Few events celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in area

HARLEM VALLEY - Of all the schools in both Webutuck and Pine Plains school districts, by press time, only James Glynn, principal of Cold Spring Elementary School in Pine Plains, responded to a question for this article asking what his school did to celebrate the holiday.

 

"We did have a morning announcement from a student council member that took place on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the actual date of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth," Glynn wrote by e-mail. "The announcement described the significance of the day as well as why there would be no school on Monday. In a fourth-grade classroom, a teacher read the ‘I have a dream’ speech."

Glynn added that he created a quiz that was posted on a board in the main hallway with questions about King’s work and his life.

"Classes were invited to answer the quiz, create their own questions and list their dreams," Glynn wrote in his e-mail.

Millerton Presbyterian Church Pastor Nancy Thornton McKenzie said the area needs to actively celebrate King.

"We need to rethink about our days off," McKenzie said. "How do we honor someone instead of run with another day off of work? He is very important because he is an example of how people are called to serve others and for justice."

The church held a service on Sunday celebrating King’s life.

"We need to take time to pause to remember," she said. "Also to encourage and thank God we had a person who was valiant enough. He is a focus of justice and peace for everyone."

style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial"of all the schools in both webutuck and pine plains school districts, by press time, only james glynn, principal of cold spring elementary school in pine plains, responded to a question for this article asking what his school did to celebrate the holiday.>