As principal, Keith Ball has faced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Six and a half years of service and it is bound to happen. Out of all of it though, he has memorable moments that he will put in his “autobiography.”

From getting hit in the head with a brick on his first day (read more about that in Danielle Goold’s story) to revamping the campus, staff, and lunch program.

“My greatest achievement at Etowah was the free and reduced lunch program,” Ball said.

When he came to Etowah in 2010, Ball saw that only 12 percent of students were getting free or reduced lunch, and that did not sit well with him. The free and reduced lunch program has nearly doubled the number of students it serves, now about 26 percent. He also implemented the after school snack program.

“You can’t learn if you’re hungry,” Ball said.

His worst nightmare is not a food fight in the cafeteria or the bathrooms, but it is losing somebody he watches over every day. “I’ve buried three students and over 100 staff members. Losing anyone else, that’s the worst thing that could happen,” Ball said.

No matter what he faces at Etowah, the worst possible moments for him will be losing people.

But being at Etowah for six full years means one of the most annoyingly scary things at a high school: six senior pranks. Out of all of them, Ball’s first is the worst. “My first year here, students got dead dear off the side of the road and put them on the roof of the admin building. It was a hot day, three days before graduation,” he said.

Days before graduation and three students trashed the campus that they had complained about so much. Ball expelled them from graduation despite numerous calls from angry parents. He wanted to show people he meant business.

“Oh, the places you’ll go,” Dr. Seuss said it best. Here is to a bittersweet goodbye from the entire Talon staff! We wish you good luck!