Florence County Teacher Charged After Throwing Koosh Ball at Sleeping Student

WISTV ^ | 12/6/02 | Jennifer Miskewicz

[marshmallow]

(Florence) Dec. 6, 2002 - In an attempt to wake a student sleeping in class last week, a Florence School District One teacher threw a Koosh Ball at the sixth grader. Now the student's mother is pressing simple assault and battery charges against her.

Both sides agree Nina Morrison, 34, threw one of the light, rubbery balls, now in evidence, at the girl as she was nodding off in class, but they disagree over the extent of the means used to get the child's attention.

Morrison, who turned herself in when she heard an arrest warrant had been issued for her, had a bond hearing Friday where a judge told her the charge carries a sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $1000 fine.

In her first year with Florence School District One Morrison teaches six graders with disabilities at Moore Intermediate School Morrison.

The mother of a female student here says Morrison was wrong to throw a Koosh Ball at her sleeping daughter and is pressing charges. Morrison's attorney Steve Wukela, Jr., says, "What the teacher did was toss the Koosh Ball onto the desk, and these Koosh Balls don't bounce, and that was it."

The mother pressing charges did not attend the hearing, but five teachers and administrators were in court to support Morrison. Florence District One officials say they investigated the matter and decided the teacher did make an error in judgment. They suspended her for one day with pay.

Morrison was released on a personal recognizance bond, which means she doesn't have to pay anything as long as she comes to her next court date. She'll go back to work, but the student has been transferred to another class. Morrison's next court date is December 16th.

[bmwcyle]

Close the school and send the children home. The parents will kill that mother in one week.

[Phantom Lord]

I think Rosie should be named as a co-defendant. If it wasnt for her throwing koosh balls at the audiance daily for years then this teacher wouldnt have done it.

[Recovering_Democrat]

IDIOTS.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I wonder if there's a statute of limitations regarding the yardstick Mrs. Gordon broke over my head in 2nd grade?

[Drango]

This is from the Onion, right?

Don't the police/courts have better things to do?

[ewing]

Hold Muh Koosh Ball Alert!

[dd5339]

I had teachers who would wing blackboard erasers at those sleeping in class. Another had a nice bamboo pointer, he'd wander up to the culprit and smack it on the desk. It always caused the sleeper to levitate about 3'.

Semper Fi

[js1138]

MY 10th grade teacher used wooden-backed chalk erasers. And we had to walk 10 miles to school every day -- uphill in both directions.

[tsomer]

One must wonder what maximum-security prison they would put my 10th grade algebra teacher in

It's starting to look like it might be safer inside than out...

[Redcloak]

My high school biology teacher had an chalkboard eraser for that application. It was missing the hard back and made a great attention getter. (Though one day the kid he was throwing at ducked. It whapped the girl behind me and left a lovely streak of chalkdust running up the side of her head. I'm not sure who felt worse about it: The teacher who missing his target or the guy next to me who ducked and let her get hit.)

[mystery-ak]

I went through 12 years of Catholic schools....I can't tell you how many times I had to duck to get out of the line of fire from nuns and priests.....and they didn't throw soft balls!

[katnip]

Oh boy, this brings back such fond memories of old Sister Cornelious.

She could fling an eraser through a class of 65 fourth graders and hit the target of her furor squarely on the forhead with amazing precision.

[ofMagog]

in nine feet of snow...

[Redcloak]

And we had to walk 10 miles to school every day -- uphill in both directions.

At least you didn't have to do that in the snow, like we did, even when it was 110° outside!

[Doc Savage]

May I be the first to suggest the Teacher be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for merely having to put up with the lout!

Perhaps Johnny would do better at a Marine boot camp. I have a feeling that if he fell asleep there he would never again!!!

[FreeTally]

Ok, I'll ask. What's a "Koosh Ball"?

[Redcloak]

Only 9 feet?

Slacker...

[dighton]

"Assault with a deadly Koosh Ball" alert.