How safe are our schools? Headlines crop up across the country, and in Western New York, about incidents of violence in schools. Kids videotape other kids fighting, then post the video on YouTube. Parents flood school offices with concerns generated by the rumor mill and the internet. With the anniversary of the Columbine massacre coming up later this month, it's a good opportunity to take stock in the lessons learned from that tragedy and what's being done to make our schools—urban and rural—as safe as possible. We have two guests on this week's IMportant People on Buffalo.com: Stefan Mychajliw, the Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Community Relations for the Buffalo Public School District and Alan Holbrook, Business Director and Clerk for the Westfield School District. Join in the chat with your questions about school safety this Wednesday on IMportant People at noon.

Commemorate Women's History with IMportant People on Buffalo.com this Wednesday at noon when we talk with local historian and researcher Madeline O. Scott.  She's a native of Olean, but has lived in Buffalo for over four decades.  Scott traced her family's roots back to slavery in Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee.  A descendant of free residents from Ohio and New York, she's also studied the Underground Railroad in WNY.  Scott's had numerous articles published in journals,  is a member of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier and the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame.  To learn more about Women's and African American history in WNY and and get your questions answered check in for IMportant People on Buffalo.com.

Join Buffalo.com's IMportant People as we chat about careers and life for young professionals in Western New York with Ann Mestrovich, manager of Buffalo Niagara 360, a program for local young professionals. Buffalo Niagara 360 allows young professionals to connect and grow in stimulating work and social environments within Western New York. The program also gives employers a chance to identify, attract and retain high-skilled employees for the region’s future.  So, chime in Wednesday at noon on Buffalo.com's IMportant People to ask Ann your important questions, from Western New York’s job market to what young people can do on the weekends in Buffalo, and everything in between!