The skinny
By Times Wires
Published December 12, 2007
School daze
Math error knocks school out of the Top 5
Montpelier Vt. High School was riding pretty high after U.S. News & World Report ranked it as the nation's fifth-best public high school. It is such a good school, in fact, that when officials there studied the results of the poll, they determined that the school did not deserve such a high rank. The school brought this to the magazine's attention, and it consulted with the financial service that analyzed the numbers and determined the school was right. "It's particularly embarrassing that we're in the business of judging people based on their math scores, and we got our math wrong," said magazine editor Brian Kelly. The school is in the top 500, but not the top 5. Sophomore Sophia Manley was not surprised by the news. "I don't really see us as one of the most amazing schools ever."
School logo familiar to beer drinkers
Killian Middle School is a new school in Lewisville, Texas. It was named after a retired school administrator. Not the Irish beer. But when one of the school's seventh-graders opened up the fridge and saw the six-pack her dad was storing, she realized something. "She looked at it and said, 'Hey, that's the logo of our school,'" parent Jim Ross told the Dallas Morning News. "They've got a beer logo as their school mascot. Who was dumb enough not to look into it?" Both use left-facing mustangs cropped at the neck. The school's is blue, the beer's is gold. "It's highly coincidental," said spokesman Dean Tackett. "Does it really make a difference? I don't know. Certainly we're not there to sell Killian's beer."
Change for change
New York gives kids street cents
In an effort to get kids to understand the power of contributions, the nonprofit organization Common Cents gets New York City students to collect pennies for charity. Then they roll them out on display. This year's was unveiled at Rockefeller Center, and boasts approximately 100-million pennies. For the decimally challenged, that is $1-million. The display is 30-feet wide by 165-feet long, stretching a city block, and can be viewed through the end of the year. When the display comes down, the pennies will be returned to the 800 participating schools, which will then donate them to community charities.
The power of cheese
Old pot caves now lactose tolerant
Authorities in Hartsville, Tenn., auctioned off a home that was seized in a 2005 drug bust. The home has a unique feature, sitting on top of two 100-yard-long caves. The previous owner used the caves to grow marijuana. The new owner, who paid $285,000, also plans to use the subterranean areas in a for-profit venture. It was bought by Roth Kase USA Ltd., which is a Wisconsin-based cheesemaker. Caves have long been used to store aging cheeses.
Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.