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 12/07/02:

The Story	Alvord ISD shuts down due to 115 kids missing school with flu like symptoms.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	*******
The Spin	And the West Nile Virus was discovered in Wise County only three months ago? Where's rumor and panic when you need it?

The Story	Speaking of libations, Carol Giles of Alvord writes a letter to the editor blasting the possibility of wine and alcohol sales in Decatur. "[W]here is the Christian community or have our churches become therapeutic, theological tombs; graveyards full of bones sucked dry by secular socialites?".
News worthiness	*
The Spin	A bit dramatic, but we may have an Ernest Hemingway among us.

The Story	Amanda Higgins of Chico writes a letter to the editor praising the nice soul that found her purse in the Walmart parking lot and returned to the Lost and Found.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Isn't it amazing that we get excited when someone does the right thing?

The Story	Boyd public works employee Shawn York, 19, is arrested on a charge of "sexual assault" with a bond set at $100,000. Mayor Raymond Jordan said "he thought, with the bond set so high, that the judge must have thought the case was serious."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Trust us, there is no rhyme or reason to why a bond will be sky high in one case and only pennies in another. This case, hypothetically speaking, could involve alleged consensual sex with a 16 year old and still be labeled "sexual assault". (Note that the father of the alleged victim made the initial complaint).

The Story	Lloyd Jordan, 32, of Boonsville was arrested for possessing 64 pounds of marijuana.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Meanwhile, 780 pounds of Jack Daniels were delivered to the new liquor store in Rhome.

**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	509
Number of new births announced by parents with different surnames (or no father identified):	2 (29%)	166 (33%)

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

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