Hold on to your hats everyone; it’s the last week of school. I don’t know who is crazier at the moment, the teachers or the kids. I think the hardest task of all is for the high school students who have to stay focused and complete final exams! I can’t even imagine trying to make a decent grade with all the distractions of the last week of school. Still the goal at the end is worth it!Speaking of goals; the Baccalaureate service at the Christian Church was excellent. Coach Brand and his wife Amanda were the speakers for the evening. They followed up on the scripture that was read by Kensie Green, Hebrews 11 that speaks of running the race. I sincerely hope the seniors listened with their hearts, because the speech was given from the heart. Coach Brand and his wife have given many unselfish hours to our students over the last two years. For first time graduating parents, the moment is bitter sweet. There is such a sense of pride that their child has accomplished a major feat in their life, but the uncertain future looms ahead with all its pitfalls and dangers. It is certainly a bittersweet moment! We are extremely proud of our graduates. We are not many in number, but we are mighty in spirit. They leave with the best wishes and prayers of the community.The AR swim party is Tuesday. Our teachers and Mrs. Gossett work very closely to keep students focused so that they can go on this yearly trip. Your box tops help fill our library with new books to keep our students reading. Top readers awards were distributed last Thursday. I’m sorry many of you missed it. When you look at the amount of reading it takes to be top reader, you can see that Brianna Bradley, Cameron Parham, and Peyton Sloan each had to read close to or over one million words each! The younger students like Zachary Capps will fill their shoes when they move on to other things. I think Jacob Cohn, Jordan Gossett and possibly Courtney Grady were among the top readers as well. Mr. Fowler will do a better job of reporting that topic. Tuesday is a celebration of consistent success for all our readers. Congratulations one and all.I was saddened to see so many students and parents missing from the awards presentation. Mr. Fowler talked about our parental involvement. We have not had a parent organization for many years. Part of the problem is the need of parents to work to put food on the table. I know when I get home from work I am not keen on dressing up and going out again. We do have some wonderful moms and dads who show up for events and bake cookies for birthdays. Let me extend my thanks and gratitude for the wonderful role you fill in making our jobs a little easier.The end of the school year is especially difficult for our ladies in the office. All those little things that go into closing out the school year pile up in to a huge mountain of activities. I don’t know how they keep from screaming at the top of their lungs. Thank you, Delores, Pat and Linda, for all that you do. The ladies from the First Baptist Church will be delivering food to my home on Thursday and Friday for the end of the year luncheon that we have at my home. It takes a lot of preparation and assistance from these very excellent ladies. I know I couldn’t do it without their help. Thank you, wonderful ladies for all your help. The result is a marvelous little oasis of camaraderie, before we all head out to summer pastures. I love to hear the sound of happy people filling my rooms. Several of our teachers are leaving the teaching field for more fruitful and less demanding pastures. Teachers do get lovely vacations, but they need it to recuperate from a long year of leading reluctant learners to the fountain of knowledge! You know that old saying. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Please parents teach your student the value of a good education, great work habits and committed attendance. Those will open doors to a prosperous and successful future.Glen will be off to the Air Force in about three weeks. I hope to be able to work with him on his leash habits before he goes. Right now he is horrible. A hog made a hole in our fence this week and he snuck through into Todd’s pasture. He was like a kid in a candy shop. He would look at me and run away like a crazy dog. No matter what I did he wouldn’t come back. He tried one time and got snagged in the barb wire so that was it for him. He proceeded to find the nastiest pile of pig dung and roll in it. I could easily have shot him, except then I’d have to pay for him. We finally managed to get him over the fence and into his pen. He was forced to endure a bath to remove his lovely aroma. Tonight he rolled over the body of this tiny little frog he managed to kill. We have had several talks about this stink thing, but they seem to be falling on dog ears! I don’t know what I’m going to do if he ever catches that little cottontail! So far, that little fellow has escaped the big bad doggie! He is pushing his luck though because he hangs around my car! That little dog keeps me busy, that’s for sure!Friday is graduation at the First Baptist Church. The ceremony will begin at 7:30pm. I hope everyone can make it to celebrate the closing of a chapter in the lives of our seniors.Many people attended the house warming for Ed and Lara Smith. The house feels brand new, smells brand new, but is already filled with the love of old friends and community family. They should have many happy years in this lovely home. Sometimes it looks as if nothing good can come from horrible events, but this gracious country home helps to kiss the sore memories better. May God bless you and your family Ed and Lara.They tell me Billie Standlee is doing much better. I was able to talk to Mark Kate at the Baccalaureate and she is doing much better as well. Billie George McKinnerney is also doing better. We still have about 60 people on our prayers list. We added Billie Behrens today. It seems she had a little lump, and it turned out to be cancer. She is headed for the oncology folks Monday. Our prayers for a quick and speedy recovery are on their way to heaven.Don’t forget to vote next week. It is the duty and responsibility of every adult to make their vote count. We have some serious issues to decide this election year. I’m trying to instill in my students the honor and privilege it is to vote. So please set a good example, discuss issues with them and show them how important it is to vote.Please pray for our elections, our President, our government and most of all our precious troops and their families. I know my daughter-in-law is feeling the strain of being away from her soul-mate. My grandkids, like so many others, are missing their soldier parents. They too get anxious and down in the dumps when they can‘t get a hug good night, or a pat for a deed well done. May God please cover each house with an extra dose of peace that only He can give. Have a great week everyone. Watch out for kids on the roads.