Congratulations to Flanagan Girls Basketball Team

February 25, 2008       Editor: Dave Uphoff
Our hats go off to the Flanagan-Woodland High School Girls basketball team which won the Class 1A State Championship by beating Newark in overtime, 62-60 last Saturday. This is quite an accomplishment for our neighbor to the east. A little town half the size of Minonk with a school enrollment less than 1/3 that of Fieldcrest captured all the marbles. It reminded me of tiny Hebron, population 500, when they went 32-0 to win the boys State Championship in 1952 when there was only one class of schools.

I have always respected Flanagan as a community. Like Benson, it is a close knit community that seems to be able to work together to get things done in a cooperative manner. I think one of the reasons for this is that Flanagan and Benson have a more homogeneous community than Minonk. Their economy is based on agricultural and farming and the cultural makeup is less diverse than Minonk's. Minonk is big enough to have more opportunities for conflict and varying degrees of opinion. Also, smaller communities realize that volunteering is very important in order to get things done.

Flanagan is to be commended for its excellent academic record as well as its athletic achievements. Flanagan's 2007 ACT Assessment scores were above the state average in every category while its teachers salaries were far below the state average.

A historical note on Flanagan is when Peter Flanagan started the town he named it Flanagan, but for some time the postoffice was named Nebraska. In 1882 it was changed, and the post office address was changed to Flanagan.


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                                                             Viewer comments on this editorial

Chris wrote on 2/27/2008 at 22:12:38

I think I agree with Family, they make a very valid point. We do tend to complain alot on this site. I have always admired Flanagan as a town, and I have friends there that check out site often to see sports scores, etc, and they've often asked me why everyone complains so much on here. I do think that some people in town are too easily offended and want to complain about everything, or perhaps they like to post things to start trouble (probably so)..and this forum DOES aid that behavior, truly. What do you suppose we can do to rectify this?


to Family wrote on 2/27/2008 at 10:25:29

Can't you just say "Thank You" for the compliments to your town, school, and the girls' basketball team, and accept an apology for not mentioning Cornell? Do you really need to be so critical? By the way, where is your name on your comment??


To: Family in Flanagan wrote on 2/27/2008 at 09:22:36

I just wonder, after all the nice things this article has to say about Flanagan, why did you see fit to bash the website? Seems a simple thank you could have sufficed.


To: Family in Flanagan wrote on 2/27/2008 at 09:22:36

I just wonder, after all the nice things this article has to say about Flanagan, why did you see fit to bash the website? Seems a simple thank you could have sufficed.


Hopeful wrote on 2/27/2008 at 09:16:25

Dave, I respect your opinions and you often have great information. I don't believe that Minonk is as diverse as you say it is. It is no different than any other small town. I believe there is a lot of volunteerism in this town. More than most. There could be more working together to resolve issues, but overall things are good. I think the conflicts come from strong people with strong opinions. As for their team, it could just be a good year for them. Sometimes the pieces just fall into place. I think the real issue is we need to work together to resolve the few issues that are hurting the community now, the school and the water problems. Fighting won't resolve either. Open and positive communication is a start.


Family in Flanagan wrote on 2/26/2008 at 15:38:43

Yes, Congrats to our girls! However, you forgot to mention that Flanagan Woodland also includes Cornell in school and sports...so it's FWC. Further, as far as ACT scores (and ISATS) the teachers drill, drill, drill students on the content that will be tested. Parents are sent forms and study guides so we can "practice" with our child at home. Thirdly, there ARE issues in Flanagan, but they aren't hung out like dirty laundry on the world wide web. To close, I'll add some thoughts as some of us have been talking---perhaps if you want your town to look better in the eyes of others, you might consider making some changes to this website. Every town has naysayers, but giving them a forum to hide behind instead of having them speak their opinions at town meetings is not doing a service to your community.


Just a thought wrote on 2/25/2008 at 20:13:09

Maybe there is something about why it's important to have sports in the schools.


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