I have returned from vacationing in St. Thomas and am ready to get back in the swing of things. I trust all went well while I was a way. Abby seems to have survived just fine.

A couple of updates: As many of you know, the final plan for the construction of a Rite Aid Pharmacy on the school property has been approved by the Town Planning Board. At this point, we are just waiting for the final papers to be passed for the real estate transaction. The target date was late January but it now looks like early February at best.

With sale of this property, most but not all, of the old school debt with be eradicated. When I have final figures I will share them with you.

When demolition and construction begin, we will have some temporary compromised parking I am sure. We will work this out as best as we can and publicize all the details. Patience will be necessary, guaranteed!!!

On another note, I will be meeting with the pastors of the proposed collaborative, along with Fr. Brian Kiely this coming Friday evening. I received a note from Fr. Mark Bishop, the administrator at Immaculate Conception, saying that after spending six months in Marlboro, he feels ready to begin talking about this.

I haven’t mentioned much about the collaborative recently for a couple of reasons. First, I was waiting for Fr. Mark to get settled and I know from personal experience that that takes time.

Secondly, the collaborative movement in the archdiocese seems to have slowed down as well. Phases I and II are being implemented and some of the early bugs are being ironed out. And, there have been no further developments as far as we are concerned.
Again, I will keep you informed as I get more information.