When I was teaching school the question I hated most was, "Mr. Godsey, does spelling count on this?" My answer was always a smarmy, "Why, no, feel free to misspell as many words as you possibly can." One of the parents of a student was the editor of the local newspaper (the one who got my newspaper column started) and she wrote an editorial once entitled, "Spelling Always Counts!" Some of the reports we get from our deputies are amazing. It is not always misspelled words, spell check can catch those. It is words used incorrectly that drive us buggy. I constantly preach to my staff that the reports need to be as bulletproof as possible. Misspelled words make us look like amateurs to the lawyers who are scrutinzing our reports and looking for ways to discredit us on the witness stand. It's just like teaching school all over again! Blessings, Jerry Godsey
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