More Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo Memories

An old friend from my childhood days, Richard Wilshire, told me he still had a signed photo of The Cisco Kid, as well as a Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo program from the 1950's. For many years, I, too, had a signed photo of The Cisco Kid on Diablo, his black-and-white paint stallion --who was rearing up in the photo. That photo was a treasured possession for many a year. 

Richard also remembered going to The Fair, the western store in Lott, every year to get new western duds specifically for the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo. The Fair Western Store in Lott --you always said it that way, so folks would know it was the western store, and not the Heart of Texas Fair--was where we all went for our western clothes--especially boots--they had many, many pairs of boots. We also went to Piazza Brothers Western Wear in Waco, located in the Westview Village Shopping Center, on the corner of Valley Mills Drive and Waco Drive. Another  childhood friend, Sandra Todd, owner and rider of the wonderful palomino horse named "Waco Joe", grew up and married Sonny Piazza--and they are still married, all these forty years later!

 (As you can see from the comment below this blog entry, Richard reminded me of one more western store, and I added it!) Another popular place to shop was Koonsman's Western Wear, first located on The Old Dallas Highway, then in Fairgate Shopping Center. My best friend when I was about fourteen was Kathy Koonsman, daughter of Rudy Koonsman and Mary Koonsman. Their fine son, Tommy Koonsman, died an untimely death from cancer when only in his forties. The horse folks back then were truly the salt of the earth and like family, and Kathy, Tommy, and all the gang were like my own brothers and sisters.   

 The western store, The Fair in Lott, was owned by the family of another old friend, Chester Springfield. It was always good to see Chester and his family while we shopped for the latest western fashions.  The Wrangler brand of jeans--cowboy cut-- were what all the real cowboys, especially the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) cowboys and cowgirls wore----not Levis!  Levis were for the James Dean "Rebel Without a Cause" punk look---oh, I had Levis, too-- but I loved my Wranglers. I remember going down to Monnigs, the big department store on Austin Avenue--Wasn't Cox's just across the street on the corner, too? My grandmother, Ann Ellison, had a charge account at Monnig's and wanted to buy my sister Sue and I some bluejeans--Well, we picked out our first pair of Wranglers at Monnig's and they cost FOUR DOLLARS a pair--that was in 1960--now, they cost what-- almost forty dollars or more, per pair?

Western shirts with big flowers or a lot of embroidery on them were also popular. The sharp-toed western boot was in, though boots were not available in many colors then. I loved a white boot the best, especially a white Leddy Brothers (Fort Worth western store), but that color was not very practical in the horse lot or arena. I was glad to see the Roper boot by Justin Boot Company come in style, as my foot is so wide from going barefoot all the time as a kid, and the Roper round toe is more comfortable than the sharp-toed boot. 

 It was absolutely just "the best thing ever"--- what you lived for all year long---to go to the HOT Fair and Rodeo and get to see all your childhood friends and horse buddies and make new acquaintances, most of whom would gather at the Coors Beer Tent-- whether they drank beer or not-- just to stand around talking --as Richard said, "Just to shoot the bull"--and some of them actually had ridden the bull, as we numbered many bullriders, bareback and saddle bronc riders, lady barrel racers, calf ropers, and bulldoggers in our local bunch, as well as several professional rodeo clowns, including Bobo Athey, Dan Willis, and his brother, Billy Willis. The Heart of Texas Fair was definitely a good excuse to get the newest, most fashionable western duds to show off to the cowboy crowd and "be styling" around the fairgrounds and the Beer Tent. 

 Sometimes our bunch would go to the Midway for the games, the rides, and the food, but the big draw for us always was and always will be the rodeo. What many wonderful memories I and my friends have of the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo, and I would not trade a one.

My Favorite Memories of the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo

Growing up in the 1950's on a steady diet of western shows, my sister, Sue Ellen Head, and I loved the cowboy stars and their horses---especially, the beautiful, wonderful horses. The first rodeo I ever saw was in the Heart of Texas Coliseum, about 1954, and Hopalong Cassidy and his white horse,  "Topper",  were the guest stars. Or it could have been Gene Autry and "Champion the Wonder Horse"--- it's only been fifty-three years ago! When Roy Rogers came to town about 1958, Daddy took Sue and I--and we were just little kids--- to the fairgrounds early one morning and left us there all day to help walk Roy's six palomino horses used in his performance. We were crushed to find  there was more than one "Trigger"!

