Local News

Efforts to create an independent library district in Jefferson County are being fought by the Board of Commissioners, who intend to keep the existing library system’s assets and mill levy, should an independent district emerge.

The commissioners, who recently received a 1,354-signature petition favoring the new district, on Tuesday rejected the county’s participation in the venture.

Foreclosure rates declined by less than 5 percent in Jefferson County last year, though a backlog in the wake of a brief national moratorium may be partially responsible.

The county recorded 3,849 new foreclosures in 2010, down from 4,027 the year before.

And while the number of foreclosures has remained relatively steady, the causes are changing, said county public trustee Margaret Chapman, citing a trend away from variable interest-rate loans. Today, more mortgage holders are simply losing their homes as a result of the economy, she said.

Using handfuls of clay as a boat-building medium, Ken Caryl Middle School’s female students received a brief tutorial in physics and a larger lesson from a pair of Massachusetts Institute of Technology scholars: Math and science are not exclusively the province of boys.

The impromptu ship building, a demonstration of Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy, was indeed a challenge for a room of about 50 girls, who worked in small groups to build vessels intended to float despite the density of the material.

Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky announced Jan. 19 he will be stepping down from his elected position to accept a job as president and CEO of the Jefferson Economic Council.

McCasky, 50, a Republican whose term would have run through 2012, had previously sat on the JEC’s board as a representative of the county. His hiring was unanimously approved Jan. 19 at the nonprofit’s board meeting.