news-record.com

STOKESDALE — Things have gone hog wild at Stokesdale Elementary School this week.

The students have been well-behaved — it’s the pigs that have caused problems.

Five pigs have been snorting around the school campus this week, forcing teachers to keep students indoors and adding to the to-do list of principal Amy Koonce.

“When I was learning to be a principal, they didn’t teach me ... what to do with pigs, so this is a new one for me,” Koonce said.

The pigs — which stand about knee-high and are believed to weigh about 80 pounds each — showed up Monday afternoon. They grazed around the school’s playground and mobile classrooms.

They reappeared Tuesday morning. That prompted a call to Guilford County Animal Control.

Two animal control officers spent an hour Tuesday morning using a bowl of corn and dry cat food to try to capture the animals — an attempt to trick the pigs into thinking they were about to get lunch.

The roundup ended after the pigs took off into a woods behind the school.

“You would think they’d be easy to catch, but they are pigs,” joked Alexis Bennett, one of the animal control officers. “The way we chased them suckers, they ran home.”

The pigs are believed to have escaped from a nearby property. Animal control officers tried to contact the owner but had no luck.

In addition to dealing with the pigs, Koonce said she’s worked to keep the school in order this week, mostly because of the excitement caused by the visiting pigs.

“I think the teachers have done a good job of going on with business as usual,” Koonce said.

Tuesday was also an early-release day for classes, so that helped.

With a day of pig-chasing chaos behind her, Koonce sat down to lunch with school PTA members.

The entree? Barbecue — a good-natured attempt at ribbing the third-year principal.

“You come to work expecting to focus on teaching and instruction ... but it’s all kind of in a day’s work,” Koonce said.
“It’s one of the fun things about being principal at Stokesdale.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com

Contact Nelson Kepley at 373-7333 or nelson.kepley@news-record.com