Is the burning of Marsh Fork school enough?

Marsh Fork High School burned to the ground. Toxic black water sludge pours into the Coal River. Homes damaged from blasting on the strip sites up and down Route 3. Coal silos illegally constructed behind Marsh Fork Elementary School.

Children being forced to breathe coal dust and heavy metals, playing in a toxic schoolyard. A shameless attempt by a governor to deceive the parents of those kids at Marsh Fork Elementary into believing the school is safe.

Massey Energy running roughshod over the entire community, hiring only those who dare not oppose the raping of our mountains and streams. And if those same employees were to be injured on the job, resulting in a Massey safety violation, those same employees would probably be looking for a new job.

It’s no secret that Rowland Land Co. and the Raleigh County School Board were feuding over who owned Marsh Fork High School. Rowland Land has stated it has an interested buyer. (Hmmm .... Wonder who that could be?)

They wanted the school board to tear the building down, but the school board refused to accept ownership. Why is that? Could it be because the school contained asbestos? Need HAZMAT and lots of money to clean that up.

How convenient this fire! The asbestos has disappeared. Burned and breathed into the lungs of those living down wind. I bet the legal wrangling over who owns the school is gone, too. Rowland might even pay for the dozers to clean the damned mess up, but don’t count on it. Most likely it will be the taxpayer, the sucker.

We practically begged Bob Kiss and others to help us turn the school into a community center, but us suckers on Coal River don’t count.

So when is enough, enough? Had enough yet? If not, there is more to come. But, if you have had enough, wake up from that apathetic trance you are in and start demanding your rights. A good start would be to demand an outside, independent, professional investigation of the burning of Marsh Fork High School.



Bo Webb

Naoma

Teacher requiring specific computer program unfair

My son, a freshman at Woodrow Wilson and a U.S. Naval Sea Cadet, experienced a typical but inflexible problem with an English class.

A project was to be done using Microsoft Word, no exceptions, and delivered on the due date. No problem for most students, no big deal. Think again! If you have MS Works or another word processor, then a family must buy those products that are dictated by the instructor.

If your printer goes down, which does happen, and you cannot e-mail or bring a CD, the instructor responds, “It is not my problem.”

I understand the instructor’s dilemma. If it is printed, who cares what software it is printed from? Does it matter if it is handwritten? There are those who cannot afford the technology or understand the different file formats. Why do the instructors not have e-mail for students to e-mail their projects? Why does Woodrow not have a Web site where students can post their work?

So, buy MS Word and if, for whatever reason, your printer does not work at 10 p.m. the night before it is due, you get a zero? Yes! Where is common sense?

If the instructors are going to force a technology, let them accept it via e-mail or uploaded to the school’s Web site.



Larry White

Beckley