Our Thoughts? Glad You Asked...

No matter that many can't seem to comprehend this, we don't always agree 100% with the guest blogs we publish. How do we personally feel about the Chad Holden photo?

We don't feel these kids will become thugs because of some fun. Look carefully in many local attics and you may find snaps of several junior high kids posing with a starter pistol, berets, and fedoras (Yep, we were wanna be Bonnies & Clydes). All of them turned out pretty well - retailers, artists, medical personnel, consultants, etc.

The difference is that Ralph Smith or Eddie Frost didn't take part in these somewhat dubious antics. We're at a loss as to why Mr. Holden agreed to be called the "original gangsta." Perhaps it's because only last year he was their teacher? Roles change.

Educators are not the students' friends. If any educators think that, then they are failing the young people they are trying to teach. Neither should they "relate" as one young woman expressed it. In fact, we were of the belief (perhaps mistaken) that male educators don't touch their female students or allow the girls to touch them (this was not directed at Mr. Holden but others whose photos we have been sent).

Being a pal is fine, but when it's time for discipline, students don't usually take leadership from a pal all that well.

Our second beef with Mr. Holden? Suspending a young student for her dyed hair because he always goes by the rule book, but allows some students to make gang signs on campus when this is also forbidden in the handbook. How is this consistent in any way?

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Thugin' Thursday: 

The day on which it is acceptable to post thuggin pictures of yourself, friends, acquaintances, idols, or strangers on social media. Occurs every Thursday of every week. 

Finna have a hood thuggin thursday #tt

Dis pic be dope af. holla, we be thuggin. #thugginthursday 

Would someone please tell us what "finna" means?

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Joe Pampinto? We believe he is mistaken when he refers to the Muscle Shoals Gas Department. From what we've been told there is no such animal. Natural gas is delivered and billed by the North Alabama Gas District.

We have not learned all the details of the grill donated to a local bar, but it does seem possibly to have come from the NAGD. A reader asked how this can be handled. Since the elected officials of Muscle Shoals are aware of and happy about this, we would recommend contacting FERC. If the alleged gift did occur, it could very well be a violation of the Commission's rules.

Note: We're not sure that Pampinto didn't screw up more than a name in his comments to the press. We still find it hard to believe that the manager of NAGD would participate in such a thing.



Shoalanda