LIVINGSTON–Give us the rocks. This was the feeling for over 20 teachers from York West End School who attended the Sumter County Commission meeting yesterday. York West End principal Melvin Willis spoke on behalf of the disgruntled teachers.

“At the last meeting the commission voted down our request for gravel at our school. We would like to know why every other school gets things, but we seem to get left out,” Willis said.

Many of the teachers were saying that they were upset with the way they’ve been treated with the request for rocks. They were really upset with some comments made in another newspaper.

One of the teachers said, “The article said we just wanted clean shoes, well I’m a professional so I took offense to that and yes everyone would like clean shoes, but the children come first,” she said.

Commissioner Aubrey Ellis made a motion that the commission send out the county engineer and get a grand total for the project and bring it back to the next meeting. Before the motion was voted on one of the commissioners wanted to let her voice be heard.

Commissioner Diane Ruffin Green sided with the teachers from York West End. She said How come when the five schools in this county asked for rocks, they got them. We didn’t have to send out the engineer and have him look around.

“It’s just not right that we can’t give them rocks and everyone else gets rocks,” Green said.

After Green’s statement, the commission votes on Ellis’ motion and it passes 4-2 in favor to send the county engineer. Well after the vote, The Chairman of the Commission Isaac Bonner said, “We need to just go ahead and honor their original request for some rocks. There is no reason to tie up the engineer all day, when it can be solved easily as that.”

So after Chairman Bonner’s point of order everyone agrees to just honor the original request and give the school some rocks for their road.