LETTER- Shawn was ousted

Published online 8:00am Thursday Sep 28th, 2006
and in print issue #0539 dated Thursday Sep 28th, 2006

Thank you for the wonderful coverage of Shawn Decker and his new book [August 17 cover story: "My pet virus: Decker finds humor in his life with HIV"].

I take objection to former superintendent of Waynesboro Schools Thomas Varner's recollection of how Shawn was handled in the school system.

There were no policies in place, and the news about HIV/AIDS-affected children was coming faster than it could be understood. Until the public could be educated and the school system figured out what to do (thanks to Shawn's mother's research), Shawn was excluded from any school activity. Nobody has walked in Shawn's shoes and felt the disrespect he received.

We are thankful that this resourceful man has overcome it and moved on. May he continue to be a source of hope for anybody he meets, and I hope that the Waynesboro School system doesn't take any credit for his success.

Pat Roys
Waynesboro