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 04/20/02:

The Story	The New Fairview city secretary asked the Wise County Commissioners to provide 911 addressing service for the city. The commissioners tabled the action until "they have a formal request from the New Fairview City Council."
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	*
The Spin	Considering the New Fairview City Council's penchant for getting along, that may take a while.

The Story	As the Decatur ISD bond package nears a vote, H.D. Boswell continues his onslaught by writing letters to the editor that are more difficult to read than a George Will column.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Case in point: His April 21, 2002 letter contained a whopping 38 references to different numbers (i.e. "22 cent rate will yield $2,068,000", "add 2,000 new homes at $200,000", "252,000 square feet for 5.79 acres", etc.). Stop before our heads explode.

The Story	At an open forum for to discuss the bond package, former superintendent Kenneth McKay asked why the price per square foot for the new high school is higher than other area projects. Board member Stan Smith pointed out that an Alvord school had "a very nice big wall . . . that fell down during a strong win during construction . . . . They may be willing to deal with that, but I don't think we are willing to deal with it here."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	The anti-bond package group immediately retreated saying, "They should have told us earlier the walls weren't going to fall down." Unfortunately, Alvord residents began marching toward Decatur in protest over the remark.

The Story	The Bridgeport School Board approves an all night bowling trip to Denton for the senior class.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Well, at least they won't be hanging out in an area that has a reputation for smoking and drinking. Uh . . . wait a minute.

The Story	A mock car accident was staged for Boyd High School, complete with an overturned car, a fake dead body, a body bag, and a hearse. "The worst was getting zipped up in the body bag," the fake victim said. "The smell of death and the darkness, it made me sick."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Smell of death?

**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	8	163
Number of new births announced by parents with different surnames (or no father identified):	4 (50%)	52 (32%)

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

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