by Jordan Green, News Editor
Those of us in the newspaper business have one job: To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We aren’t supposed to frame news in a way that makes it look “good” or “bad.” We’re just here to report the facts and let you make up your mind.
With that said, sometimes, you just can’t help but call it like it is: We’ve got some great news for you in today’s edition of the Blackwell Journal-Tribune.
In this week’s paper, I reported on two wonderful things that have happened within our local school district over the last week. Haley Curfman, a teacher at Blackwell Elementary School, won a $25,000 grant from State Farm to help build a sidewalk to the school. Ashley Heitschmidt, the art instructor at Blackwell High School, has been named the Secondary Art Educator of the Year by the Oklahoma Arts Education Association.
First, let’s talk about the grant. The elementary school was built 10 years ago, but students have never had a safe way to walk to school. They have two options: Walk in the road where cars are, or walk in the bar-ditch, which is usually filled with water and trash. Not exactly a great way to start off a school day.
Thanks to Curfman – and the helpful Blackwell residents who got online and voted for her cause – our city has secured some of the funding it needs to build the sidewalk. City Manager Janet Smith has already started gathering the information needed to begin the construction process, so now it’s up to the City Council to allot the remaining funds.
Once that sidewalk is put in, it’s going to be a huge asset for our students. Let’s give a round of applause to the people who are making Curfman’s dream come to life.
While the sidewalk is welcome news for the elementary school, Heitschmidt’s award is exciting news for the high school.
The Secondary Teacher of the Year Award is the top award the education organization offers to high school art teachers in Oklahoma, and it’s one that Heitschmidt greatly deserves. She’s been in our school for several years, helping students discover artistic abilities they didn’t know they had. She has poured her heart out to help our students, and for that, our students are better off. Thanks to Heitschmidt, our children have been exposed to different cultural ideals, and they have found new ways to express themselves through art. They’ll be able to keep those abilities with them for the rest of their lives. That’s why Heitschmidt’s peers said she’s the best of the best.
Isn’t all of this great to hear?
Despite what you would think from watching the nightly news, there is a lot of love in the world today. Just look to our local educators: If they’re not busy teaching students new life skills, they’re making sure that our students have safe ways to get to class every day.
Blackwellites, we’re fortunate to have such wonderful teachers. We can’t thank them enough for what they do for our community.
There’s an old Anne Murray song I often sing when I’m working on something at the paper: “Sure Could Use A Little Good News Today.” Thanks to our local educators, I’m happy to say you can find plenty of good news in today’s edition of the Journal-Tribune.