You Guys, It’s December – You Know We’ve Done This Before [OPINION]

I don't know what it is about the winter time, but when the weather starts to really shift, all of a sudden we lose our collective minds.  Is it something in the water? 

We had a bit of icky weather this weekend.  Most people out driving were being pretty cautious, which is great.  But when it comes to the kids........well, that's different.

Every year, we here at the radio stations, and the other media sources in town, work with the school districts to get the cancellations out to everybody.   We have a pretty good system where there's a secret password that has to be given in order for a school cancellation to be broadcast.  It helps  cut down on the possibility of prankster kids getting a fake snow day.  Doesn't stop them from trying, though............

I will never forget this one winter - I wanna say it was more than five years ago.  We had a bit of snow, and it must have been during the week.  We got an email to our newsroom that was clearly fake.  It was something like Superintendent200@hotmail.com, trying to get classes cancelled on Friday.  Well, we saw through that real quick - first of all, there was no password.  Second of all,.........the 200 school district doesn't use a HOTMAIL ACCOUNT.   But, for some reason, one of the TV stations up in Kansas City just went ahead and reported it.

Then the calls started.

I swear, I took at least two hundred calls over the second half of my shift.  Every single one of them was asking if school was cancelled.  I had to say, on the air, "No matter what you saw on TV... school is in session Friday".   It was insane.

Just as insane were the calls we used to get before the online cancellations were more popular.  Nowadays almost everybody seems to be able to access the internet.  It really cuts down on calls you get.  I can never forget the hundreds of calls I've gotten over the years to know if a certain school was closed, and the excuses people would give for why they couldn't just check online or listen the announcement on the radio.

I had one lady call me, asking me about a Green Ridge cancellation, I think.  I told her we were going to air the report in a moment if she would just listen in. She told me, "I don't have a radio".   Which would be believable........if I couldn't hear her car radio on in the background of the call.....PLAYING OUR RADIO STATION.  Seriously?  At least turn it down a little!  Who you think you're foolin with that whopping fib?!

So anyway, guys, if you just check our school cancellation page if you've got a doubt.  Most of the time the district will call or send out a text message, but if you don't get one and you're still unsure, just click there and you'll see the latest.

But, we only take cancellations from the school itself, with the password.  Sorry, kids.

Educationally yours,

Behka