Oh, the things you’ll find in the Willow Springs High School. From crazy hair dos to messy lockers, Willow seems like your pretty average high school; that is until you see the critters found here.

On Monday, Septmber 21st, Willow students had the day off while the teachers and staff came to school for the annual SCA conference. Throughout the high school, teachers were scattered in classrooms listening to their assigned speaker. Little did everyone know that the teachers in Chris Rodgers’ classroom were in for a little surprise.

As their meeting was coming to a close, the speaker in charge told the class he was going to dismiss them a little early  but not to be in a big hurry. Seated in one of the desks, a teacher from Ava let out, “Does seeing a snake on the floor count?” At that point everyone in the room got a surprised and astonished look on their face.

After everyone had a chance to freak out a little, the SCA Presenter caught the snake and put it in a water bottle and placed in on the desk. A teacher who had been sitting in the back of the room said she saw the snake come from out of the closet. The day tarried on and around 1:30 pm, Coach Rodgers returned to his room. When Coach sat down at his desk and picked up the bottle, he saw a black little snake crawling around.

“I think it was a prank,” replied Coach Rodgers; although no one has come forward with any suspects or solutions to whom it may have been. When he had other teachers come in and take a look at his desk ornament, Mrs. Miller determined that the snake was indeed a black rat snake and was approximately 6-8 inches long.

At the end of the day, no one knew what to do with the little critter.  Mrs. Miller took it upon herself to take the snake home and release it in the woods by her house. “Cay Miller-defender of wildlife,” she replied when asked why she took the snake. Mrs. Miller, the biology teacher, came through and saved the day for everyone, or so it seems.

Ag teacher, Mr. Sanders, has reported seeing a snake too while he was landscaping here at school. So, was the snake found in Coach Rodgers’ room just a coincident, or is it the beginning of little black snakes popping up here and there? Who knows for certain, but a note to the wise: if you find a snake don’t hurt, swing, stomp, or step on it because Mrs. Miller knows karate!