick Shellenberger sat calmly in a North Duke Street
law firm with an attorney and county
Treasurer Craig Ebersole.
Community leaders and residents
were divided over whether private developer Penn Square Partners should
pay property taxes on the proposed hotel,
even though the city would own the building and lease it to the partnership.
At the law firm, Shellenberger, a Republican, decided to state his intentions.
He would seek to kill the Penn Square
project because, he said, it was putting
taxpayers at too much risk. Penn Square

Please see COUNTY page A8

Please see BREAKDOWN page A8

Paul Thibault

Sen. Armstrong

Sewage pollutes Longs Park pond

INDEX

MUTUAL FUNDS
BIRTHS
B2
B12
BRIDGE
CL6 NEWSMAKERS
C16
OBITUARIES
BUSINESS
B8
B3

OPINION
CLASSIFIED
C7
A10

BY P.J. REILLY
three or four days to repair the pipe and

PUBLIC NOTICES
COMICS
C6
C7
Intelligencer Journal Staff

drain and refill the pond.

PUZZLES
DEAR ABBY
A7
CL6

City workers began studying the pond

READERS FORUM
DR. GOTT
B5
A11

Lancaster city
workers today are ex- at Longs Park last week when many Koi,
SPORTS
FARM
B9
C1
pected to begin
draining water from the goldfish and catfish began turning up

LIFESTYLE

STOCKS
B10 pond
A6
at Longs Park.
dead.
TELEVISION
B6
LOCAL NEWS
B1
Charlotte Katzenmoyer, the citys
Tests showed the water in the pond was
WEATHER
C16
LOTTERY
A2

212th Year, No. 144

Copyright
Lancaster Newspapers Inc.
All rights reserved

Report
chronicles
5 years of
SDL woes

Page A 1

LANCASTER, PA.

LancasterOnline.com

director of public works, said about half

of the water in the pond will be drained in

order
to remove raw sewage that leaked
into it last week from a nearby collapsed
sewer line.
The pond then will be filled with fresh
water pumped from the creek that runs
through the park along Harrisburg Pike.
Katzenmoyer
said
it will take about

extremely low in oxygen and high in ammonia a byproduct of human waste that
is toxic to fish.
Katzenmoyer said the nearby sewer
pipe was identified Thursday as a possible
source of the contamination.
City officials found the breach by inserting a television camera into the pipe,
she said.

9 of 9

Sewage leaked from the hole into the

pond. Katzenmoyer said she did not know
how much sewage dumped into the pond.
Once the break was discovered, city
workers rerouted the sewage around the
leaky section and back into the pipe.
Katzenmoyer estimated between 300
and 500 fish died last week.
Im sure there are thousands left alive
in there now, she said. You can see them
swimming around.
The work on the pond and sewer
line is not expected to affect the annual Holiday of Lights program in
the park, according to Katzenmoyer.

A 94-page state Department of Education report released to School District

of Lancaster officials last week sharply
criticizes the district for its inconsistent
curriculum and poor budgeting practices
from 1999 to 2004.
The report, conducted during the 200405 school year by a five-member team
of independent educators, recommends
wholesale changes in district operations.
School District of Lancaster Superintendent Rita Bishop, who released the
report to school board members and
administrators Friday, said the district
already has begun tackling the problems
outlined in the report.
There are no surprises, said Bishop,
who took the helm at SDL in 2004 after
former Superintendent Ric Curry resigned amid charges he had improperly
directed district funds to family members
and friends.
After Curry stepped down, interim
Superintendent John Bonfield commissioned the study to document the districts
problems and get input on how they might
be fixed.
The studys foremost recommendation:
eliminate site-based education practices.
In 1991, the district implemented
site-based education, which gives school
principals power over everything from
purchasing to curriculum.
Focusing on the districts educational
program, the study observed, each building manager has essentially created his
or her own curricula without consistency
from building to building even at the same
grade levels.
The lack of a cohesive learning style
across the district can hurt students who
change schools midterm, said outgoing
school board member Mike Winterstein.
Please see SDL page A12

Saddams
trial sinks
into bedlam
Witnesses describe
scenes of torture
BY ROBERT F. WORTH
New York Times

BAGHDAD, Iraq The first witnesses took the stand on Monday in Saddam Husseins trial, offering gripping accounts of meat grinders for human flesh,
torture with fire and electric shocks and
mass executions.
The courtroom soon devolved into a
wild scene of shouting and chaos, as Saddam and his fellow defendants exchanged
insults with witnesses, lectured the judge
and veered into lengthy diatribes against
the tribunal.
Dont interrupt me! Saddam shouted
at the judge, who tried with little success
to make him stick to questioning the witnesses. Later, Saddam pounded on the
lectern and his microphone, comparing
himself to Mussolini and insisting that he
was not afraid to be executed.
The outbursts punctuated an extraordinary eight-hour session in which Saddam
faced victims of his governments massacres in court for the first time. The first
Please see SADDAM page A4

C
M
Y
K