We also had the thrill of walking "Jubilee", Dale Robertson's chestnut horse with a flowing flaxen mane and tail. "Jubilee" was one of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. Other favorites were the Cisco Kid's "Diablo", the Lone Ranger's "Silver",  Tonto's "Scout", and Dale Evan's " Buttermilk".

I will never forget the first Grand Entry I rode in.  Sue and I had bestowed the name of "Champ" on our beloved old nag in honor of Gene Autry's "Champion the Wonder Horse". When I was about ten years old, I decided to ride Champ out to the heart of Texas Fairgrounds and ride in the Rodeo Grand Entry, at that time a big event with hundreds of horses and riders. Figuring Daddy would say No, I didn't even ask him, but just took off that evening on Champ, going down North 5th Street from Cameron Park and heading up Colcord Avenue, straight to the Fairgrounds, a good ten miles or more from our house. Trotting on the sidewalks almost all the way, Champ and I made good time. We were almost to the Coliseum when Daddy pulled up behind me in his yellow 1950 Ford. He wasn't all that mad, so Champ and I made the Grand Entry, then started for home, back down Colcord in the dark, with Daddy following us in the car all the way, to make sure that skinny little girl on that scrawny old nag made it home all right! 

When I was about fourteen, I had again ridden Champ to the Rodeo and was sitting on him out by the cattle barns.  My cousin, bareback rider Tommy Merritt, was sitting on the fence, talking to a familiar-looking  man. It was Clu Gulagher who played "Billy the Kid" on television and was the star of the Rodeo that year! Tommy motioned me over and introduced me to Clu, who romantically kissed my arm from my wrist to my elbow. I didn't wash that arm for a week!

  As a young married woman--married to a real cowboy, of course!-- I was standing in the Heart of Texas Coliseum alleyway when an extremely handsome, very muscular man with brilliant blue eyes and dressed in a turqoise muscle shirt, black pants and black boots--definitely not a cowboy-- came up and started talking to me.   He had a foreign accent --either New York or New Jersy. I finally understood he was inviting me to a party in his hotel room after the rodeo. I snapped, "I'm married", and decided to ignore him. Ten minutes later, he rode into the arena and was introduced as Robert Conrad of the TV show, "The Wild, Wild West!" 

A Goodbye

A Goodbye:        To My Wonderful DePaul "Family":

Almost seven years ago, I walked into the DePaul Center as a switchboard operator. Little did I know that I would become part of a loving, caring "Family"of wonderful friends and coworkers. It is the caring people, the women and the men, who make DePaul such a special place. I will never forget your kindnesses, your caring, and your great friendship. I will treasure forever the time I have spent with my coworkers and dear friends at DePaul. My resignation will be effective  the first week of October, 2007. I will miss you!

Note:     I am working full-time at the school now as a special education/inclusion/instructional aide---a teacher's aide--for Fifth and Sixth Grades. That position is Monday thru Friday. After October, I will be off on weekends.      Hurray!

Someone is Lying!!! Is it Sharla Knippa or Carla Sigler?

Recently received legal documentation shows conflicting testimony about the incident with the 2007 Cranfills Gap valedictorian, my niece, Kaitlan Head, and the 2007 Cranfills Gap salutatorian, Sarah Sellers, on May 9th, 2007, that resulted in the valedictorian being banned from campus and her own graduation. Being in education myself,  I have always wondered about involvement in that incident of the teacher, Sharla Knippa.

 According to Sharla Knippa's notarized statement about the incident, she--- Sharla Knippa, the teacher in charge of the class--- LEFT THE ROOM WHEN THE INCIDENT STARTED!   She states: ".....while I had gone to get Dr. Sigler when the situation began....."!   Having been in many teacher trainings, I can assure you one of the first things one is taught is that a teacher NEVER leaves the room without another adult watching the class, especially if there is a situation that might escalate.  This would be especially true if the teacher was aware an incident or situation was beginning. My God, what was this incompetent woman-- this teacher-- Sharla Knippa, thinking? From her statement, it is clear she was thinking that a situation is beginning, so I have to leave the room to find the superintendent!  If that was the case, this very incompetent woman should be fired and not allowed to be in charge of any students ever again! What the teacher should do in an escalating situation is call for assistance over the intercom system--if you don't have an intercom system, you send another student for assistance---you don't leave the room when a situation is developing, when anything could happen, with obvious passions running high--that is incomprehensible and totally unacceptable behavior by anyone in charge of students! 

