God bless Mrs. Pittman...

Yesterday, Avis Pittman was teaching the combined first and second grade class at St. Mary School in Omaha, Nebraska, when she heard a creaking sound. She looked up and saw a new crack spreading across the plaster ceiling and immediately ordered all the children out of the room. In the next second, the heavy ceiling came down in one fell swoop. Five of the children were injured, but not seriously. Mostly bumps, bruises, a few stitches and one broken arm.

A 46-year veteran teacher, Mrs. Pittman wept as she directed the children to safety because she was afraid one of them might get killed. God bless her for trying to get the children out the door. From the photographs it looks like the kids might have been seriously hurt if they would have been at their desks.

St. Mary School is closed today while the building inspector figures out what happens and the mess is cleaned up. Water damage has already been ruled out, so there must have been a structural shift in the 92-year-old building. But the building inspector was on the news last night mystified that the whole ceiling came down in one piece.

--Sparki