Carrie Chilek, 2nd grade teacher at GHE, was really surprised when the VNEF Grand Patrol stopped by to give her a grant.

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

The Viper Nation Education Foundation Grant Patrol awarded more than $36,000 in grants on March 15 to 14 hard-working teachers, administrators and their teams at schools in the Four Points area.

“These grants are some of the best ways to reward our teachers for their ingenuity and dedication to educating our kids,” said Courtney Johnson, VNEF executive director. “Every year we trust them to know what tools are needed in the classroom. Every year they deliver, by identifying excellent tools that will maximize instruction.”

VNEF’s Johnson, chairman William “Biff” Farrell, board members Michelle Beck and Lynette Haaland Seitzler, and school volunteer representatives including Barbara Frierson all helped  present grant checks to local schools. Principals Susan Sullivan, Canyon Ridge Middle School, Joe Ciccarelli, Four Points Middle School, Kathy Goeke, Grandview Hills Elementary, Niki Prindle, River Place Elementary, and Catherine Robinson, Steiner Ranch Elementary all helped in the check presentations as well as students and teachers.

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Troy Greenamyre, Vandegrift junior

Kurt Greenamyre Jan. 23, 1959 – May 12, 2017

Funds being raised for Viper’s future

By SARAH DOOLITTLE
Four Points News

Vandegrift High School junior Troy Greenamyre has been embraced by the Four Points community since his father’s unexpected death on May 12. Kurt Greenamyre was raising Troy on his own, and since his death, family friends Cathy and Rod Kirkpatrick have welcomed Troy into their home, and a GoFundMe page has been established to raise funds for Troy’s ongoing financial needs.

Mary Scherer’s son Will is a friend and Viper football teammate to 17-year-old Troy, and she has enjoyed, “watching them grow up together.”

Scherer created a trust and GoFundMe page with the help of others, “to enable Troy to finish out his final year of high school alongside his friends, in the community that he knows. More importantly, a solid financial base will enable him to dream big about his future… Our goal is to assist Troy in reaching his full potential — he is an incredible kid thrust into this tragedy,” Scherer said.

In less than a week, more than $40,000 has been raised with a long-term goal of $100,000. The funds are going into the trust and will help finance Troy’s needs through his remaining year of high school and four years of college.

“College was extremely important to Troy’s dad,” said Cathy Kirkpatrick.

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Amy Rodriguez,
VHS counselor

By SARAH DOOLITTLE
Four Points News

Vandegrift High School is increasing efforts to address the emotional needs of students in the wake of five Leander ISD student suicides since the beginning of the current school year.

LISD Superintendent Dan Troxell emailed families on March 31 in response to student suicides. His message to parents: no one can do it alone. “We know that early identification and intervention of mental health concerns cannot be achieved without support and engagement from the community,” wrote Troxell. “We can help our students by working collaboratively to address mental health concerns, as we know these issues extend beyond the boundaries of our schools and affect those we care about so deeply.”

At Vandegrift, changes are taking place to help address these concerns.

In addition to existing counseling services and staff, two additional counselors will be hired for the next school year, “which will allow us to expand our support and outreach,” said current VHS counselor Amy Rodriguez.

The school also administered the Stanford Survey for Adolescent School Experiences last week May 16-19, thanks to funding from the VHS Parent Teacher Student Association. The survey is part of a nationally-recognized program, created at Stanford University, that allows schools to get a fuller picture of their students’ lives.

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David Griggs III has a large following of fans in Steiner Ranch and beyond.

“Keep Smiling” David

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

David Griggs III has been working at the University of Texas Golf Club gatehouse for more than a year and he has made a huge difference to many with his smile, his encouraging words “keep smiling” and his poster that also says “Keep Smiling”. He was off duty for approximately a week.

“As many of you know, David, our beloved guard at the UT Golf Club was let go last Friday (May 5),” according to the GoFundMe page creator Allison Hawkins.

Fans of Griggs created a GoFundMe page and made several posts and updates on the Steiner Ranch Moms & Tots group page.

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