. Sharla Knippa's statement does not state that she-- the teacher-- even witnessed the incident between the valedictorian and the salutatorian---it appears from her notarized statement that she was not even in the room when the incident occurred. This would fit with statements from the tape-recorded hearing for Kaitlan on May 16th, 2007, where Sharla Knippa can be heard on the tape saying that no one had ever asked her what happened---was it because she was not in the room and did NOT KNOW what happened?  Superintendent Carla Sigler, reading the statement of salutatorian Sarah Sellers,  states --on the tape-- a different account of happenings that day than Sharla Knippa's account in her statement. SOMEONE IS LYING!!!!!! 

I also have a problem with the document itself.  The document appears to be written in the handwriting of Carla Sigler, not Sharla Knippa. It is also appears to be signed in Carla Sigler's handwriting.. Why would Carla Sigler hand-write or sign Sharla Knippa's statement about the incident? Perhaps I am mistaken, but this documentation strongly suggests that Sharla Knippa's statement was written by Carla Sigler, not by Sharla Knippa. I guess this is a mystery Kaitlan's attorney is going to have to investigate.

And guess what? Handwritten below the statement is the signature, "Mrs. Sharla Knippa" and  the date, "May 9th, 2007"-----however, NEITHER IS NOTARIZED! The statement, signature, and date are all the same handwriting, appearing to be that of Carla Sigler. And guess what again?!!! Below that unnotarized signature and date is a SECOND signature and date---"Mrs. Sharla Knippa, May 22nd, 2007", which IS NOTARIZED, and the handwriting appears different--or is it?  Janet Cox, Cranfill's Gap Secretary notarized this second signature on May 22nd, 2007. Did Carla Sigler write the statement of Sharla Knippa, date it May 9th, and at a later date, May 22nd, had Sharla Knippa sign and date it, and notarize-- what, the statement, or Sharla Knippa's signature? Or did Sharla Knippa never sign it--would that be Sharla's initials at the top of one page--in a different handwriting--or is it? Very strange indeed!

And yet not so strange, when you consider the choice the teacher would have had to make when presented with this document--already written in the superintendent's own handwriting, even the teacher's signature already written there by Carla Sigler. So, does the teacher say --Wait a minute, I didn't write that statement, it isn't even in my handwriting, and that is not my signature--and maybe I wasn't even in the room--- so how can I make a statement about something I did not witness--but if I point that out, she is my boss, and it may mean I lose my job?  No, the teacher probably signs the statement AS-IS and gets to keep her job, no matter that it is not a true statement and harm will purposely be done to a student. 

Such a situation as stated above is not beyond the pale, as instances of teachers and school employees being threatened by Superintendent Carla Sigler with job loss or negative consequences if they spoke out against injustices or disagreed with her on issues have come to light recently--people are no longer afraid to speak out since she has moved on. And there were a few brave and courageous souls who did stand up and speak out against her actions while she was their boss...for that, many were punished, like Carol Nelson, the custodian fired and denied her health insurance-- though she had already paid for it-- when Dr. Carla Sigler maliciously backdated her paperwork so Carol could not get her paid-for health insurance without filing a lawsuit. Vindictive things like that, done in retaliation if she perceived a slight against her or her friends, were the norm at the Cranfill's Gap school. No one who spoke out against her went unpunished, whether by a smear campaign you might not even know about until much later, or actual outright retaliation that she wanted you to know she was responsible for! There was the Cranfill's Gap school secretary, Sandy McMahan, forced from her job when --out of the blue-- Superintendent Sigler told Sandy that she had accepted Sandy's resignation --only Sandy had never resigned or indicated she was resigning--in fact, Sandy loved her job and was very good at it....so Carla Sigler could give the job to Janet Cox, aunt of Kathie Witte, school board member and Carla's best friend.

In my opinion, the truth was purposely not told and documentation was "manufactured" and "doctored" -- by Dr.Carla Sigler -- (Sigler preferred to be called Dr. Sigler and signed most documentation "Dr. Carla Sigler"-- even though her Phd was considered a fake in Texas and many other states, as it was from a diploma mill in California, though she failed to disclose that when she was hired) to build a case against the niece of her perceived foe, school board member Sue Lee. I don't think Carla Sigler at first realized that the valedictorian was Sue Lee's niece--hence, the original, correct, and appropriate punishment of only one day suspension from school for Kaitlan--- however, once the connection to Sue Lee was made, Carla Sigler's intention became to inflict-- with malice-- as much harm as possible to the valedictorian, a child and student under her authority, for thepurpose of retaliation against Sue Lee. 

