Editorial Roundup: Tennessee

Johnson City Press. November 18, 2023.

Editorial: Is it time to spare the rod in schools?

A teacher and an assistant principal west of us in Jackson County were indicted on criminal charges last week after an incident in October when the teacher paddled an elementary school student.

The Associated Press and other local news outlets reported the teacher was charged with simple assault and the assistant principal with criminal responsibility of assault after the student complained of pain and was examined at a medical facility.

Tennessee code gives local school districts control over when or if to use corporal punishment, but lawmakers passed new policies this year governing schools that continue to administer it.

Most school boards in the area have adopted district policies banning spanking, paddling and other forms of corporal punishment. Instead, those school systems rely on detention, suspension or expulsion to discipline misbehavior.

The school systems of Carter and Johnson counties allow the use of corporal punishment as a means for correcting students, but even those polices have their own unique twists.

In Carter County, for example, it’s up to the director of schools whether to administer corporal punishment. Only a principal or assistant principal may administer it, and only principals may approve “the instrument to be used.”

If a student has a disability, corporal punishment may only be administered with parental consent.

Johnson County schools require parents to provide doctors’ notes to school principals if there’s a medical reason their children shouldn’t be paddled. Any principal, assistant principal or teacher in Johnson County may use corporal punishment to address student behavior.

Studies show schools in the South are more likely to believe that sparing the rod does indeed spoil the child. A report released a few years ago also found Southern parents are far more likely to spank their children than their counterparts in other areas of the country. One poll found 62% of Southern parents spank their kids, as compared to 41% of non-Southern parents.

Kingsport Times-News. November 18, 2023.

Editorial: Region is at extreme risk for wildfires

Between Cookeville and Kingsport last week, dozens of brush and wildfires were burning as recent drought conditions continued to turn East Tennessee into a tinderbox.

Friday’s rain helped, but conditions are still dry in stark contrast from just several months ago when residents bemoaned the wettest August in recent history.

At that time, one resident commented that “August is usually dry as dirt here. Our weather is changing just like everywhere else. I feel like we basically have North Georgia weather here now.”

Unless we receive some downpours, the fire danger is acute.

We reported that Scott County fire departments had responded to several fires near Boozy Creek Road that had spread to 100 acres. But the Tennessee Division of Forestry’s Wildfire Prevention and Suppression Services was reporting other fires, one along VFW Road in Sullivan County, three in Greene County and one in Johnson County.

The state Forestry Service provides current information on Tennessee’s reported wildfires at tn.firesponse.com/public. The site presents as a map, which enlarges to show every current fire in the state. You may enlarge the map and click on any active fire to learn the location, size of the fire, percent contained, and even how many firefighters are involved. Similarly, a map of Virginia’s wildfires may be found at virginiapublic.firesponse.com.

“It was one of the driest Octobers on record, and we weren’t as concerned early into the month because there wasn’t a lot of fuel on the ground. But now there’s plenty for fires to start off,” said Nathan Waters of the Forestry Department. “Look at the situation right now. It’s very volatile. It’s very dangerous right now.”

Other fires were reported in Campbell, Sevier, Roane, Morgan, Scott, Fentress and Anderson counties. The size and scope of the fires ranged from half an acre to hundreds of acres. Crews were battling a 370-acre Anderson County fire near Rocky Top, and fires were also burning in Eastern Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia.

A state-issued burn ban is in effect for Morgan County. Several cities, such as Sevierville, have also issued local open-burn bans. You may check another state website for the status of any burn bans in our area at tinyurl.com/3v6abx6t.

Most of East Tennessee is under severe or extreme drought conditions. Less than a half-inch of rain fell in East Tennessee during September, and October saw around 0.63 inch of rain. Both months combined to create the driest two months in the history of East Tennessee.

The state Forestry Service asks that you avoid burning anything outside while the fire risk is high.

The National Weather Service is also warning of an “elevated fire risk” to most of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia due to breezy conditions and low relative humidity.

“If you smoke, dispose of your butts appropriately. Don’t just throw things down and let it smolder out. This is a time to be careful, pay attention and use common sense. If we used 100% common sense, we’d reduce our fires drastically,” said a forestry official.

Good advice. Let’s be careful.

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