Ms. Baer & former Senator McDonald both richly deserve the recognition that comes with this award because they both clearly represent the ideals that Jack Kennedy embodied in "Profiles in Courage."

To paraphrase the late US Senator Lloyd Bentsen, "Sen. Marchione, I lived through the Jack Kennedy era, Jack Kennedy was an idol of mine & you're no Jack Kennedy!"

And the biggest pity of it is, it probably pleases her to hear that. Unlikely, but even she might change her mind by reading Ms. Baer's essay at www.jfklibrary.org.

I can't help but wonder how Mr. Betz handled cheating by his students in his previous career?

And how wonderful it is for him to know that now he'll forever be a part of the history of Fulton County!

I can't help but wonder how Mr. Betz handled cheating by his students in his previous career?

And how wonderful it is for him to know that now he'll forever be a part of the history of Fulton County!

Wait a minute, Fritzdawg. First of all, Price Chopper clerks DID NOT sell to the minor. Nor did clerks at any Stewart's, Cumberland Farms or several other "chain stores." The violations were mostly at "Mom & Pop" operations where a "sense of greed" might have been a motive. More likely, better training at the corporate- owned stores was the real difference. As to your comment about "looks 30," haven't you see the signs in the corporate-owned stores that say, "Sorry, but we card EVERYBODY who looks 30 or less." That policy apparently helped in their passing this test. How many studies have to be done that show underage consumption of alcohol leads directly to drunken driving which leads directly to unnecessary injuries & deaths! Wise up, Fritzdawg, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deserves praise for being willing to attack this problem comprehensively across the entire county. A good job & well done. The shame is that so many clerks DID NOT OBEY THE LAW!

I wonder whether the article's description of Mr Swartz as a Vietnam veteran is meant to be exculpatory or a general denigration of all Vietnam veterans. In either case, it doesn't belong there.

To believe that raises of 0% + 1% + 1.25% + 1.5% + 1.75% = 5.5% in total, you must use the "new math" of New York teacher contracts. However, to calculate the value of a teacher contract doing arithmetic in the old-fashioned way, you must consider their automatic "step increases" of about 3% per year, bringing the total increase in any one teacher's salary over the five years to more than 20%.

And lest you think Ms. Bush, the GASD Board President might think this was "wrong" in some way, consider the fact that her annual pension from the NYS Teachers Retirement System is $87,298!

Maybe parents should be teaching their children that respect for the law is more important than the objections of a teachers union. Children should be taught that the proper way to change a law is to obey it first, then to persuade the elected officials who passed it that change is needed. This is a classic example that child-rearing means more than providing food & clothing.

JoeK's thesis is valid as proven again & again by the Gazette's under-reporting of "the other NY team." And cidbil's comparison of "THE team" winning a game with the gifts of a three-run error and ridiculously sloppy base-running by their opponent with scoring ten runs in the first two innings of an away game is pitiful at best. LET'S GO METS!!!

Critical thinking requires an ability to understand that there are usually two or more sides of a question, making it necessary to analyze which is more reasonable & why. In my college liberal arts courses, my history instructors' exam questions often started with "Compare & contrast . . ." Apparently this teacher was awarded a Masters degree without ever having seen such a question.

Shenendahowa High School is not a military academy. A lacrosse coach is not a Marine drill instructor. The district did the right thing!