The “Times” - January 24, 2012
EDUCATION Students Give Voice to Democracy safe. Beginning with the
pledge of allegiance to our nation’s flag, led by VFW Post #5872 and District 29
James Gunter, and the
by VFW Chaplain Morris
Commander invocation Keeton,
various dignitaries were introduced by Freestone County Sheriff Ralph Billings. Sheriff Billings,
never at a loss for words, thanked the VFW for this “unique” night, saying it is “a great thing for our
“We will leave here tonight more comfortable and confident that the future of our nation is in good hands,” VFW State Commander John Spahr (above) ended his comments to the gathering of 220 Freestone County citizens who had come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the area school’s very impressive students, as well as recognize all those who keep our communities
kids.” Sam’s Restaurant, known by
anyone in Texas who has ever traveled down I-45, catered their signature meal of chicken fried steak, creamed potatoes, green beans, corn, mouthwatering bread, and, of course, peach cobbler. State Commander John Spahr
told the young adults (as he called them) about his “group”
of individuals, who are over 60 years old.
Commander Spahr said Senior Citizens are patriotic, “We love our nation.” “We are honest. We are the
ones who would return a billfold with all the money still intact, if we found one,” he expounded. “We are the ones who will take
in a stray puppy out of the rain and find its owner.” After all the of these positive qualities and more were stated, Spahr began to describe the “group’s” not so glowing characteristics. “We don’t like change – don’t muddy our water – change scares us,” Spahr said. He said Senior Citizens did not understand the young adults, “We are concerned about you.” The Commander indicated that some of them wear jeans around their knees, have pink hair with blue stripes, pierce various body parts, and said he would not even “go into” their music. “We get alarmed about our
country. Soon you will be the leadership of the United States of America!” Spahr declared.
He said the older individuals
listen to the evening news every night - over, and over and over - where they learn of teens involved in murder, rape, robbery and other violent crimes. Soon they begin to believe that these are representative of all the youth today. “After tonight, the Senior
Citizens here will realize that those news events represent a very, very small portion of the young adults today,” he stated and then made the comment about the positive future of America. Sixth, Seventh and Eighth
graders had submitted essays on, “Are You Proud of Your Country?” Of these, the following students were awarded the Patriot Pens:
Lori Massey, 1st Place (Dew); Madison Schick, 1st Place (Fairfield); Abby Knight, 1st Place (Fairfield); Claire Partain, 2nd Place (Fairfield) and Matthew McCully, 3rd Place (Fairfield). Over 70 students submitted
recorded Voice of Democracy (VOD) discourses on “Is There Pride in Serving In Our Military?” Thirteen received VFW Post 5872
honors. From Wortham, the top student’s speeches were: Katie Looney – 1st Place, Cammy Shaffer – 2nd Place, Rowan Miller – 3rd Place, Anna Jones - 4th Place, Briar Scruggs - 5th Place, and Chris Lee - 6th Place. From Teague: Nathanael
Havens received 1st Place and Amber Lancaster was named 2nd Place. From Fairfield: Brooke Johnson
– 1st Place, Morgan Phihoda - 2nd Place, Tyler Ezell – 3rd Place, Lauren Knight – 4th Place, and Ryan Knight – 5th Place. The three 1st place VOD
students presented their speeches, beginning with Brooke Johnson. “I love my warm bed,”
commented Brooke and went on to remind us that soldiers go for weeks and even months without a real bed to sleep in. Brooke spoke of her “Uncle
Scott” who serves in the military and how hard it was to say good- bye to him. The attendees were reminded
by Brooke that the soldiers keep us safe. However, she stated too many people take advantage of this.
Brooke asked that all branches of the service be honored. Katie Looney wondered why
such a question would even be asked. She spoke with pride of her uncles, grandfathers, and great grandfathers who, along with all soldiers, displayed courage and strength. Kaite said that it also took
courage to say good-bye to loved ones to fight for our country. “Words cannot express how
grateful we should be,” Katie concluded. Nathanael Havens pointed to
the tumultuous economic times and the budget cuts that the military has faced. Nathanael said that serving in
the military goes against human nature indicating that “most of
1’s
See “Voice” On Page 6-C
AWARDED THE PATRIOT PEN FOR THEIR ESSAYS are 6th, 7th and 8th grade students (l-r) Lori Massey (1st Place - Dew), Claire Partain (2nd Place - Fairfield), Matthew McCully (3rd Place - Fairfield), Abby Knight (1st Place - Fairfield) and Madison Schick (1st Place - Fairfield). See all our pictures online at
www.freestonecountytimes.com
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1-C
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