These past couple of weeks have been difficult ones for those who care about education in Howard County. Two of the finest educators to serve this county are now gone, and their losses will be felt by former students as well as their peers and colleagues.

Sam Leishure and Jim ("J.R.") McCrumb offered the very best for so long, and they both will be sorely missed. I was fortunate enough to have spent most of my career working with these men.

I spent my last six years in Howard County working in Centennial High School's guidance office with Sam, who headed that department. He was a diligent worker who usually was the first to arrive in the office and the last to leave. He cared so much about his students as well as the staff at Centennial. He loved his job and his school, and his actions reflected just that.

J.R. was my first principal in Howard County, and we worked together for about 15 years. There wasn't a student at Mt. Hebron High School that J.R. did not know. From the brightest and best to those struggling to get through high school, Jim knew them all and treated all the same.

Youngsters that hated school and never had a positive experience in an educational environment were the ones J.R. bonded with the best. He probably would have had a tough time being a principal in more recent times, since Jim was going to do what he thought was right and in his students' best interests, regardless of mandates from his superiors.

The loss of these two outstanding professionals is a sad blow to everyone in education, to everyone who cares about kids, and to all those students with whom they came in contact.

David Greenberg

Hilton Head, S.C.

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