Should have brought a sack lunch

    I knew it! I knew there was something seriously wrong with the school's food.

    Last week before winter break was one of the most stressful, irritating and blood boiling weeks of my entire life.

    It all started when I heard rumors about the lunch room failing its initial health inspection. I went straight to the assistant principal at El Dorado High School, Kevin House, with questions on the matter. When House refused to comment on the matter, I knew I was on to something.

    I then went to the direct source; the lunch room manager. She told me that EHS had passed the inspection and that nothing was wrong.

    Based on the little bit of information that House told me, I knew someone wasn't being totally up-front with me.

    I requested a copy of the inspection form from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

    While waiting for the report, I decided to see what other administrators had to tell me about the inspection.

    I called USD 490 Superintendent Sue Givens, who told me that EHS had passed the inspection and that if they didn't she would know. I then called many other administration members who again told me contradicting stories.

    When I finally got the report, I was disgusted!

    I couldn't believe what I was reading: rubber spatulas with so-called "drawer dust", old deli meat and undercooked food. Gross!

    When I finally had the paper ready to be sent to be printed I was told that I must change the headline which read, "EHS cafeteria fails inspection." Brett McClendon, principal at EHS, wasn't a fan of the word "fails."

    I immediately called the printing facility to change the headline. I was assured that the headline would be changed.

    I was then informed, by more than one source, that a certain email had been sent to all teachers in USD 490 stating that my story was false and that I had not printed all the facts. That was really the icing on top of an already beautiful day.

    I asked McClendon about this e-mail. He told me that no such e-mail had been sent. For some reason I didn't 100 percent believe him. It may or may not have had to do with the fact that I had a copy of that very e-mail in my back pocket.

    I was appalled that this e-mail had been sent. Not only did it humiliate me and put me in a bad light, but it was also very down-grading to the journalism teacher.

    When the paper finally arrived, the headline had not been changed and we were not allowed to hand the paper out to the student body as planned.     

    When I arrived back to school from a long and fabulous winter break, I learned even more interesting news.

    The follow-up inspection did not turn out any better than the first. Four critical violations were found, two of which were repeat violations.

    In my opinion, even though the administration at EHS declined to comment, the lunchroom manager gave me conflictin information and I was personally attacked through a certain email, I was still able to make a good news story and editorial out of it.

    These are the stories that make journalism worthwhile. That's the news - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad.