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The written words in records such as wills, estate settlements and letters are a link to our ancestors and understanding of the times in which they lived. When we remember that writing was a tedious chore, especially writing with a scratchy quill pen, we can understand the tendency to abbreviate, even of names. It was easy to omit vowels; spelling and punctuation were not terribly important to the writer.

The Queen City High School Band of Champions put on a community performance at the Atlanta High School Stadium a couple of weeks ago. Band conductor Billy Vess took advantage of the bye week in football to squeeze in a little extra practice before the Region 4 Texas UIL Marching Contest at Sulphur Springs High School Nov. 3. This was the first contest the band has marched in this year because of COVID-19, but the kids were excited and ready to compete.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, William Porterfield, Alexander Jones, Ingrid Baizabal, Rebekah Nelson and Caedmon Larson competed in Congressional Debate against Hooks and Chapel Hill. The event has each team construct bills, resolutions or amendments to the Constitution over which to debate during a six-hour session. The competitors, along with their classmates, research from September to November the pros and the cons of 12 or more pieces of legislation that will be used at Regionals. The debaters then give speeches in the affirmative and negative on each piece of legislation and are asked in-depth questions. One of the students serves as the Presiding Officer who must meticulously control every aspect of the chamber. The results are decided by five judges who can have five different paradigms over two threehour sessions. Rebekah Nelson placed 8th, Ingrid Baizabal placed 7th, Alexander Jones placed 5 th and William Porterfield placed 1st and won top Presiding Officer and will be advancing to state!