News-Record.com

The Cary High School student who put hydrochloric acid in a teacher's water bottle faces criminal assault charges. Beyond that, she should never be allowed to attend a public school again. The teacher took a mouthful of the poisoned water but spit it out before swallowing, thank God.* Doug

The minimum penalty under the policy he violated is suspension for the rest of the school year. The maximum penalty is expulsion from the school system and lental injection of the same hydrochloric acid in front of the science class. That should make the little bugger think twice before using a eye dropper of the acid and get it right for his next class assignment. * paraphasing the N&O story

Theoretically, it is possible for Clemson to remain unbeaten -- the Tigers don't play in Chapel Hill this season.* Doug

Finally! Some fool at Clemson got it right about playing UNC at Chapel Hill after 83 years and 400 and something straight losses. Theoretically Clemson could stop right now and claim victory like Ceasar did in England 2000 years ago for the first undefeated team in it's history after 14 games* Class of Slammed Dunk 62

I'm sure Clemson would like never to play in Chapel Hill again.

I saw the Tigers, with Tree Rollins and Skip Wise, almost win there back in '74 or '75 (I think). I seem to recall that Tree bit someone in that game.

Or was Tree's bark worse than his bite?

Doug,

What about the student who assaulted the Central principal last year? What would be an appropriate punishment in that case?

What do you think about the unwritten rule that Grier has told principals NOT to suspend?

quest,

I don't know all the facts in either case, but that rarely stops me from forming an opinion. So here goes.

Spiking a water bottle seems to me to be a premeditated, calculated act intended to cause serious harm. It's not the same as knocking over an adult who's trying to break up a fight. I'm not excusing the latter. It just seems to lack the premeditation and intent.

Suspensions are still happening although they're apparently down. If that's because some kids aren't being punished when they ought to be, it will result in worse trouble in the long run.

I'd agree that spiking the water bottle is a more serious offense - this could be grounds for attempted murder, or at least assault with intent to inflict serious injury.

That's not to say the Central incident wasn't serious, though. The student who assaulted the principal, whether premeditated or not, should face criminal charges in addition to a long-term (as in one year+) suspension or expulsion from school.

Bottom line: we don't need those kinds of thugs in schools. Quest, I've heard the same "unwritten rule" that principals have their hands tied by GCS when it comes to handing out suspensions. That's a recipe for trouble - you don't solve the problem by pretending it doesn't exist. The people who will suffer the most by this ill-advised policy are the good kids and the school-level employees.

And as for the Tree Rollins deal, I believe you are thinking of an incident that happened years later, Doug. Rollins, who was playing for Atlanta, got into a fight with Danny Ainge of the Celtics and bit him during the course of the brawl.

Maybe Tree was a serial snapper.

He might have nipped a teacher in middle school and never got suspended because he was already 6-8 and the star of the eighth-grade basketball team.

Sheesh, I've been reading too much of Connie's malarkey.

I'm sure Clemson would like never to play in Chapel Hill again.* Doug

Wrong! Clemson did beat UNC as the home team in 1959 at Charlotte. It was call the Carolina Showdown then. UNC and NC State play Clemson and South Carolina.

Every year the home team was decided what school gave up it's home game to play in Charlotte. Frank McGuire coach of UNC and Everitt Case of State gave up their home game that year in order to give UNC and State fans in Charlotte a view of their teams.

Needless to say! Yours Truly had the best game of his career and lead the amazing upset of the century in the Carolinas as a sophmore against his old playing buddies on the Carolina team from his prep school days. It was the first time in the ACC that a 7 footer had made a appearance in the leaque long before Tree Rollins. His name was Dick Kipley for you Carolina fans. Carolina had Doug Moe and Len Shaffer as their stars along with Dick. That game was play on Friday nite at the old Charlotte arena which was new then.

Yours truly was bench for the Saturday night game against State for sneaking around after the game for partying it up with the amazing victory after a bed check by Coach Press Maravich, Pistol Pete Dad.

Sheesh, I've been reading too much of Connie's malarkey.* Doug

No doubt about that Doug! But you do understand that "Easy" Ed Malarkey was a star forward for the Boston Celtics at that time and that ain't no Malarkey.

I heard the Cary kid just transferred to Guilford county. Okay, I didn't really, but what's to stop him?

This Somalia thing isn't so simple. The government is backed by Ethiopia, which is run by a regime little better than a terrorist state. Plus, the last thing we need to be doing is bombing another Muslim country. Even Christians in East Africa think Americans hate Muslims, and quite frankly our military actions haven't exactly had intended consequences in Iraq and Afghanistan. We really should not be involved in this.

Andrew, I gotta take exception with your opinions.
We didn't bomb a "Muslim country." We didn't use bombs at all. We targeted AQ terrorists, something we're doing in dozens of countries around the world.
Our military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan have had EXACTLY the consequences we intended. We replaced terrorist/terrorist supporting regimes in each of those countries, and are helping them fight terrorists and build a democratic infrastructure.
If those in Africa believe that "Americans hate Muslims" then it's largely a product of the mainstream media distorting the truth, as they are wont to do. Americans fight terrorists who murder Americans, and right now they happen to be Muslims. I don't hate my enemies, it clouds my judgement when it comes to fighting them. But I understand the threat they pose and support efforts to eliminate that threat, by force if necessary.

Andrew, what do Tanzanians think about the embassy bombing in '98? More Tanzanians than Americans were killed. Do they think the U.S. has an interest in pursuing the al-Qaida operatives responsible?