The Richland Springs Eighth Grade English Class recently read and studied the novel, Hoot by Carl Hiaason. Hiaason is better known for his adult novels that are often mysterious crime thrillers, full of humor and strange characters, but Hiaason decided to write Hoot because of the continuing controversy surrounding the habitat of burrowing owls in Florida. He wrote the book for young people and won the Newbery Honor Award in 2003 for the book.

In the novel, Officer Delinko sees a pair of burrowing owls. He sees that they are only eight or nine inches tall, with spotted wings and amber eyes. Students in Mrs. Hall’s English class created life-sized papier-mache burrowing owls using balloons, newspaper, flour, water, and tempera paints. (photos elsewhere in paper) As they read the book, they did research on Florida, raptors, Seminole Indians, and the Everglades and learned how to write a business letter. The author, Carl Hiaasan, described the new home-town of character, Roy, with vivid details about the flora and fauna that live in Florida. He used descriptive writing which appeals to all five of the senses. R.S. students attempted to write descriptions of their home town, Richland Springs. Included in the newspaper are some examples of the paragraphs the students wrote as well as some photos of the burrowing owls they created. Class members are: Brianna Bradley, Stanley Butler, Deanna Grady, Melanie Hedley, Ty Mann, Josh Martin, Jacey Martinez, Bryan Maultsby, Dillan Parker, Taylor Terry, Brooke Vaughn, Colten Young.

Richland Springs, By: Melanie Hedley

Richland Springs is a tremendous football town. Every Friday night during football season, the citizens can feel the spirit in the air. From the field, comes a constant raging roar from the crowd. Richland Springs is a small town with great potential. We have a small community filled with the nicest people in the state. Richland Springs might not have many businesses or companies, but we are proud and thankful for what we do have. The Little Yellow Duck, the town’s only restaurant, serves the tastiest home-cooked meals for miles. Richland Springs is located in the middle of Texas. When people breathe in this fresh air, they think "hill country," but we think home. With the smell of coyote burgers, and the spirit of our favorite sport, Richland Springs is by far the best.

Richland Springs, By: Ty Mann

Richland Springs is a small, but very wild town. Richland Springs looks like it has just a couple of houses, but it’s mostly a bunch of pastures full of wheat and corn. Richland Springs smells like a pasture full of flowers and fresh crops because the town is surrounded by them. Richland has lots of good citizens. When someone is in Richland, he or she can here the birds chirping and the wild game running through the trees. Richland has lots of awesome kids running around town. Richland is a good, safe, and healthy environment to raise a family.

Best Place on the Earth: Richland Springs, By: Stanley Butler

There are five reasons a person should live in Richland Springs. The scenery is so beautiful here because there are not many people here to mess the town and its surroundings up. The water and the food from here are amazing. The water is so clear, and it has a sweet taste to it. In the mornings, it is so quiet a person can hear a bird chirp a mile away, and he/she can hear the spring running which keeps the Richland Creek from running dry. This town has many historical buildings. If one feels the houses, the buildings, or the grass and dirt, it feels like he/she has everything in the world. There is no pollution in the air anywhere around Richland Springs.

Richland Springs, By: DeAnne Grady

I have to say that Richland Springs, Texas, is the most amazing, beautiful, and natural town I know. It smells amazing because there are no factories, like in Dallas, Texas. Here, it’s all natural and beautiful. Richland Springs is just a little ole red-neck gorgeous town. The smell is wonderful, the old buildings are beautiful, and the school is great! Here, everyone knows each other. The population is 350. That’s it! Here, everyone gets along, and there isn’t much crime. Richland Springs is the place where anyone needs to be if anyone wants a peaceful and gorgeous place to be. It’s wide open, so anyone will have their own space. We always have a good time with everything that the City Council puts together or just something that the community of Richland Springs does. Everything that happens here is amazing. There’s no pollution, burglary, kidnapping, or anything else to worry about. It rarely happens. If anyone wants to come to the most beautiful, natural, and best smelling place ever, he/she should come see everyone in Richland Springs, home of the Fighting COYOTES!

Richland Springs, By: Brianna Bradley

Richland Springs, Texas, may look like a small town, but to many people it’s home. When and if someone ever comes to live here, that person would love the smell, because there are no factories and not many cars come through here, and of course, all of the wild flowers we have growing around here smell wonderful. Most of the buildings here are made up of brick, and the rest are made up of wood or stone. If a person touches the buildings and houses, they feel rough and smooth at the same time.

This town is quiet most of the time. Sometimes the only noise that is around is a train passing through, and the dogs howling with it. Now since there are not many stores here, we have to drive to the surrounding towns to get what we need.

I don’t know how to describe the taste of the town though, so to me it tastes like nature. If someone breathes in from his mouth, he can taste the air.

The school is the biggest and greatest part about living in Richland Springs, Texas. GO COYOTES!

Richland Springs, By: Brooke Vaughn

Richland Springs is a very small town in Central Texas. It has a population of only 350 people. It is mostly all open land. There aren’t any huge buildings or intersections like there are in the city. The air is pretty fresh because there aren’t any factories that pollute it. The weather is pretty normal, usually hot summers and cold winters.

It doesn’t snow that much, but every once in a while it might. It rains pretty often. At least this year it has. There isn’t much to do, but most people think it is just a beautiful place to be. There is hardly any traffic. One bad thing is that it is about forty miles to the nearest grocery store. There is a small school, grades K-12. Many of the people here raise livestock, mostly cows. Throughout the town, there are tons of dogs. It seems like there are millions of them. There’s not much to this little town of Richland Springs, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Richland Springs, By: Colten Young

Richland Springs is a town that’s really peaceful and not much stuff is done involving the cops. Richland Springs, in my vision, is really luscious and green. Also, Richland looks like an old western town. The smell of Richland Springs is probably the most vibrant smell of fresh air anyone can get around here. In the spring, people can smell all the wildflowers blooming, and in the summer, people can also smell the wheat in the air that’s getting harvested. In the winter, people can smell the beautiful smell of mesquite wood being burned in the woodstoves around town. In Richland one can hear the sounds of little sparrows and all kinds of little birds and animals chirping and making noises. Richland Springs gives me a feeling that I am in an old western town. In Richland people can’t really taste the town, but they can taste the air, and that air tastes beautiful.