Around Town

By: Ernie Wren

Big news this past week belongs to the Southern Boone Marching Eagles, which competed at the Wright City 2021 Marching Festival. Our high school band took home: 1st place in Indoor Drumline, 2nd place in Parade, 2nd in Indoor Guard, Outstanding Drumline in Parade, and 2nd place in Field Show. There were 15 participating schools, including bands from: South Callaway, North Calloway, Fulton, Hannibal and more. This is very impressive, and congratulations to our students, teachers, and the parents that support the band as they travel across the state. Personally, I’d love to see a special event featuring the drumline and the rest of the band. Other news this past week, which continues to draw praise and ire, from the public, is the Southern Boone school board’s decision to eliminate all mask requirements. Previously the school board has supported a “Safe Return” program based on masking when certain percentages of Covid and exposure/quarantine cases had been exceeded. Immediately following a protest by a group of anti-masking mandate parents, the school board reversed its stance on “Safe Return”. The decision did not sit well with many (as evidenced on the comments from the Boone County Journal) with the feeling that the board strayed away from doing what is safe for the children. On the other hand, some felt it was the right thing to do as mask wearing is a parental responsibility and choice. As with the rest of the nation, this is a very contentious issue. I do believe we have a school board that is trying to do the right thing, it’s just not black and white.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal