Daily Five: World Record Tonight, To Recuse Or Not To Recuse

1. Today there is a chance of showers, with a high around 50, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight, there is a chance of showers until 9, and then the skies should gradually clear up, according to the service.

2. Tonight at 6:30 p.m., the World Sport Stacking Association is teaming with Oswegatchie Elementary School students to try to break the record for most cups stacked. So far, several families have signed up, and everybody is excited to break the record, Principal Dr. Nancy Macione said.

3. A note from Monday’s Representative Town Meeting meeting,

Before the vote, RTM members Rodney Pinkham, Robert Brule and Teresa Wilensky all recused themselves from voting because of a potential conflict of interest. Brule, the coach of the high school girl’s soccer team, and Wilensky, who helps with middle school drama, both receive small stipends from the school, and Pinkham’s wife works in the Waterford School District.

However, RTM moderator Sharon Palmer, who is the president of the teachers union for the state, did not recuse herself. RTM member John Foley said she should, because she is president of the union. Palmer disagreed, saying she got clearance from the Ethics Commission to vote on these contracts years ago.

Palmer voted to approve the contract, which might hurt her union, she said. Palmer said she voted for the contract because it was a good contract for the town, but if she was wearing her “union hat,” she would have voted down the contract.

4. Tonight, the Clark Lane Middle School PTO meets at 7 p.m. at the school. The PTO is looking for more people to join, according to the sign in front of Clark Lane Middle School.

5. On this date in 1973, at the height of the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon utters the now famous phrase, “I am not a crook.” And today is famous drag queen RuPaul’s 51st birthday.

Quote of the Day

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

-Steve Jobs

Trivia of the Day

What New York-born director, who directed The Aviator and Cape Fear, turns 69 today?

Yesterday’s Answer: Descartes said “I think, therefore I am.”