Fine time to make it official

Maybe it was a coincidence.

Uh, right.

The same week Lisa Lewis told the story of how her 5-year-old son was allegedly manhandled by a teacher at Riverwood Elementary School in Clayton, the Johnston County school board discussed revisiting its policy allowing corporal punishment.

At its next meeting, Tuesday, the board is expected to go on record banning corporal punishment in the Johnston County Schools.

Superintendent Anthony Parker said it's really just a formality.

Parker said he and his predecessor, Jim Causby, had long ago told their principals and teachers that they did not want spanking or other forms of corporal punishment used in Johnston schools.

"I think all of us agree that corporal punishment has no place in education," Parker said. "For one thing, it is not an effective means of punishing children."

Still, the lack of a policy made it hard to enforce.

And as Lewis found out, it also made the local district attorney hesitant to press charges against a teacher who gets physical with a student.

In Lewis' case, her little boy, not yet a week into kindergarten, was pushed up against a wall with enough force that two fellow teachers reported the incident.

Lewis' biggest gripe was that her son was never removed from the classroom of the teacher, even while she was being investigated. And Lewis and her husband were never informed of the incident.

On the day they learned of the incident, the teacher resigned for personal reasons.

The Lewises later filed charges against the teacher; the judge dismissed the case, but said the school system should have done more to address the incident.

Lewis is delighted that, finally, the school system is addressing the corporal punishment issue.

She doesn't believe in corporal punishment.

She doesn't believe in coincidences either.

***

After a life of hard knocks, Katherine Derrick deserved a break. Thanks to you readers, she got one.

Derrick is the recent high school graduate who lost her father as a baby and nursed her mother through a long, ultimately terminal illness. Her mother died last summer, leaving Derrick an orphan.

Through it all, Derrick has been a model student, working nearly full time while running a household.

I wrote about Derrick after learning that she had applied for college at UNC-Wilmington and learned that, because of a bureaucratic foulup, she wouldn't receive enough financial aid to be able to pursue her dream of attending dental school one day.

Dozens of readers contacted Derrick. Some sent checks; others just sent prayers and words of encouragement. She is grateful for both.

But one Raleigh gentleman, Frank Scott, took a special interest in her story. His secretary set up a meeting with Derrick, and Scott offered to assist the young woman with whatever expenses her financial aid package doesn't cover.

Unfortunately, within a week or two of meeting with Derrick, Scott died from a massive heart attack.

Scott was so taken with Derrick, however, that his widow has offered to make good on her husband's promise of assistance.

After too many tough life lessons, finally a positive one for Katherine Derrick.