Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Classy Moments

Cabe Middle School was officially dedicated October 14 and what wonderful celebration filled the day.

Mrs. Clingan expressed sincere appreciation to Mrs. Cena Clark, Mrs. Michaelyn Morehead and Mrs. Sandra Hitt for decorating the gym, where the ceremony took place. Beautiful silk trees and flowers from M&M Enterprises of Gurdon graced the stage area with such beauty that brought several compliments.

Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Morehead decorated the tables in the cafeteria and Heath Griffin and Jake Plyler served the guests a delicious lunch.

Billy Tarpley, master of ceremonies, introduced the honored guests, members of the Horace C. Cabe Foundation: Charles L. Cabe Jr., Marianne Long, Charles Lee 'Sandy' Cabe, Lucy Cabe, Lucille Cook and Anne Slicker. Three of the members were able to attend the occasion.

Gurdon School Board of Education officials Stan Escalante, Jesse Runyan, Billy Tarpley and David Williams were in attendance, as was former president of the board Charles Ledbetter.

The audience stood as flag bearers Jonathan Gonzales, Dominic McPeak and Davion Williams placed the flag in the proper position for the Pledge of Allegiance. The Gurdon Alma Mater was sung with the accompaniment of the Gurdon High School band.

Mrs. Sandra Hitt led the Gurdon High School choir in a beautiful performance of Let There Be Peace On Earth. Mrs. Hitt held the audience spell-bound as she sang One Moment In Time. Wow! Such talent!

Mr. Wayne Trull, architect of Cabe Middle School, expressed the pleasure he enjoyed while construction of the building was being done, knowing that extra precautions for safety were being included in the structure.

Mr. Alexander, principal, explained how attitudes have changed in the students since occupying the new building and how they are showing their appreciation and pride for the new building as they are helping to keep the building clean in various ways.

Lacey Jester, president of CMS Student Council, on behalf of the student body, expressed their appreciation for the generosity of the Cabe Foundation. She dedicated a plaque to the building from the first student council of Cabe Middle School. A special gift was presented to Charles Cabe.

Mr. Wimberly, band director, thanked the foundation for the help that has been given to the band program. The band played the 'best' performance for the audience.

Mrs. Keri Green, junior high cheerleader sponsor, explained that the cheerleaders had two chants for CMS, made especially for the occasion. The girls were simply wonderful.

Bobby Smithson, superintendent of the district, explained how the "end of the road" had been reached since a proposed mileage had been voted down, until the Cabe Foundation was approached with the grant request. After receiving the grant, a dream became reality. He reminded the members that the investment they had made would be one that would continue for years to come, as the investment was in the students of today and the unknown number of tomorrow.

Winnie Clark sang Angels Among Us, but added a very special opening poem telling how a small town was in need of a new school after several repairs had been made on the old building, with lots of repair, patches, paint and only to have to repeat the procedure, when a family named Cabe, out of concern for the students and community, gave willingly to see to that a new educational environment was constructed with no strings attached. The performance was one of which gave 'goose pimples' to several in the audience.

Billy Tarpley read a special letter from Gov. Mike Huckabee. He stated how appropriate it was to rename the Gurdon Middle School after the Cabe family, as they unselfishly had given above and beyond the benefit of the school and the students. As a token of his appreciation for the generosity of the Cabe family, he ordered the state flag that was flying over the state Capitol that day to be given to Cabe Middle School. He expressed his regrets in not being able to attend the dedication.

Following lunch, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in front of the school. Displays of various pictures and plaques that will grace the wall in the entrance were on display. A tour of the building was enjoyed by the guests.

We had such a wonderful day. The students were so well behaved. Several dressed up for the occasion.

Mrs. Clingan had the student council working overtime, but heard no complaints, as they are so willing to do what it takes to make this first year at Cabe Middle School a big success.

Mrs. Morehead's classes made some beautiful signs for display, as did Mrs. Roe's classes. The signs added such wonderful decorations as Billy Tarpley pointed out to the audience.

New furniture arrived just in time for the office waiting room area. Beautiful floral arrangements were received from First State Bank and the Forget Me Knot Shop. Such thoughtfulness is so greatly appreciated.

In the new building is the first time Mrs. Morehead has had her classroom in the same building with other teachers. However, after Ms. Hatley found Mrs. Morehead's 'art work' on her car, they may be looking for a room far, far away from M.M. Just when we thought all was well, just goes to show you can never tell about people.

Mark Anderson, intern teacher with Mrs. Clingan, has completed the time for the middle school and is now at the high school for the next nine weeks. We wish you the best, Mr. Anderson.

What a wonderful week we had. The building has been 'squeaky clean' and so many extra things have been done to make it a place where pride and appreciation is apparent, thanks to everyone!

School will dismiss at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, and parent/teacher conferences will be held from 2:30 until 7:00 p.m. We look forward to having the opportunity to talk to the parents about the progress of our students. This is just another way that we find to make those Classy Moments at CMS.