The following email was sent out to District 150 staff members at the end of business today (this is copied and pasted with no omissions, not retyped):
It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement effective December 2, 2009. This decision to retire earlier than my established date of June 30, 2010 is my determination.
It is because of personal and family reasons that I have decided to retire in December of this year as opposed to June, 2010. For too long I have not taken care of my health and not given my family the time that they so richly deserve. It is time for me to concentrate on getting my health back and spend time with my wife, children, and grandchildren.
our school district has in place most competent individuals who will continue to lead the district going forward. Our Board, the Administration, and entire district staff are committed
to our students and their success.
Ken Hinton
Superintendent
Peoria Public School District 150
3202 N. Wisconsin Avenue
Peoria, IL 61603
(309) 672-6768
A special meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday, October 14, to appoint an interim superintendent. My sources say that retired Morton School Superintendent Norm Durflinger will be appointed. Durflinger recently served as District 150’s interim Controller after the departure of Guy Cahill.
Merle Widmer has an update on the proposed Peoria Riverfront Museum:
No Museum construction this year. No Caterpillar Visitors Construction this year. Why not? The private sector hasn’t come up with the money they promised the county before the county agreed to put the issue on a referendum. Now officials are saying that no ground on either project will be broken until the middle of 2010.
They’re still short on funds, and negotiations between the city, county, and museum group aren’t going very well. Gives you a lot of confidence that this thing will really be successful if it ever gets built, doesn’t it?
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” the committee said in its citation. “His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.”
At best, this seems premature to me. He’s only been in office nine months, and he has no diplomatic accomplishments (as even the New York Times acknowledges), only rhetoric. Has the Nobel Peace Prize become nothing more than a global popularity contest?
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