Classroom Blog

Lineville assistant principal killed while hunting

THE STAR- An assistant principal at the Lineville elementary and high schools, who also was a former Ashland City Council member, died in a hunting accident over the weekend, the Clay County coroner said Monday.

Charles Gerald "Gerry" Elliott Jr., 39, was turkey hunting early Saturday when he tried to climb a barbed-wire fence and slipped, Coroner Dale Rush said.

Rush said it looked like a wire came loose and Elliott's shotgun discharged, hitting him in the chest. Rush said officials may never know exactly how it happened.

The details were still under investigation, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Department.

All Clay County schools will dismiss at noon today so students and faculty can attend the funeral, Superintendent Ben Griffin said.

Read the rest of the story here.

Pair of local teachers among finalists for award

THE STAR- Two local teachers are on a short list of finalists for Alabama's Teacher of the Year award, the Alabama Department of Education reported Monday.

Amber Trantham, a third-grade teacher at Alexandria Elementary School and Deedee Adams, a math teacher at Oxford High School, made the department's "sweet 16" list of educators from around the state.

Get reactions from the teachers here.