While I am sure you have noticed that I did not put out a Cobra Strike last week, I am also certain you understand why. I had good odds on favor that the majority of what I wrote about would be wrong and rescheduled anyway with the effects of the snow, so I waited until I felt like we would actually get a full week of school in. So here we go.

While I personally have been loving all of this snow being that I grew up in the lake effect region south of Lake Erie where what we have outside is routine (FYI the same day we got 17 inches, they got 26 and still went to school the next day), I have not been loving the snow days. I have been champing at the bit to get back into the building to get this semester going. Every snow day for students, is another event that needs to be rescheduled by Mr. Alley. And I don't know if you have ever really looked at our calendars in January and February, but there aren't many holes in there. They also break up learning and when I was teaching I would frequently have to alter units or lab plans because of snow days and when you are halfway through a dissection, time is important.

While I grew up driving roads like these, I am aware more of Kansas folk have not. I'm not going to lie and pretend like I don't get a little chuckle when I am behind someone spinning their tires at a stop sign because they don't ease on the gas, or the slam on the brakes, locked up tires, skid at 5 mph. Don't get me wrong. i fully respect the treachery and danger of wintery roads for a very good reason. Infrastructure. In PA, they have five full size snow plows per township that are running the roads and pretreating non stop through snowstorms. We do not have that here. What we do have is Troy Proffitt, who braves the snow to come in and work his tail off trying to get the snow out of the parking lot here at the school after it snows. This time around he had help. When he showed up on Tuesday to try to get the bobcat plow truck going, he knew there was no way. So we sent out the all call to anyone that could help. And yet again Cobra nation showed up. Thank you Derek and Mellissa Plowman and kids, Andy Bloom, Jessica rogers and sons, Eugene Harris, and Evan Ramirez. Without your help, Troy would still be out there shoveling.

As for how we get to snow days in the first place, Mr. Howard and I get on the phone every time there is even the remote chance of snow in the forecast to discuss the game plan and it always comes down to the safety of the students and the staff. This trumps everything else. As far as having to make up days later, let us worry about that. We have already started talking and double checking out hours counts to make sure we will hit our marks so that the Seniors will have enough hours to graduate and the rest of the school will have enough hours to call it a school year.

"Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind" The Doctor

From the first day to the last day, It's a great day to be a COBRA!

Derek E. Smith

During the Friday January 3rd home games, we took some time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boys basketball team of 1975 and the 40th anniversary of the Boys basketball team of 1985 and their State tournament seasons. Mr. Shupe gave a great recitation of both teams careers and the lynch pin that was there for both teams. Coach Jack Sheldon.

I enjoy when we get to celebrate the history of our school and when we get the chance to return alumni in such a way to honor them.

Pictured from left to right: Steve Sheldon, Neal Keeler, Tami Sheldon Coe, Jon Thomas, Vern Miller, Pat richter, David Bowhay, Dan Shupe

Monday:

• Boys HS Basketball C Game @ Home 5:00 pm (we are the second game)
• Board of Education Meeting 7:00 pm

Tuesday:

• HS Basketball VS Oskaloosa @ Home 4:00 pm

Wednesday:

• NA

Thursday:

• Boys MS Basketball Vs. Oskaloosa @ Home 4:30
• Basketball C Team Game @ ACCHS 5:00 (We are Game 1)
• Ag Education Symposium

Friday:

• NA

Saturday:

• HS Scholars Bowl @ McLouth 9:00 am

This past week, we lost one of our honor flight veterans. Les Crawshaw was not only on the HF 11 trip with us, as pictured here with his guardian Drake Mellies, but he was a member of the committee that helped me with with Honor Flight in general. He was there the day we decided to get honor flight back up and running and has been paramount to helping me every step of the way through getting my first flight off the ground. He then joined us on HF 11 as we honored him for his service to this country this past summer.

He was the post commander for the local VFW. He was a good husband, a loving father, and a kind grandfather. However, most important to me, he was as a brother to me and everyone else who ever served this amazing country. He would have given anything for a fellow veteran if he could. He was was also as ornery a rascal as there ever was. He tormented me nonstop on the HF 11 trip and I gave it right back to him. I enjoyed greatly listening to him share with the students his experiences throughout his life while on this past trip. He had a caring and loving heart and the only thing bad I have to say about him is that he never let me buy his drink for him.

The last story Les every told me was that on the first day he was told that the new guy has to make the coffee. Well he was not a coffee drinker and he told them that. They did not care, it was the new guys job to make the coffee. He made exactly one pot of coffee before he was removed from coffee duty. He then turned his head and slowly looked at me and then said, "I must have done something wrong" and winked.

I love that man dearly as I love all of my fellow veterans. Especially all the veterans that attend Honor flight with me. He is a testament to why we have to keep the Honor Flight program going. These men and women gave more than any one will ever know and the HF trip is something that resonates with them in such a way that it fundamentally changes what being a veterans means to them. At least it did for me.

We have made the selections for the Honor Flight 11 Guardians. They are:

Chesnea Cochren

Anna Schierling

Alexis Richter

Layla Cochran

Emma Sides

Josie Jager

Jace Doyle

Alexis Denault

Tryston Honeyman

Michael Robertson

Blaine Burdiek

Talen Browning

Laramie Self

Jen Mellies

Jackson Holliday

Teagen Bowhay

Nicole Amon

Anthony Gulotta

Ashlyn Brucken

Duke Condo

Kyla Milligen

Alexa Rash

Gracie White

Brooke Slipke

Congratulations to the Guardians, Now the work begins of getting us off the ground next November!

The Cobra Cup is half way there. This semester, we will have a lot coming along with the house cup work. This semester the House leaders will be focusing on community service events that the houses will be working on. this will be particularly important for the current Freshman and beyond as these classes will need to accumulate 40 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. Completing these with their houses will be a great way to support the community as well as give you that extra check on your transcript you need.

As for the Fall semester, it wound up being a tight race in the end. However, only one house can get the pizza party off site, and that house is

House Snake Kingz.

Let's see if they can hold onto their lead and put their names on the coveted house cup. Each year, the winning house not only get the house reward trip for a day, but also will have their names engraved on the house cup forever more. Last year, House Triple G won in the end and all of their names are already on the cup. Let us see who can put their names in history this semester.

Over the Christmas break, we got the chance to take the boys up to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with both sets of grandparents. We got a cabin on Pymatuning that was almost perfectly in between the two and whats more that made it perfect was the lack of cell phone reception. A week and a half of just a cabin in the woods and my family and great cooking. The Italian daughter even made it out for the trip and we had out own mini trip in there where we went up to Niagara Falls together. Now picture the two of us crossing the border, Kansas veteran tags and an Italian with a passport whose visa only had her stamped to go to the United States. The border was super fun. However, we also went to Anchor Bar in buffalo which is the undisputed origin location of Buffalo Wings.

The boys also got to go ice skating for the first time ever! Beyond all of that, did I mention no cell phone reception? Perfect vacation.

It's a great day to be a Cobra!!

Email: derek.smith@jhcobras.net

Website: jhcobras.net
Location: 12692 266th Rd Holton, KS 66436
Phone: (785)248-4386
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jackson.Heights.USD335

https://www.citylinktv.com/channel/cobra

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a0QJd_3uUnHcCppNy4KIttr-i_TO_Q1QcxSKC8PZaHo/edit