Biz and ed on the same page

A few leftovers from this morning's meeting of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce education committee:

- Lynne Smith from the Community Foundation of Calhoun County, was one of 13 local representatives who traveled to Washington, D.C., recently for a summit of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, part of the national Chamber of Commerce. During the conference, she heard from business leaders whose top priorities included training students for whatever comes after high school. "We're all saying the same things," she said.

Smith said Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that if he offered investment advice, the room would empty as they rushed to call their brokers. But he said his best tip was to invest in education. The group also met with the ambassador from Finland, who said that the biggest shift in education there happened because of recession and the country had no other choice.

- Donna Jackson of Westinghouse Anniston delivered 24 boxes--one for each public school in the county--with school supplies donated by Westinghouse employees. She also said the deadline for $500 Wee Care grants--to help teachers with classroom needs--are due by 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14.

- The community foundation has 42 scholarships available to 2008 high school seniors worth anywhere from $500 to $32,000. The deadline to apply for those is Feb. 1.

- Bobby Burns, assistant superintendent of Calhoun County Schools, said he received a notice from the office of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., this week saying that Kennedy, chairman of the Senate education committee, would not offer any proposals for No Child Left Behind for the rest of the calendar year.