Watch out for pretend victims

Dear Editor:

I am asking that, with all of the recent flooding, someone please check into the work that is being done, especially in Rawl Hollow. There are people that are claiming to have been flooded and are receiving thousands of dollars in help. The flooding did not affect them in that capacity. The little stream that flows in Rawl Hollow would not have caused that much damage.

These people are taking advantage of what is meant for people who are in real need. They are receiving new bathtubs, new carpeting, new hot water heaters, you name it, all because they say that they were flooded. Shame on you! Those of you who live there and know differently, shame on you, you know better.

I find it sad that people ride on the sad happenings of others. It is sickening and degrading to the American people.

Angelique Davis

San Antonio, Texas

Losing students in the crowd

Dear Editor:

Now that the students have finished a school year and look forward to a happy summer break, I am reminded of my own graduation from Gilbert High School nearly 30 years ago. I remember wanting to get away, to explore all the world held. I also remember the trepidation I felt at the thought of going away to college...was I prepared, what would I do, would I succeed or find out I was not up to the task?

What I learned, and continue to learn, is that I was much better prepared than most, that my teachers had done a commendable job preparing us for lives outside high school.

Today, as I am writing on my dissertation for a much-delayed PhD, I still recall the wonderful teachers who made it possible for me to make it this far...Jim May, Arnold Mollette, Jennifer Miller, Pam Francis, and too many others to name here.

It pains me that the county will soon be losing so many high schools. The teachers at GHS, as well as the other schools that will soon close, I am certain, worked so hard to prepare us for the future. Consolidated schools with their large student bodies tend to lose students in the crowd. All my teachers knew me, they knew all their students, and, frequently knew their families. As students, we knew our teachers and knew that most of them truly cared that we succeeded; we also knew that they would not hesitate to contact our families if it became necessary. My daughter graduated from a high school in Indiana where there were nearly 700 students in her graduating class; my class, by comparison, had 72. Students and teachers were lost in the crowds; friendships were hard to find and even harder to maintain. Teachers did not get to know their students; it was also difficult for them to identify at-risk students because of the sheer number of them they saw each day. She missed a lot of what I took for granted at Gilbert. I hope the administrators and teachers who find their way into this new central high school will take every effort to make certain they take time to connect with students, to not lose sight of why they are there and of the long-term effect they have on the lives of their students.

Lisa Perry

Wheelwright, Ky.