 In my opinion, Carla Sigler was possibly assisted in this retaliation effort by some, if not all, of the other school board members.  These Cranfill's Gap school board members --Kenny Wiese, Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrels--along with Dr. Carla Sigler, the former superintendent--- --are currently being investigated by the Bosque County District Attorney and the Texas Education Agency for violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act at the May 25th, 2007, school board meeting. That meeting was held to determine whether or not the valedictorian would be allowed to get her diploma, graduate, and participate in graduation. ( Kaitlan's classmates had been told that Kaitlan would be able to graduate, but not walk the stage on graduation night --another lie told by Superintendent Carla Sigler.)  The valedictorian was allowed to have her diploma, scholarships, and to graduate--without spending almost $4,000 for attorney John Cullar of Waco, Kaitlan would not have been allowed to graduate. The attorney had to force a special board meeting just to make them discuss Kaitlan's appeal of Sigler's decision before the graduation date.  However, the valedictorian remained banned from campus and was not allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony  --a decision by the school board allegedly based upon the illegal introduction of alleged new evidence by the superintendent, Dr. Carla Sigler, during allegedly illegal closed sessions.

Superintendent Carla Sigler did achieve her goal of retaliation against her perceived foe, Sue Lee, through malicious actions against Sue's niece, Kaitlan Head, the valedictorian. That entire fiasco was only one of many occurrences where students---children under her authority-- were harmed or could have been harmed--as a result of her actions or inactions. 

As I understand it, in one incident, a seven year-old girl, a second grader, was injured in the gym early one morning by older students--allegedly, there was no adult supervision at the time of this incidence.  The child's leg swelled to twice its normal size. Cranfill's Gap is too small to have an on-site nurse and relies on the visiting nurse. As I understand it, the superintendent,Dr. Carla Sigler, iced the leg all day long and told the student to try to walk on it as that would make the swelling go down. The student's parents were not notified of the incident or the child's injury. At 5:30pm, the student was carried from the school bus to the door of the student's home by the bus driver. At that time, the horrified parents rushed the child to the Clifton Emergency Room where doctors determined that the student had a broken leg--a painful hairline fracture. This little girl had suffered needless great pain all day long!  The parents went to theCranfill's Gap school the next day, accompanied by deputy sheriffs, to find out what had happened. (Many folks by now were aware that Carla Sigler might call the sheriff if you went to school upset over something and wanting to discuss it--she might tell the sheriff that YOU were the problem and YOU might be arrested.) Allegedly, Dr. Sigler's response was --well, the injury had been iced all day! To say the least, this child is no longer a student at Cranfill's Gap.

 Another little girl was left alone in the school building after school --after the After-School Program-- for over three hours, as her parents, thinking the worst, frantically searched for her. When it was suggested to Dr. Carla Sigler that safeguards be put in place to prevent this from happening again, Dr. Sigler allegedly replied --Well, nothing happened did it? --and no changes were made to ensure the safety of the students.

It was incidences like these, as well as problems with some of the Cranfill's Gap teachers that were supposedly being resolved by Dr. Carla Sigler, that compelled so many parents to withdraw their children from the Cranfill's Gap school district in the 2006-2007 school year. If this is the way students-- mere children-- are treated, can you blame them? I would do the same if problems were not resolved-- or if I felt my child might not be as safe as they could be-- or that my child might not be treated for an injury in a timely and appropriate manner-- or that some students were favored over others and received preferential treatment (as when Justin Witte-- son of Carla Sigler's best friend school board member Kathie Witte-- was given the Academic Achievement Award when his grades ranked FOURTH in the class, and there was no mention of the valedictorian or thesalutatorian at the Awards Banquet which is for recognition of academic achievement ), etcetera.  Not including the ten seniors who graduated, almost thirty students left the district last year.   Not all students left on account of problems with the school, teachers, or Dr. Sigler --however, it is certain that an unusually high percentage of those who left did depart for those very reasons.

A few more students have enrolled, but the district is teetering on the fine line for possible loss of state funding as a result of extremely low enrollment. It would be ironic, and quite sad, if there were no school--and thus, no jobs and no town--as a result of the incompetency and personal agendas by Dr. Carla Sigler and her supporters. I believe that is a distinct possiblity. I believe that actions have consequences, and negative actions have negative consequences. I also believe that the incompetent and despicable actions of Carla Sigler and her lingering stench on the school and the town are having totally unintended and totally unexpected negative consequences  What a shame for Cranfills Gap school and town.  

