Mid Hudson Times Mar. 02 2016

TIMES MID HUDSON Vol. 28, No 9 3 MARCH 2 - 8, 2016 Adderley returns to the Ritz Page 25 3 ONE DOLLAR State qualifier Page 40 SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR Fiery sermon Black History Month service gets political at Ebenezer Baptist Church Temple Hill no longer a ‘struggling school’ By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] Shantal Riley Newburgh Ebenezer Baptist Church members worship at an African American Heritage Month service Sunday. By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] A service held at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday featured music and dance in honor of Black History Month and a message that black people are still suffering discrimination, specifically in the workplace. “For hundreds of years, since the days of slavery, blacks have had to fight an uphill battle to obtain their basic human rights,” said Rev. Deborah Chandler, addressing the congregation. “Many brave men and women struggled and fought for the rights of blacks. They fought for equal education and job opportunities.” On this subject, senior Pastor Bruce Davis Sr. delivered a sermon accusing city officials of discriminating against former City of Newburgh tax collector and congregation member Helen Murphy, who was terminated by the city in January. “She was terminated and not given a chance to plead her case,” said Davis. “Whenever someone is accused, legally they have a right to face their accuser.” Continued on page 2 WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM Temple Hill Academy has shed its “struggling school” status. The news was announced by school officials seven months after the school received the designation by the New York State Education Department. “I’d like to officially announce that we’ve received word from the state that Temple Hill has gotten off the list of receivership,” Newburgh Schools Superintendent Roberto Padilla said at a press conference at the school Friday. “This is a very proud day in our district.” Temple Hill was designated a struggling school by NYSED in July. The school was subsequently placed under superintendent receivership, requiring the school to show improved test scores and attendance, among other progress, under Padilla’s guidance. The intervention was part of an education reform package adopted by the state legislature last year. Had the school failed to show improvement within two years, it would have come under an outside receivership with potential for closure. “Today isn’t about who we were, but about who we are and our future,” Temple Hill Principal Ventura Lopez said. The principal praised students who managed to improve their scores on state tests. “At the end of the day, they perContinued on page 27