Good Sunday morning to all.\u00a0 Here’s some of the opinion writing swirling about in the region.<\/p>\n
The Watertown Daily Times<\/a> lambasts the legislative committee that cooked up new district lines for the North Country’s Assembly and state Senate seats, decrying the impact on Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties.<\/p>\n The Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Redevelopment carved up Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and put portions of them in five Assembly districts and three Senate districts. Where two senators and two members of the Assembly now represent the tri-county region, its unifying, common interests will be fractured and parceled out among eight lawmakers under the maps released last week.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Plattsburgh Press-Republican<\/a> says Ticonderoga and Crown Point are on the right track exploring the possibility of a school district merger.<\/p>\n Both schools face declining enrollments. Ten years ago, Crown Point had about 350 students; it now has 280. Ticonderoga went from 1,100 students then to 900 now. The drop in students isn’t unique to those schools; many districts in the North Country have seen similar declines.<\/p>\n Those two factors \u2014 proximity and fewer students \u2014 are indicators that the districts would be wise to consider whether joining together would make them a stronger entity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n