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Bruce,
Good Luck with your new adventure. You will be missed. I have appreciated our talks over the years and hope that we will run into each other sometime!

Good luck with your new job. The Chalkboard will never be the same. It will get taken over by socialist editors and then it will die.

Bruce, I hope when the little Bruclings come along that you'll get the rest of the way outta here. Please don't let them go to Guilford county schools!

Run Bruce Run!

Loree,

I'll do my best to keep the Chalkboard alive and stave off the "socialist editors."

But I admit that being from the north, I don't have Bruce's innate Southern charm. Guess my Northern charm will have to suffice.

Thanks Jennifer, we know you'll do a great job.

Now that you're down here it doesn't matter where you're from...just matters what side of 85 you live on! (Jim Moen can help you with that)

Brrr!

Bruce,

You need to write "The Lottery Scandal" before you leave.

Bruce,

Please do keep in touch via the Chalkboard. Now you can say what you want!

Jennifer & Bruce,

Either of you covering the joint meeting tonight between the Commissioners and School Board?

Jennifer,
Just keep remembering the five Ws, be objective, get comments from both sides, and be skeptical of both political sides. Your bosses have forgotten these fundamentals of journalism. This is why I have cancelled my subscription.

Bruce, we'll miss you and Jennifer you always do a great job so I'm not too worried about thing. Who is going to come in and help you with the education beat now?

One more thing before you go Bruce, could you write an opinion piece on the good and bad parts of the school system and and any parting advice to GCS? That would be an interesting article to read and on the bright side if you make anyone mad they can't refuse any more interviews.

Good luck Bruce and thank you for the great education articles over the years! As a teacher, I appreciate you and Jennifer publicly asking the questions that many teachers and administrators can not.

Good luck to you Bruce. Once you start a family might I suggest one of many fine private schools in High Point. The Dot, Susan, and Alan (better known as the 3 Stooges) socialist agenda is unable to penetrate any of these fine institutions of learning.

Just one quick question Bruce. I read the athletics scandel article again. What in the world did Dr. Grier coach? Did I read that correctly? Was it...

1. Tiddlywinks
2. Shuffleboard
3. Texas Hold-em
4. Olympic Curling

I never realized the guy was such an athletic supporter.

From the LTE in the event anyone might have missed it. I apologize for the long post, but the reading is worth it when you see how our Dr. tells tales about avoiding open meeting laws.

Secret' meetings justify lack of trust

With all the distrust due to secret meetings that spawned the High Point Choice Plan, I was not surprised by the article on Feb. 10 in regard to the High Point City Council and Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier holding two meetings without public notification.

As a citizen of north High Point, I have learned over the last two years that I can have little faith in High Point officials and school board members listening to the concerns of their constituents. It is clear that their view of High Point is the only one that matters, and they will continue to have our schools treated differently from those in the rest of the county.

As for Dr. Grier, who said in the article that if these were Guilford County Schools meetings he would have informed the public, I have one question: If you felt the public should have been invited to discussions on a topic this important, why did you attend them anyway? Answer: That is how things get done in High Point.

To the board members in Greensboro who ended the Choice Plan, I make one final plea to stop this insanity.

You have enough votes to end the redistricting and focus on fixing the problems in the schools via hard work, not shuffling students.

Jeff Peeler
High Point

Posted by News & Record at February 15, 2006 03:00 AM

Jeff,

"As for Dr. Grier, who said in the article that if these were Guilford County Schools meetings he would have informed the public"

Ah, yes. Dr. Grier is always concerned about having open and honest meetings with the public, huh? Well, check out this story that was published in School Board Administrators Magazine, School Business Affairs,October 2003 edition. Dr. Grier's own words don't sound to me as though using techniques to avoid open meetings laws is anything new to the Dr.

"Inside Peek: How Members of the National
School Public Relations Association Are
Handling Budget Issues
Dr. Terry Grier, Superintendent of Schools, Guilford County (North Carolina) Schools

“We cut $6 million from our budget last year. We carefully planned and conducted a news conference. I, as superintendent, was present along with our financial officer and board president. “We had established a priority list, 1 through 32. We talked about the pain associated with the cuts and how we tried to keep them as far away from the classroom as possible.

“Prior to the news conference, board members were brought in, in small groups (so as not to violate the state’s open-meetings law), and given a complete update. Next (and prior to the news conference), we met with our central office staff and our principals. As you can see, we thought it essential to communicate [first] to those closest to us. We developed talking points for board members, principals, and senior office staff.

“We wanted to deliver consistent messages. We also
prepared all involved on how to respond to TV and
newspaper questions. We tried to channel all calls for interviews back through my office or our communications office, but realized that some folks would be caught off guard.

“We also spent time talking about how not to ‘shoot ourselves in the foot’ after the cuts; for example, [adding] no new central office positions, . . . remaining vigilant about evaluating board and central office travel, [being] careful about announcing new programs.”

Oh Bruce! How could you leave us? We are way more fun to keep up with than a bunch of stuffy lawyer types.

I wish you well, and many blessings to you in your new adventure.

You know where to find us when you need advise on school issues when those little ones start coming along! (It will happen...)

