I doubt that our high school students think this is a dead horse. She is irresponsible enough to drink and drive, keeps her driver's license because of a legal loophole, and now is not even being responsible enough to take the consequences of her bad judgment.

The message going out is: Listen up kids! Never admit guilt or responsibility, use every loophole you can find, get a good lawyer, tie up the already burdened court system, and under no circumstances let them try to remove you from your job, even though it entails being a mentor and an example to the future young adults of this city, state, nation.

i see the message going out as this:

parents...if you're depending on a random, solitary school official to be the only guiding influence in your child's life, you have bigger problems than you think.

children...if you think "but ms. gentry did it" is an viable excuse for drinking and driving, you have bigger problems than you think.

Ms. Gentry was my vice principal for two years in Jr. High and was an assistant principal at LHS all three years I was there. She is, without a doubt, one of the best administrators I have met. She is a wise counselor for students and an intelligent source of leadership for LHS and the entire school district. Despite how many tasks she had on her plate, she was always willing to sit down and talk with me when there was an issue I needed to speak with her about. And she always had a fair balance of benevolence and strictness that kept her in the role she had at LHS.

Do I think corrective action should be taken? Sure. Do I think it should be termination? DEFINITELY NOT! Suspension for a portion of the school year with an interim administrator filling the void would be sufficient. One incident does not a horrible administrator make. When it boils down we are all important people to someone and we all make mistakes. I think firing someone for one mistake after a career of wise decisions and great counsel is irresponsible. I cringe to think of our ever-weakening staff and faculty at USD 497 losing a great principal like Ms. Gentry.

--Danny Speicher

Many here should take a chill-pill,

NOBODY should plead anything but innocent at this point (first appearance).

I bet Marion and others here would too.

Let the process work.

If this was the "average" person, then you wouldn't be here, Enforcer.

Aw heck....we know Enforcer is just jealous because she is so far BELOW average. Therefore she attempts to compensate by trashing other people, since she didn't get all the attention she was hoping for with her legal problems. Probably didn't get any sympathy either and that's my quess as to why she is so hateful!

Ms. Gentry is entitled to the presumption of innocence under the law until her guilt has been proved, beyond reasonable doubt, in a court of law.

Lynch mobs are so 19th century.