Fort Bragg Mendocino Teachers

Bragg schools say Newsweek story on military buildings a 'misrepresentation'

Fort Bragg officials take exception to an article this month in Newsweek magazine that calls an on-post elementary school one of the "most decrepit" in the worldwide system.

Murray Elementary was among eight schools "that don't make the grade," according to a graphic accompanying the story criticizing schools on military installations worldwide.

"For those in our community that read the article, they are upset by it in that they, as I do, feel it is a gross misrepresentation of our school," said Charles Council, principal of Murray Elementary. "It is not dilapidated, nor is it falling down around our heads. It is very clean, very secure and well maintained."

The cover of the July 4 & 11 Newsweek carries a promotion for the story inside the magazine on what it describes as the sorry state of on-post schools for military children. The newsweek.com version is dated June 27.

Kristen Lombardi, whose byline appeared on the Newsweek story, defended her work. She said the story was a condensed version of her 6,500-word report on military schools for which she interviewed 200 people at two dozen installations over six months. The full report is on the web at www.iwatchnews.org/.

Newsweek describes Fort Bragg's Murray Elementary as "an elementary school where rainwater pours into the gym and teachers have filed health complaints."

Council, the principal, said he was surprised to see his school on the list.

"It said we had a real issue with the roof in our gym," Council said. "That is not the case at all. We did have a leak. It was fixed the next day. We have not had any other issues like that at all."

A drain clogged and caused a leak, Council said, but it was cleaned out and water was mopped up within an hour. The principal and reporter say further repairs took longer.

"Was that a very eventful day?" Council said. "Yeah. But it was one day. It's not an ongoing problem.

"Is the building old? Yes. We just celebrated our 54th birthday in April, but this building is clean. It's structurally sound. We've never had a complaint. We didn't get any feedback from the reporter that there was a problem."

Boards around the leaking drain were replaced and repainted within two weeks to avoid mildew, he said.

One teacher reported that she thought the gym was causing her to have allergies, Council said.

Fort Bragg Mendocino Teachers - News

Bragg schools say Newsweek story on military buildings a 'misrepresentation'

Newsweek describes Fort Bragg's Murray Elementary as "an elementary school where rainwater pours into the gym and teachers have filed health complaints." Council, the principal, said he was surprised to see his school on the list.

Cheers & Jeers for Friday, July 22

Also, thanks to the men and women with whom we work at the Fort Bragg commissaries for making our jobs easier. Cheers to Principal Hinton and Ms. Gregory at Hope Mills Middle School for hosting this year's Kia Kima's Cub Scout Day Camp.

Adopted soldiers thanked in 'grand' way

It's Independence Day and Fort Mitchell's adopted military unit has come home. The unit is Bravo Company 2-504 PIR of the 82nd Airborne, out of Ft. Bragg in North Carolina—better known to Fort Mitchell as the “White Devils.

Sat. Extra: At 105, Lucille Ray is living legend among Cumberland County teachers

He worked as a civilian engineer on Fort Bragg, and the couple spent summers traveling around the country. "We always came back home," she says with a smile. She also became involved with several civic groups and organized the first black Girl Scout

July 22, 1948: Objects reflecting Bozeman's early days are contained in museum ...

In the other wall case are the clay models of early Montana personalities donated to the museum by Sallie Marston Bragg only a couple of weeks before she died in Bozeman in 1938. Mrs. Bragg was a Montana sculptress, painter, teacher and writer.

FayObserver.com - Bragg schools say Newsweek story on military ...