Love to you and yours,

Terrina

Bruce,

Thank you for your service to the citizens of Guilford County.

I think you finally saw the LIGHT where GCS is concerned.

Under the Constitution of "North High Point",,,,,I present to you, a "Generals' Star", in recognition of your service towards Truth, Liberty, and The American Way.

Thanks again,

The 17-Star Gen. Slak

YEAH! A star for Bruce! Not even that nasty Grier-inch can take that away.

Buckmtn, LOL! I have a visual with Grier and the athletic supporter...where would he even put one??

HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

Bruce,

I just flew in from Phoenix this morning from early spring training, and I was told that you are hanging it up at the Chalkboard? What's that about? You're going to go play for Winston-Salem Law? Hum, that'll be interesting....

At any rate, best wishes on your new endeavor. I know that you can have the same positive impact there that you did here. We'll miss your clever insights on the education front in Guilford, but as they say, you're going to a better place.

I know that you'll be hitting some home runs over there in Winston. Drop by Ernie Shore Park for a Wednesday noon game and see me (you did know that Ernie was a Red Sox too, didn't you, even though he was best friends with that D#$% Yankee Ruth?) I am always there; just look up in the press box.

Bruce:
I am sure we will here more from you in the next couple of weeks. Please stay in touch with the chalk board.

Thanks for a great job.

Garth

TEDDY!

Where have you been? We could sure use some baseball analogies! Lots of stike-outs with the GCS lately. They'll never see a World Series with the coach they have now.

Well, I've been in some cryogenics tank in Phoenix for the past several months, and I hadn't seen the News-Record, so I wasn't aware that some of the BOE members displayed good sense dispensing with the lottery. Good move. Now, I come back, and I find that my teammate, Babe Buchanan, is going to Winston-Salem, which is good, maybe I'll see him at some games at Ernie Shore Field now. He'll be appreciated there.

Yeah, the Guilford Nine looks to be in a pretty bad extended slump. I can't understand why the team hasn't dumped Coach Grier. Heck, when I was playing, the Sox let Pinky Higgins have a long run, and he was a terrible field manager, too. Finally, after many losing seasons, management woke up and fired him. It wasn't the losing that bothered them so much, it was when they realized that all those Red Sox Nation fans at Fenway were really disguised as empty seats. Now, that really got them concerned when they found that fans were going to other fields, sort of like students in Guilford going to private schools or the next county.

Well, I'm on the case again. I need to be here, I see, if Babe Buchanan has gone free agent to Forsyth.

By the way, to be correct, it is "Cracker Jack", not "Cracker Jacks". Everyone makes that mistake.

"Take me out to the ballgame, buy me some popcorn and Cracker Jack".

Of course Teddy Ballgame is back - spring training just started! But it looks like he's already in midseason form, judging by his recent posts.

I'll definitely be at Ernie Shore Field some this season. I hope to see you there.

And thanks for the honorary star, General. That's pretty cool.

Teddy,

oh yea, cuz "jack" has to rhyme with "back"..gotcha

but...isn't it "PEANUTS and Cracker Jack"?

just nutz,

Actually, it's Cracker Jack according to legend as follows:

1893 According to legend, a unique popcorn, peanuts and molasses confection that was the forerunner to Cracker Jack caramel coated popcorn and peanuts is introduced by F.W. Rueckheim and Brother, at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago's first World's Fair.

1896 Louis Rueckheim, F.W.'s brother and partner, discovers the process for keeping the molasses-covered popcorn morsels from sticking together. Louis gives the treat to a salesman who exclaims, "That's crackerjack!" "So it is," says F.W. Rueckheim, who then has the words trademarked.

No, it's popcorn and Cracker Jack, the way I sing it.

Teddy

Teddy,

Don't forget about the great prizes like whistles, metal "crickets", toys that actually work and I really didn't know of anyone swallowing them. We knew better back then.

However, there where those little red, white and blue candy "beads" in a bag for a penny that you sucked in with a straw. Now that did get in a windpipe or two. And the little pink marshmallow "pies" you ate with a tin spoon.

Of course, we just played outside most of the day, had fun and didn't worry about such silly things like skinned knees, etc.

I bet our friend, Mr. Produce, remembers penny candy and baseball cards for 5 cents a pack with good gum and great players like Mickey Mantle and Bill Mazorowski (spelling?). And of course, going to games at Forbes Field.

Glad you have dethawed, Teddy.

Barbara Ann,

Actually, the gum was never any good. I think that I have a couple of old unopened packs laying around. I'll give you the gum and let you sample it. It's not more than 40 years old. It probably not lost its taste.

You are right, Teddy, about the gum. Once in awhile you got a fresh piece.

But we all sure enjoyed hand picking penny candy.

Bruce,
You and I spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other during the Morehead/Peeler magnet program controversy four years ago. I was imressed, and I still am, with your journalistic skills and your professionalism. You will be successful no matter what you are doing. God speed, Ned

Thanks, Ned; I appreciate that.

But it always helps to have top-notch teachers like yourself to write about. The children and citizens of Guilford County are lucky to have dedicated educators like you.