Here we are waking up to a rainy Monday morning, perhaps it will wash away some of the problems that Columbia saw last week...

Thursday night, September 15, was one filled with enough drama for an HBO mini-series.  The school board meeting was "THE" place to be that night.  About 100 residents filled the room and voiced their concerns to the board, at times it was uncomfortable to hear the accusations.  

Some of their rage stemmed from a video taken of an assault in a classroom at the high school on September 8.  Another recent video of a fight at the intersection of Ironville Pike and Kinderhook Road continued to fuel the flames.

The Columbia Spy has detailed this very well, so no need for me to repeat it here.  Suffice it to say that residents are upset about the bullying among students and even among the school board members themselves.   In the midst of all this turmoil, the principal has also resigned.  Fasten your seat belt Dr. Hollister, you're in for a rollercoaster ride up and down the Columbia high school hill.  

Dr. Hollister promised to address the bullying, but other than promises, I'm not sure there was too much anyone could count on.

I hope that the resident taxpayers will continue to fill the school board meetings.  Keep the pressure on these people.  Do not look the other way.  Thanks to every person that had the courage to ask the tough questions.

Some of our tax dollars could be spent on educating the students about bullying.  With all of the poverty in Columbia, maybe we need more practical classes like teaching children how to cope with dysfunctional family life.  It seems many of Columbia's children come to school filled with anger and empty on love.  I do not think that they know how to cope with their feelings.  In a poor community such as this, maybe we need to spend more hours on making these kids feel like they have a safe place at school, where they are accepted.  If we can accomplish that maybe then they will be able to actually "learn."