BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CANEY — Plans were announced Monday for the creation of a second preschool program in USD 436.

USD 436 already has a preschool program designed for 4-year-old youths who qualify for free or reduced meals and who have socio-economic factors that are deemed “at-risk.” The second preschool class will be for 4-year-old kids who do not meet the criteria of the other preschool program.

“It has been the goal of this school board to expand our opportunities at the pre-kindergarten level,” said Danny Fulton, superintendent. “This new preschool program will be in addition to the existing preschool class for 4 year olds. And, it’ll allow us to reach a new group of youths who need early education skills.”

Formal approval of the preschool program will be made at the school board’s April meeting, however the board did agree to pursue the remodeling of the multi-purpose room at Lincoln Memorial Elementary School to house the new preschool. The existing preschool program will remain in its location in a contained classroom adjacent to the school cafeteria.

The new preschool program will require about an additional $53,000 for teacher and paraprofessional salaries and benefits. The cost to transform the existing multi-purpose room into classrooms is estimated at $50,000, and new equipment and materials for the new preschool are estimated to be about $7,000.

Total expenses for the two preschool programs — including the remodeling of the multi-purpose room — for the 2009-10 school year is estimated to be about $188,333 while revenue is expected to be $91,850. While the district may have a shortfall of about $96,000 with the two preschools in operation in 2009-10, Fulton said he expected the deficit to be reduced after the new preschool’s first year in operation.

Much like the existing preschool for 4-year-olds who meet socio-economic criteria, the new preschool will have room for about 30 students: 15 in a morning session and 15 in an afternoon session.

Fulton said transforming the multi-purpose room for the new preschool program was one of several options presented to the board for consideration. Other options included:

• lease the former Caney Early Care and Education Center, which closed in 2008, and place all preschool programs in that facility.

• lease the former Caney Early Care and Education Center for all preschool students, relocate the district office to that site, and move the Caney Valley Virtual School and printing center to the current district office.

Fulton said board members felt transforming the Lincoln multi-purpose room into the site of a new preschool program made the most economic sense as it would contain the class in the same building as the elementary school.

“Having the new preschool at Lincoln would allow the district to not worry about paying utilities, insurance or having transportation issues at a separate site, like the Caney Early Care and Education Center,” said Fulton. “Everything is contained in one building.”

Another reason for the board to show a desire to have the new preschool at the Lincoln campus is that the Caney Early Care and Education Center, which was owned by the Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma, has yet to attain a tax-exempt status. The school board agreed several months ago to not make an offer on the Caney Early Care and Education Center property until the tax-exempt status can be granted by the federal government.

On a related topic dealing with early education, the USD 436 Board of Education heard a report from kindergarten teachers Kelli Mills and Reva Shepard regarding the all-day kindergarten concept, which was adopted at the start of the 2008-09 school year. Mills and Shepard both indicated that the all-day kindergarten concept was accepted well and that the students were now testing one full quarter ahead of students who had attended half-day kindergartens in previous years.

CANEY — A new chiropractor in Montgomery County has opened a practice in downtown Caney.

Dr. Amanda Johnson has opened Caney Chiropractic at 125 W. Fourth. The Independence native graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Mo., in August 2008. Since then, she has been assisting in the office of her father, Independence chiropractor Gary Johnson, before opening the chiropractic practice in Caney.

“I really like small towns,” said Johnson, who also is a graduate of Independence High School and Pittsburg State University.

Chiropractic medicine is more than an occupation for Johnson . . . it’s also a family business. Besides her father being involved in chiropractic medicine in Independence, Johnson’s brother, Jeremiah, is a chiropractor in Sedan.

Caney Chiropractic is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Mondays and Thursdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The office is open on Fridays by appointment only.

Johnson encourages area residents to visit with her about any chiropractic health questions. The office telephone number is (620) 879-2111.

Caney Chiropractic will also hold a patient grand opening event on Thursday, March 26. All chiropractic patients will pay only $10 for an adjustment on that day only.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — A new yet disturbing trend involving cellular telephones and kids has school officials telling students about the ramifications of transmitting pornographic images.

“Sexting” is the act of using a cellular telephone camera to take racy or revealing photographs of underage persons and transmitting those images by cellular telephone. Although USD 447 has not had any trouble with this new form of pornographic media, the issue itself has caused assistant principal Scott Lambdin to address the matter with students.

“Pure and simple: it’s a criminal act,” Lambdin said while addressing the issue to members of the USD 447 Board of Education on Monday. “And, students need to learn that if they are caught transmitting those child pornographic images on their cell phones, they can be prosecuted under the state’s child pornography laws and ultimately be a registered sexual offender for many years.”

School officials say “sexting” has become a high-tech way to inflict distress among teenage friends. In some cases, teenagers will transmit nude photographs of former boyfriends and girlfriends as a way to retaliate for a relationship gone awry. Or, those revealing photos can be sent as a mean-spirited joke, even if the person being photographed is unaware of the picture being taken.

Regardless of who is being pictured, the act of transmitting images of underage kids who are nude or images of a student’s body is a serious crime, Lambdin said, noting that he has met with several classes at Cherryvale Middle-High School to address the issue.

George Owens, Cherryvale Middle-High School principal, said he recently read of one case in Ohio where a high school student whose constant ridicule and harrassment from peers — after a nude photograph taken by a former boyfriend was sent to hundreds of student cell phones — led to the student’s suicide.

Pornographic pictures taken of adults would not qualify for prosecution under the state’s child pornography laws. However, those students can be prosecuted for transmitting obscene material by cellular telephone.

Lambdin reminded board members that students are prohibited from using cellular telephones during the school day. If a student is found using a cellular phone, the phone is confiscated and returned to the student at the end of the school day.

Board member Lance Carter said the issues surrounding cellular phone communication has become a major problem for schools across the nation. He noted that some states had considered the complete prohibition of student cellular phones on school campuses because of the distractions and problems they have caused.