Wise County on the Web

A tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 10:00 p.m.
(Note: To make sure you are receiving the most recent update, hold down the "Shift" key while you click on reload/refresh).
For the week ending 02/16/02:

The Story	A "smaller than expected" crowd of 125 shows up at a political forum at the Decatur Civic Center in order to listen to 18 local candidates explain how they plan to change the world.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	*
The Spin	After subtracting family members and the press, the actual attendance was officially announced as 7.

The Story	The proposed redistricting in the Northwest ISD, which combines students from the east and the west, has apparently become a social war. Jacob Winters, 12, a student at Chisholm Trail told a public meeting that "Some people don't want to send their kids here because they think we are all trash - stupid and drug addicts."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	"Kids Say the Darndest Things"

The Story	On the subject of Northwest redistricting, property values are also at issue. School Superintendent Keith Sockwell said, "People come to me and tell me their property values are going to go down if we put them in a certain elementary zone. Well, I don't care. I think about what the President said - no child, no child shall be left behind."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	We appreciate your spunk but you might want to be reminded that their is no position in the world that provides less job security than that of school superintendant.

The Story	Sheriff Phil Ryan addresses rumors that he will be leaving for a "high profile" position in Denton County. "I do tell them I'm thinking about it, but nothing's for sure yet."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Two thoughts: (1) Sounds like he's leaving, and (2) Why don't we get to learn of the name of the position in Denton County?

The Story	The Rhome city council agrees to increase the number of reserve police officers (read: officers that work for free) from seven to fifteen.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	God help us.

The Story	Last week, the Messenger's publisher wrote an editorial urging us to vote for Dave Deison over Craig Estes in the race for State Senator. This week, Estes buys a 2/3 page ad in the Messenger blasting the editorial.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	The Spin hereby declares every candidate unfit for public office and will allow all replies to be reprinted on this web site for $500 or whatever you can afford.

**Special Highly Technical Research Project to be Conducted Throughout 2002:**
	New This Week	Year To Date
Number of new births announced in the Wise County Messenger	7	76
Number of new births announced by parents with different surnames (or no father identified):	3 (42%)	26 (34%)

See something in the local papers that struck you funny? Then suggest a topic for The Spin.

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