Wise County on the Web

A tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 6:00 p.m.

For the week ending 4/07/00:

The Story	In preparation for the next school year, a committee draws geographical lines to determine which students will go to Decatur's Rann Elementary and which will attend Carson Elementary.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	********
The Spin	The need for geographical boundaries escapes The Spin. Why can't one school serve kindergarten through second grade and the other serve third through fifth grades? When you have two physical school structures miles apart, it makes sense to have the kids attend the school which is closest to their home. But that's not the case in Decatur where Carson and Rann are a stone's throw from each other. So why will kids the exact same age be going to different schools based solely upon where they live?

The Story	Based upon the new geographic lines, Carson elementary will begin with 400 students and Rann with 600. The reason for the difference: Superintendent J. D. Kennedy says that there have been 22 new developments in the district and that eighty percent of those are modular homes. He added: "The majority of these developments are in the east and southeast section of the district. It makes sense to accommodate this growth by leaving additional space at Carson."
News worthiness	*****
The Spin	The unspoken and politically incorrect question is this: Will Carson Elementary be associated with poorer children? If this perception becomes widespread, will property values in the "Carson district" be negatively affected?

The Story	Newark City Council was criticized for a restrictive ordinance concerning manufactured housing. "I'll say it in this meeting," council member Frosty Stoll said, "We did this to keep out trailer courts".
News worthiness	**
The Spin	There seems to be a bizarre pattern in existence that requires an elected official, at least once per week, to take a shot a manufactured housing.

The Story	In the same city council meeting, Councilman Jerry Davidson argued that the council should not be able to restrict what people do with their own property. "This is the United States of America," he said. "You don't tell someone what they can do with their land. They do that in Cuba or Russia . . . ."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	This may be news to the Decatur Planning and Zoning Commission, comrade. (In a separate story, Decatur P&Z is considering an ordinance that any future commercial parking lots with "10 or more parking spaces shall provide interior landscaped islands". )

The Story	New county residents are upset that ranchers, by law, can shoot their domestic pets if those pets attack livestock.
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	The Spin sides with the city folks. The law , in part, reads "A dog that is . . . about to attack [livestock, other dogs, or birds] may be killed by any person . . . having knowledge of the attack". So if you hear about a dog having looked threatening towards another animal, you can fire away?

The Story	The Spin receives its first criticism in the Wise County Messenger as publisher Roy Eaton mentions it in his Thursday column.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Any press is good press. However, The Spin took greater pride in seeing reporter Tyrell Albin (who's pretty good) make reference to "WWF Smackdown", a program that we've touted at least two times before.

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

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