ALL three National Merit Semifinalists from Central High School went on to achieve National Merit Finalist. They are Nina Scheibe, Josh Wen and Janna Trautwein. This puts these kids in the top 1 percent of high school students nationwide. This is big news and speaks highly of the school system here. In my opinion, a story such as this should be front-page news. I have been watching for this in the paper, as I am also interested to find out if the Semifinalists from the other local schools also achieved Finalist. Central also has two Commended Scholars this year, Adam LeGrand and Margaret Goodman. They have never been mentioned in the paper as far as I know. Congratulations to all of these hardworking young people. If there are others out there, congratulations to you too. I am proud of you and proud of our school system.
WHY must people in the news media use charged words to demonize and dramatize events? A recent Southeast Missourian article told of a "high-powered rifle," and the term "assault rifle" is common as well. What makes it "high-powered"? Compared to what? If the writer (and the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department) had any intellectual honesty, they'd simply call it a rifle.
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