George Gordon's School of Law

by Regina Wynn, Ozark County Times

(appeared on front page, Ozark County Times, August 13, 2003)

During a recent trip to the Ozarks, U.S. Senator Jim Talent took time from his schedule to visit with 15-year-old Kohl Gordon of Isabella.

After a roundtable discussion with business and civic leaders in Ozark, Talent met with Kohl to talk about her boxes of supplies for the Iraqi schoolchildren.

Kohl has collected supplies to fill 100 boxes. The boxes include a notebook, pencils, chalk, pencil sharpener, erasers, a ruler, a small ball and other supplies children need.

"I picked things I thought the kids would enjoy," Kohl told Talent. "Things they might need and have fun with at the same time.

"Everyone needs paper and pencils to write and draw. And even though I can't send a small slate over in the boxes, they can use the chalk to write and draw on other surfaces.

"All kids like to play with balls," Kohl continued. "They're fun. And the breath mints are there because everbody likes breath mints."

Talent agreed with Kohl.

"A lot of what the United States is trying to accomplish in post-war is a return to normalcy for the Iraqi people," Talent said. "This project can help with that. What could be more normal than kids drawing?"

Having met her original goal of filling 100 schoolboxes, Kohl's new goal is much larger.

"I'd like to challenge other students, especially kids who are home schooled, to try and fill boxes, too," Kohl, who is home schooled, says. "I think our larger goal should be to send over 1,000 boxes. We could do it if we all worked very hard and were dedicated to making sure it got done."

Talent was enthusiastic about the project. "This is a great thing Kohl is doing," Talent said. "We'll see how we can help with the shipping cost for these first 100 boxes and see where we go from there."

George's Note: While Senator Talent did come through on finding a way to get the boxes shipped for nothing, the Pentagon, who they'd have been shipped through, estimated a time of arrival of between December, 2003 and August, 2004... needless to say, Kohl didn't take advantage of the offer. However, she did find out that she can send 'gifts' to servicemen for normal US Mail rates... which are significantly cheaper than rates for overseas, and will arrive a lot sooner than the 3-12 month estimated delivery for humanitarian offerings the Pentagon is estimating. So, if you're planning on sending something over, please keep this in mind.

If you're interested in having your child join in, or simply want to help Kohl, send an email, mail a letter or donation or give us a call at 417-273-4967. Thanks.

George Gordon's School of Law
P.O. Box 297 Isabella, MO 65676
E-mail George


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