Grass Burr (Weatherford, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, October 1, 1999 Page: 1 of 24
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National Guard
i Who’s That
•
: Grass Burr •
Sports
: WHS Hires New
Recruiters
j Roo
: Grab
•
: Vice Principal
page 8
• pagsl2
: pags9 :
page16
: page 5
Church Shooting Hits Close to Home
Students reflect on the Fort Worth shooting
► On
Wednesday,
September
15th, a
group of
students
met for
the
annual
See You
At The
Pole ■£
Rally. I
Senior |
Erie Lee
speaks to$
a crowd n
of liis |
peers.
Jason Allen
It’s not in
Columbine
anymore.
The sound of a nine millimeter echoed down
the hallways of a crowded Wedgewood Baptist
church and into the ears and hearts of millions
of people as Larry Ashbrook walked through the
front doors and opened fire.
The Wedgewood Baptist Church shooting
ignited a fire that will not easily be extinguished
anyime soon in Wedgewod, nor in Weatherford.
Ashbrook fired into a crowd of over 150
people attending a youth rally, killing seven and
wounding seven more. Although Ashbrook shot
14 of his victims, he left hundreds if not mil-
lions more with emotional scars too deep to heal
anytime soon.
“This incident has happened as close to home
as you and I want it to get,” said junior Lannessa
Glover. “This could realistically happen again,
only this time a little closer to home.”
Along with the majority of the people at the
See You at the Pole rally, Glover said she feels
that this is a way something good can come from
something incredibly sad.
“This hit me extremely hard,” Glover said.
“Now I have conviction, and with conviction
comes action.”
Hopes and fears drove many people to attend
the second SYATP rally, and those same hopes
and fears will continue to help prevent another
incident like Wedgewood said a speaker at the
rally.
Senior Kyle Brandon attended the second
SYATP rally for similar reasons and spoke about
the impact Wedgewood had on him.
“It could have happened to any of us,” Bran-
don said. “I believe something like this prayer
circle helps. This really hits home for me, Col-
Continued on page 7
Overcrowding Becoming a Serious Problem
High school environment threatened
Valerie Nelson
The 7:55
bell rings.
Students pour into the building from every
doorway.
Another school day is just beginning as 1,432
students head to their classes in a building origi-
nally built for about 900 students.
In past years, WHS has been more over-
crowded than it is now, hosting 1,800 students,
but the problem is building up again, even though
it was alleviated once Tison Junior High was
built and the ninth grade was removed from
WHS.
"We [the majority of the faculty] thought
when the ninth grade was moved down to make
the junior highs we would have room for every-
one,” Counselor Sylvia Anderson said. “But right
now we don’t hav^a single classroom that is
not being utilized.”
Principal Michael O’Shea said before the
freshman were moved to the junior highs, WHS
usually started the year with about 1,700 stu-
dents, and there were a couple years when it
began with 1,800 students.
“Overcrowding was a problem then, but it
was under control, as it is now,” O’Shea said.
“When Tison Junior High was built, many of &
the teachers from the high school went to the a
junior highs, but the bottom line is that the maxi- £
mum number of students a teacher can have is >>
co
150, and we have met that expectation every year o
at WHS.” Js
Chemistry teacher Elizabeth Calhoun said her
largest class currently has 30 students and she
had to move in four additional desks just so ev-
ery student would have a seat. She also said she
thinks the overcrowding is mostly due to a large
sophomore and junior class.
▲Overcrowding has become an issue
the entire WISD is facing, not just at
the high school. The community will
soon play a role in resolving this
issue.
Continued on page 7
The Grass Burr 1
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Grass Burr (Weatherford, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, October 1, 1999, newspaper, October 1, 1999; Weatherford, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1146804/m1/1/: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Weatherford High School.