Hisses and misses

Boy, show-and-tell has changed over the years. And some kids are paying the price.

Take the Big Sandy school district in East Texas. Two high school students there were taken to a hospital on Monday … after being bitten by a cottonmouth snake in science class!

Seems that the teacher had mistakenly identified the critter as non-venomous. Can you flunk a teacher?

And this may just be a coincidence, but the district's Web site notes that this month's character trait is ... forgiveness. How convenient.

Big Sandy Superintendent Scott Beene, stating the obvious, said the district would review its policies about bringing animals on campus.

Good idea, Scottie. How'd you like to make that call to their parents?

"Uh, Mrs. Jones, Timmy will be getting home a little late today. ... What happened? ... Well, you'll never believe it, but ... "

I think we can safely assume that in the future, poisonous snakes are out in Big Sandy. Just to be on the safe side, I’d throw in wolves, bears and lions.

Oh, and I’d review the district’s comprehensive insurance policy too.