Lessons Learned

For the past couple of weeks, two McCreary County incidents have weighed heavily on my mind.  One occurred in the recent past, the other will occur in the near future.  The two incidents are not particularly related; except that both are powerful reminders about the importance of “lessons learned.”

The first incident occurred on March 27, 2023 when 63 year-old Raymond Owsley walked away from Cumberland Manor Rest Home in Parkers Lake.  A surprisingly large number of McCreary Countians (including those of us at The Voice) did not know about Owsley’s disappearance until several weeks had passed.  With last week’s discovery of a deceased male body in the Parkers Lake vicinity, knowledge of Owsley’s disappearance suddenly became much more widespread as rumors began circulating that the deceased body might be that of a man who had disappeared weeks earlier from the rest home.  Although positive identification of the deceased body and notification of the next of kin is still ongoing, discovery of the unidentified body suddenly brought to light the fact that a resident from Cumberland Manor facility went missing and apparently, the bare minimum done to locate him.  (See complete story on Page 1.)

Although Owsley’s disappearance was reported to law enforcement and precursory searches were conducted on the evening of his disappearance, large scale searches with K9 trackers and multiple first responders were apparently not executed.  The press was not notified to disseminate information to the public, eliminating the possibility of receiving assistance from hundreds of readers who could have been on the look-out for Owsley.  Rightly so, Owsley was entered into a national data base of missing persons; however, an attempt to activate a golden alert failed, due to inadequate notification.

As knowledge of Owsley’s disappearance became more widespread, the press and the public began to ask questions concerning the handling of his disappearance.  As a result of the questions, local officials examined protocols relevant to the handling of missing person reports and also contacted state officials for assistance in updating local procedures.

Lessons were learned.  Unfortunately, Mr. Owsley’s location remains unknown; however, another local senior citizen has already benefited from the lessons learned.  The outcome of his story has a much happier ending.

Within a matter of days of last week’s discovery of the unidentified body, a second senior citizen went missing in Whitley City.  However, this time, first responders wasted no time in organizing a search and getting word out to the public.   Multiple searches involving multiple agencies (fire/rescue and law enforcement) were conducted within hours.  The press was notified almost immediately, and the public was alerted to be on the look-out for the missing senior citizen.  The senior’s disappearance was promptly entered into a national data base of missing persons, and a golden alert was successfully logged into the state system.

As a result, last week’s missing McCreary County senior citizen was successfully located and safely returned home to his family in just over 24 hours.

I breathe a sigh of relief.  It seems lessons were learned from Mr. Owsley’s disappearance and those “lessons learned” will be applicable to any future cases involving missing individuals.  As citizens, we can rest easier knowing proper protocols and procedures are in place for responding to local reports of missing persons.  Now, we need to pray those missing person protocols and procedures are never needed, again.

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The second “lesson learned” is in regard to the selection of a superintendent for the McCreary County School District.  School board members are currently in the process of interviewing candidates this week with the naming of a new school superintendent perhaps coming at the end of this month.  Hopefully, lessons learned in the past will impact our board members’ decision-making process for the betterment of all McCreary County students.

Since 1994, the average tenure of a McCreary County School superintendent is 1.9 years. Since February 1994 through March 2023 (29 years), the District has experienced multiple changes in the superintendent position, with it having been occupied by 19 different individuals as either interim, acting, or (full) superintendent.  During this 29 year span of time, the position has been filled by both homegrown, “local” candidates as well as individuals arriving from outside of the District.

Hopefully, a lesson learned from the district’s past inconsistency in leadership is that it really doesn’t matter where a superintendent was “born and bred.”  Whether he or she is a local or a “foreigner” from outside of McCreary County, what matters is that he/she is a dynamic leader who truly makes decisions based on the needs of all students, rather than the whims of agenda-driven adults.  He/she must have a proven track record of instructional expertise, leadership, and skill in working with students and families from poverty.  In the case of the McCreary County School District, he/she needs to be “seasoned,” with extensive experience in school management and possess the “people skills” necessary to communicate with students, staff, parents, and community.  At the same time, if ever necessary, he/she must be willing to stand alone while diplomatically making tough decisions in the best interest of students.

Perhaps most importantly, he/she must have the vision and willingness to take McCreary County as it is-a wonderful gift and shining opportunity to dream big and accomplish great things.

I, as well as the parents and students of McCreary County, are trusting the McCreary County Board of Education to thoroughly vet all candidates and make a wise decision in selecting our next school superintendent.  I trust they have learned from lessons in the past and will base their decision on qualities that truly matter.

Lesson learned?

Hiring the best superintendent to lead our school district isn’t a matter of being a “local” or being an “outsider.”   It is simply a matter of hiring the BEST.  Our students deserve that.