 

 

A Few Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo Memories

 I was at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo on its 40th anniversary. I was working the grand entry gate to the Heart of Texas Coliseum and opening and closing gates for the bucking bulls, bucking horses, dogging and roping steers and calves that were being moved back and forth between events.  Mounted on the horse I was standing next to was the first rodeo producer of the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo, the famous Tommy Steiner of Austin Texas.

Tommy was talking to then-  rodeo producer, Bernis Johnson of Cleburne, Texas, who had been a partner with Charlie Battles, ex-husband of the singer Reba McIntyre, whose father would  haul Reba and her barrel horse to Waco from Oklahoma. I remember Reba, a tiny teenager and a real cowgirl, sitting on her horse, waiting her turn to run barrels.  An old friend of mine, Jim Gibbs of Valley Mills, had raised and provided a lot of the bucking bulls for Bernis and Charlie. 

For several years, my daughter, Jon Marie, and I worked the arena gates and held the horses that Bernis and celebrities rode in the Grand Entry and for introductions.  These were also the horses that event-winners mounted and rode into the arena for their victory laps. Sometimes these arena horses would set back and break the reins or a $50.00 bridle. These were the horses that Jon Marie and I were holding when not on the gate. 

 We felt honored to work the main arena gate alongside old-time cowboy, Glenn Wingo, who had been on the gate for many years.  Tommy Steiner asked me how long I had been coming to the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo. When  I answered, "Since I was eight years old in 1954!",  he almost fell off his horse.

 The Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo was my first rodeo.  My family had been the owner of a prized black-and-white television for only a year, and westerns were my favorite shows.  My little sister, Sue, and I were in Seventh Heaven when we realized we could see--in person--not only the tv stars, but also their beautiful, wonderful horses:  Roy Roger's palomino: Trigger; Dale Evan's buckskin:   Buttermilk;  Dale Robertson's chestnut with the flaxen mane and tail:   Jubilee; the Cisco Kid's black-and-white paint:  Diablo; Gene Autrey's sorrel:   Champion the Wonder Horse;  Hopalong Cassidy's white horse:  Topper;  The Lone Ranger and his silver stallion:  Silver, of course!; and Tonto's brown-and-white paint:  Scout. In truth, Sue and I wanted to see and touch those shiny, soft-as-silk  horses more than than we wanted to see the tv stars!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Bear with Me

Please bear with me. I know it is depressing and not that interesting for me to keep writing about my niece, Kaitlan Head, the 2007 Cranfills Gap valedictorian, who was banned from her graduation as part of a vendetta against her aunt (and my sister) Sue Lee. Many of the things done by Superintendent Carla Sigler were done with malice; however, in my opinion, the most despicable thing Carla Sigler has ever done so far was  to purposely harm a child to achieve revenge on an adult.

 There will come a day when what Cranfills Gap School Superintendent Carla Sigler and Cranfills Gap School Board members Kenny Wiese, Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrels did to my niece will not be the dominant subject---it is just not here yet! 

So in the interest of justice and fair play, I will be posting a few more things and updates as they occur in regard to the banned valedictorian. I have so many other things I want to write about--- the incredible experience I had with a blue-throated hummingbird who was way out of her normal territory of Arizona and West Texas.....more about the old-fashioned way of life of the Head family...about the Ellisons and the Birminghams from my mother Marie's side of the family, who had brilliant minds.....growing up at the Horse Stables in Cameron Park with a gang of other little kids....my childhood friend Gloria Dickson and our adventures when visiting her in Dallas....Sandra Gunter, Pat Jordan, Shelby and Susan Cowell, Judy McGee, all the great childhood friends....many wonderful memories of the beautiful horses and all the cowboys---- movie star cowboys and authentic cowboys, the "real-deal"--- at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo....just so many things I think might be interesting! I do apologize for being "pre-occupied" at the present moment.  

