What a marvelously hectic week! I hope no one received any serious damage from those wonderful but violent storms! Talk about an answer to prayer; we received 1.7 inches of rain, our small shed blew over and we lost a few tree limbs. Still, praise God we had rain!

School will be out in a few weeks and I hope we can all make it! My students are tired, me and my fellow teachers are tired, and I can sense that our administration is tired also. It seems as if every day there is some new source of drama. Boys don’t want to get haircuts because school is almost over. Girls want to wear things that are not in dress code. It’s just one thing after another. Yet, this too shall pass and we will all have a long summer break.

I don’t like the long break because little or no time is spent trying to keep up with what was learned during the school year. Consequently, school starts and you have to spend the first few months reteaching the same material you taught the year before. I like the idea of year round school, with maybe three or four 3-week breaks. I think it would work better for all concerned. I know we used to use this system because of the farming system but few kids have to stay home to gather a crop.I believe most homes have two parents working, so the all-year-round school might work better for them also.

This scheme does not sit well with the students at all! I have told all my students to work with a dictionary and thesaurus this summer; Mrs. Brockman wants them all to keep up with their tables. Vocabulary and math facts are the foundation of all we learn. If our students don’t attempt to learn a higher vocabulary, then school only becomes more frustrating for them. I encourage all parents to make sure their students continue to work on reading and math skills. Please make them turn off the TV and get out a dictionary! TAKS scores should be in soon and I sincerely hope they are going to go well for all concerned.

Rumors are flying around town about the teachers, the City Council and who knows what else. It seems it is very difficult for our 300 residents to get along with each other. I have had a few people try to explain the reasoning behind the letter that went out about school board elections. The gist of it seems to be that those people who once used to be friends and neighbors have now become some tool of the devil.

Our sports program is the cause of all this trouble ( not my words), and unless everything is changed, our school will die. Opponents of that line of thought claim all the calls of lying and cheating are false and the people spreading the rumors are devil spawn. All things taken into account, it would seem that Richland is peopled by a large number of people who belong to Satan. I’m kind of fond of the folks on both sides, so some days are difficult for me. There seems to be grounds for discussion from both sides, but it doesn’t seem to be happening in an orderly fashion. I hope we can resolve our problems.

The City Council is having a difficult time. No official word has come out, but there seems to be an issue with the last vote. My bone with this is that I don’t get to vote on City affairs. My taxes go to the school, but my vote does not count at the city level. I shall have to go to the next meeting to see what the fuss was about. No one from City Hall called me to report.

Wayne and Gladys had a wonderful get together last Saturday. I’m told over 75 people signed the guest book. Pastor Fikes said there was some good eating going on! I missed it since I was attending my grandson’s, Dustyn, 6th birthday party in San Antonio. I hope everyone enjoyed their day with this wonderful couple.

My son, Scott, presented his Dad and me with a plaque and flag. It is a wonderful symbol of his time there. The flag flew over the convoy and I can’t begin to tell you how proud we are of that gift!

Don’t forget Memorial Day is this week. I’m going to get my class to fly some flags and we are watching films from several of our wars. Give my appreciation to any of your sons or daughters who are bearing arms for our country. Pray for our country, our precious soldiers and our government. I guess we will need to include our local government in that prayer also.