In Mar. 1 issue, Russell County News



Braden, 3, enjoyed the freezing air and white stuff that painted Russell County on Wed., Feb. 27, closing schools and giving youngsters something fresh to play in. And for older kids, an unplanned day of vacation from the winter drudge of schoolwork.

The children of Julie and Jeremy Coe, Braden, his 2-year-old brother Branson and friend Cassidy Stapp bundled tightly and soon immersed themselves in the alternate world of a winter wonderland outside their home in Russell Springs. They built small snowmen, made snow angels, rode sleds, even ate some of the icy stuff.

For the very young, it’s a blast of something exciting and new that assaults their senses, and they give in to a wonder that often fades as the years pass.

Take older kids, for example. Chances are many of them spent their day off lounging about the house in PJs, watching Disney or Nick, perhaps waving their Wiis wildly.

Go outside? It’s cold out there. Are you nuts?!!? Sadly, the magic is already fading for them.

There are very, very few adults in these parts who greet a brief encounter with a winter landscape with enthusiasm. Between worries about slick highways, high heating bills, and shivering from the creeping chill, grownups have nearly all faded from the fantasy.

And then there’s the problem of jobs while you have a house full of kids that were scheduled to be at school. Juggling kid care with things that must be done for work takes a toll, and dampens a lot of enthusiasm for days such as this.

“Take my kids, please!!” Apparently, sometimes there is just too much togetherness.

Between the icy roads and a galloping crud that also closed local schools for several days, the Russell County school system is having to adjust their schedule to make up for time missed this past couple of months.

The final day of the Russell County School calendar has now been extended to May 22 and at this point any other additional missed days will have to added to the end of the year.

Russell County Schools will be altering their regular schedules for the remainder of the school year to help compensate for time missed due to the weather and missed days due to sickness.

Russell County Board of Education school board members voted to allow Principals to alter school schedules to make up at least “34 minutes” of instructional time on a daily basis to offset the amount of instructional time students have already missed this school year.

Superintendent Scott Pierce says the “34 minutes” of additional daily instruction will be “absorbed” during the normal hours.

The added time will not require a change in either the starting or ending times for local schools.

These times are adjusted by shortening recess periods and beak time between classes.