My statement to the Cranfills Gap School Board

The following remarks were presented in a personal address by me to the Cranfills Gap Independent School District school board members in an August 2007 meeting. These remarks were directed to Cranfills Gap school board members Kenny Wiese (even though he was absent), Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrells:

 "I am Kaitlan Head's aunt, and I am sister to Charles Head and Sue Lee. I did not know much of what was going on in Cranfill's Gap until May of this year. Some shameful and downright hateful things have been done, and whether you admit it or not, none of these problems existed until Superintendent Carla Sigler came to town. Carla Sigler saw you as either friend or foe. If friend, there was nothing she would not do FOR you. If foe, there was nothing she would not do AGAINST you. I believe Carla Sigler saw an opportunity to retaliate against someone she considered a foe--- Sue Lee--- by punishing her niece, the 2007 Cranfill's Gap valedictorian Kaitlan Head, with the harshest punishment possible-- even if it went beyond what the law and school policy called for. I believe that Kaitlan did do wrong and should have been held accountable, but that the punishment meted out by Superintendent Carla Sigler and the Cranfill's Gap school board did not fit the crime. Other students did wrong, also--for proof of that, you can listen to the tapes and hear it from Carla Sigler's own mouth----Yes, other students did wrong, also---and NOTHING----NOT ONE THING---was done to them. They were not punished at all. No student was held accountable for their actions except Kaitlan, and that proves beyond a doubt that it was retaliation.

The valedictorian and her family have paid a terrible price. I hope your family never has to pay such a price. I believe that Actions have Consequences, and Negative Actions have Negative Consequences. I want you to know that I have done all I could to tell the world about your Negative Actions. I personally contacted Channel 25 Television about the valedictorian---and the Clifton Record, the Waco Tribune-Herald, the Bosque County News, the Reader's Digest, the Associated Press, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Texas Education Agency--School Governance Department, the Texas State Commissioner of Education, and the Waco Region 12 Central Office. I am also responsible for articles on twowebsites,  "Violated Rights: Only Repository of Rights Violated News", and  "Texas Zero Tolerance". If you Google --with quotation marks around them---"Superintendent Carla Sigler", "Cranfills Gap school", or "Kaitlan Head", you will find a lot of negative publicity. I did not create the negative publicity--YOU did. So, please, don't give the credit or the blame to anyone but me---I worked hard to get it all out there.

I have been coming to Cranfill's Gap for forty years. I used to ride horses for folks over here. I was coming here before Sue Lee even moved here. My mother lived here the last years of her life. She died in a house right down the street. I always loved the Gap--it was such a friendly, neighborly, close-knit town. But somewhere along the way, things changed. So much has happened that cannot be undone. I believe that you, the school board, lost your focus----You became more committed and loyal to Carla Sigler than to the best interests of the school and the town. 

I am still not sure that Cranfill's Gap deserves a school, but why punish the entire town for the actions of a few? Even though she has moved on, the STENCH of Carla Sigler is still here.  Public threats have been made by public officials--and I did speak to the Bosque County District Attorney about that.  Carla Sigler's legacy of Vendettas, Personal Agendas, Retaliation, Pettiness, and Malice are still alive and well. 

You say you want a school and a town--- Without a school, you have no town. Well, what are you willing to do to try to save them? You cannot continue to treat people the way they have been treated. You can change things if you really want to. Out with the Bad and the Negative--and in with the Good and the Positive. Some of you might have to swallow your pride, admit you backed the wrong horse in Carla Sigler, and put out your hand in friendship. I don't know if trust in your neighbor can be restored, but it's the only hope you have, if you want a school and a town. I hope you can do it---otherwise, it will take a Miracle."

Note:   I was actually one of the "milder" speakers! Many others had negative comments, concerns, admonishments, and accusations concerning actions and consequences of the actions of the Cranfill's Gap school board members and Superintendent Carla Sigler.Youcan read the newspaper article about this contentious school board meeting online in the Bosque County News Archives, Front Page, August 29th, 2007, issue,--*which is now posted online.  Go to  bosquecountynews.com, click on Archives, scroll down for the correct issue, click on it, then click on the page you want to look at. 

 Also soon to be added to the Archives in the ***September 12th, 2007, issue, page one***** will be an article about another formal complaint that has been filed against former Cranfill's Gap Superintendent Carla Sigler and school board members Kenny Wiese, Kathie Witte, Jeff Rose, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrells. It has taken a long time for the truth to get out.  Looks like some folks may finally be held accountable for their actions. Remember, negative actions always have negative consequences. That is just a fact of life. Too bad one cannot obliterate the harm Carla Sigler has done, not only to children, adults, and the school, but to the once-wonderful town of Cranfill's Gap.