JOPLIN, Mo. —
Are we really doing everything we can to ensure our students’ and employees’ safety? I feel after the tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, the safety of our students and staff must be our top priority.
This means leaving no stone unturned regarding the safety of our students and school employees. The Joplin School District board did the right thing meeting with parents, teachers and law enforcement, but is that all that could be done or will we wait until it is too late?
Our district is installing panic buttons and cameras, but those are only warning devices after danger is in the building. I think we can and should do more!
A committee should be formed of five people from each of the following groups: teachers, law enforcement, building engineers, principals, parent teacher organizations, parents of students from different grade levels and citizens.
This committee should share and discuss all safety issues and concerns and then develop recommendations to be shared with the board and taxpayers in an open meeting and, thereafter, to all taxpayers through The Joplin Globe.
A questionnaire should be sent to all taxpayers to seek their input regarding issues, concerns and recommendations. The board should report directly to the parents and taxpayers regarding their implementation strategy.
There are times in our lives when we should be proactive and times when we should be reactive. However, waiting to react does not bode well for our children.
If we are truly going to make our school buildings as safe as possible for students and staff, there must be ongoing dialogue and a free flow of information on every aspect of our district’s progress.
An ounce of prevention now is worth more than a pound of cure after it is too late.
David Guilford
Joplin
Opinion
Your View: An ounce of prevention
- Opinion
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Our View: Finding the way forward
Communication failures and the lack of a clear mission have given rise to turmoil and discord at Missouri Southern State University. The antidote to this is openness, frankness and the articulation of a well-defined purpose as the school moves forward.
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Your View: Finding audience for Bard
It was interesting to see Globe columnist Mike Pound’s recollection of college studies of the Bard of Avon in association with the upcoming production of “Macbeth.”
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Your View: Shifting opinions
I have a suggestion for a Joplin Globe feature. Reprint all the letters and columns from years past that were in favor of the Patriot Act and how people who showed any concern over it “wanted the terrorists to win.”
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James Whitford, guest columnist: New definition needed
I remember meeting a man on the main road through Fond Parisien, a small community on the eastern side of Haiti.
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Our View: Connecting the town
Well before the 2011 tornado, Joplin had a problem with “connectivity.” That’s right. The flow of traffic — whether it be cars, pedestrians or bicyclists — has been a sore spot with us for years.
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Your View: Bold leadership needed
Dear City Council Members, Let me first thank you for your service to our community.
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Other Views: Debt of honor
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have promised to kill Afghans who worked for the Americans and their families. In Iraq, similar threats were made by radical Islamic insurgents.
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Herb Van Fleet, guest columnist: Big Brother is always watching and listening
Sen. Church made that statement 38 years ago. He chaired a committee that was formed to develop legislation to rein in the CIA, FBI, NSA and other intelligence agencies, which had been operating outside the bounds of the law, including the Constitution.
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Jury still out on whistle-blower’s actions
Whether you see Edward Snowden as a hero, a traitor or something in between, there is no denying that the admitted “leaker” has opened up an industrial-size can of National Security Agency worms.
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Trish Patton, guest columnist: Downtown group needs stakeholders' support
On Tuesday the Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) tabled the Community Improvement District (CID) initiative.
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