Oneida residents say Daily Dispatch is their #1 source of school news

Oneida Superintendent of Schools Ron Spadafora stopped by the Daily Dispatch office today to let us know the results of a community satisfaction survey related to communications from the district.

Respondents of the survey - over 400 total - overwhelming said their number one source of information on Oneida schools was the Daily Dispatch. While 75 percent of those responding cited the newspaper, the number two and three sources of information came from school employees and the district's twice-annual newsletter, respectively.

We discussed how the school district and the newspaper can partner and we agreed to start publishing a district column once a month, beginning in October.

I also offered the district superintendent a blog on our Web site, and would make the same offer to students, faculty and board members interested in writing about local education.

The survey included Oneida residents with and without family members in Oneida schools.

Full results of the satisfaction survey will be announced later this year; look for details of it in the Dispatch and at oneidadispatch.com.

Don't miss The Record's h.s football preview section next Thursday

If you are a fan of local high school football, make sure you pick up a copy of The Record next Thursday, Sept. 2, for our 48-page Kickoff 2010 special section.

The special section is the only area high school football guide that is free (assuming you are subscriber, otherwise 75 cents). Written and photographed by our award-winning sports and photo staffs, the section previews the fortunes of 21 local teams. Schedules and additional articles are also included.

Troy Restaurant Tour is Tuesday; support the Troy Boys & Girls Club

The first Troy Restaurant Tour sponsored by the Troy Boys & Girls Club is 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Ten downtown eateries are serving up samples of signature dishes to benefit the club.

The Record is the media sponsor.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que will serve pulled pork and baked beans in the club's parking lot, located at 1700 Seventh Ave., with local bluegrass band Big Creek providing live entertainment. Other participating restaurants include: Bacchus Wood Fired Pizza, Brown’s Brewing Co., Francesca’s, Holmes and Watson, Gelateria Lisa, Meka’s Lounge, The Red Front, The Ruck, DeFazio's and Wood-Fired Pizza.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 the day of the event; call the club at 274-3781. Maps will be available to participants describing the menu options available at each location. 

See troyrecord.com story for more details.

Busy month in August at The Record

Busy month here at The Record. A few highlights:

• Two staffers won awards in the state 2009-2010 New York State Associated Press Association annual contest. Chief photographer Mike McMahon won a second place award for spot news photography in the under 50,000-circulation category, while high school sports reporter Will Montgomery won a third place award for blogging in the under 25,000- circulation category for his blog, "Off The Record." Congrats to both.
• We had some transitions among people some of our readers and advertisers may know: Jessica Pasko, our business/higher education reporter, left to pursue a graduate degree in media management at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill. We are currently working to fill her position. Today is Danielle Sanford's last day in advertising; she is also pursuing a graduate degree (master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  We wish both of them all of the best.
• Lianne Webster-Kim joined the staff as night copy desk chief. Previously, she was special sections editor for the Hudson-Catskills newspapers. She and her husband Ray reside in Troy.
• We have begun two important construction projects on our physical plant: We are completing a facade repair effort begun in 2009 and we will start working on replacing most of our roof (we're repairing those part that are slate) next week.
• The Record's digital specialist, Tom Caprood, began his journey as one of 15 people selected to participate in our parent company's ideaLab by attending a gathering of his co-conspirators in Pennsylvania. The goal of the group is to develop and field-test ideas that are going to help transform our digital first company, Journal Register Co. Read Tom's blog about it.
• Speaking of Journal Register Co. .... Our CEO John Paton was named to be a board member of the Newspaper Association of America; read the announcement.