Local News from WIKY

When the new school year begins, some 4,500 students will take-part in special projects funded by the Evansville Rotary Foundation, the Evansville Education Foundation and the Love Foundation. Thirty-six grants were announced by the foundations for public and Catholic School classrooms. The projects range from an interactive unit on the Titanic, to environmental projects to development of Bluebird Trail at North Jr. High School. The foundations pumped $32,000 into the projects.

Patriot Coal's push to cut thousands of retirees' health care and pension benefits is in the hands of a judge. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kathy Surratt-States has until May 29 to rule for either Patriot or the United Mine Workers union, following a hearing last week. The company, which is a spin-off of Peabody Energy, filed for Chapter 11 protection last summer. CEO Bennett Hatfield has called the cuts necessary for Patriot's survival and the preservation of more than 4,000 jobs, many of them in Kentucky.

Lincoln School is returning to a traditional calender, after 17 years of year-round school. The Evansville Vanderburgh School Board approved the change Monday night. EVSC Superintendent David Smith says when Lincoln switched its calendar in 1996, the 21st Century Summer Learning opportunities weren’t available. They provide after-school and summer activities for students to help them stay engaged academically through the summer. Lincoln’s June intersession will still take place from June 10th to the 21st.

This is the week of the "Springing into Caring" food drive. It has two goals - to make people more aware of the need to collect food to feed the hungry people - and then to get the job done. The United Way of Southwestern Indiana and the National Letter Carriers Union are spearheading the effort. And Mary Blair of the Tri-State Food Bank is thankful. She says that during a time when the demand for food is higher, donations have been considerably lower. The event culminates Saturday when letter carriers will collect bags and boxes of food that people will leave at their mail boxes.