THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190239
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mac Daniel and Eric Feber
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
How does a school get its students to immerse themselves into reading in this day and ago of videos, cable television and computer games?
The folks at Deep Creek Intermediate School just challenged its student body to read by offering an incentive none of the fourth through sixth graders could refuse: If they read a certain amount of pages by a specified date, the principal, Curtis Lane, promised he'd wear a pig outfit and let himself be ``arrested.''
In previous years, Lane has donned a wet suit and swam with fishes in a horse trough and baby-sat a pig in its pen. For this year's campaign, he mildly taunted his students, declaring he had nothing to worry about because they'd never meet their goal.
``He knew they'd meet the goal. He just wanted to egg them on to really give them an incentive to read,'' said Karen Jarrett, a sixth grade teacher who helped organize some of the Reading Month activities at the school.
Throughout the month, which used the theme ``Pig Out On Books,'' the school staged a poetry contest, with the winning verses read at an assembly by James Scott, a.k.a. ``The Loud Poetry Guy.'' The school also recognized those students who participated in last summer's public library reading program and held a ``Drop Everything And Read'' stunt where at a given signal during a specific day, the entire school, teachers and students, would stop and read.
The culmination of the reading ended in Lane's incarceration as a scofflaw swine. The students exceeded their set goal of reading a collective 100,000 minutes and Lane made good on his promise.
``They sent their pig-headed principal to the pig penitentiary,'' Jarrett said. ``During morning announcements Mr. Lane was interrupted on the air by a Chesapeake police officer who arrested him.''
Wearing a striped prison suit, a ball and chain and resplendent in pig ears, snout and curly-cue tail, Lane was led by Chesapeake police officer Dale Spatz to his ``jail cell'' in the school's main hall.
As the Big Pig in the Pokey, Lane had to read to six different classes. He was finally released on good behavior, Jarrett said.
What's in store next year?
``It depends on the theme chosen by the Chesapeake Reading Council,'' Jarrett said.
For Lane's sake, let's hope it's not `Sky Dive Into Reading.'' That's bodies, not bucks
Chesapeake Councilman Dwight M. Parker asked a good question and Councilman John E. Allen heard the wrong answer.
As an executive recruiter attempted to persuade council that his firm should help choose Chesapeake's next city manager, Parker asked if the city was going to be a hard sell or soft sell, based on a history of city manager/council conflicts.
The recruiter said it should be a piece of cake.
``You're in the 200,000 range,'' he said.
``No, no, no, no, no!'' interrupted Allen.
``Oh, no. You misunderstood. I was talking about population,'' said the stunned recruiter.
``Oh,'' said Allen, who was hearing salary. As he apologized, Councilman W. Joe Newman fanned him with a piece of paper. The samurai mayor
The honorable officials of Oji-Yuka Synthetic Paper Co. Ltd. received a key to Chesapeake, a Virginia flag from the governor, a historic Virginia document (framed) and an assortment of wrapped trinkets after announcing the opening of the second largest investment in the city's history - a $100 million synthetic paper plant that will initially employ 100.
Then it was their turn.
They presented Gov. George F. Allen and Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward with beautifully-framed miniature Japanese samurai war helmets, items that can be found in just about every home in Japan.
Gov. Allen thanked the Japanese delegation and sat down. Mayor Ward, on the other hand, had already found good use for the gift.
``This,'' he said, ``will be perfect on Tuesday (City Council meeting) nights.'' by CNB