School receives Big River Telephone grant

Big River Telephone Co. has announced a $28,500 grant has been awarded to Saxony Lutheran High School in Fruitland. The grant provides $9,500 per year for high-speed Internet access to the school for a three-year period.

The high-speed Internet access will be used primarily by the students for educational purposes, but will also be available to the faculty and staff for other administrative needs. This grant is intended to aid faculty members in teaching and help to prepare the Saxony Lutheran students for transition into college and the work environment, where Internet access has become commonplace.

Saxony Lutheran recently built a new school located on Interstate 55 off of the Fruitland exit.

"With this grant, Saxony Lutheran High School can continue to combine technology with classroom instruction to provide an excellent, well-rounded Christian education for our students. The Internet has become an integral part of today's classroom. We want to thank Big River for their generous grant," said principal Craig Ernstmeyer.

"We think Saxony Lutheran does an excellent job of educating and preparing our youth to be excellent citizens for the future. We wanted to help out in the best way we could to support their mission," said Kevin Cantwell, president of Cape Girardeau-based Big River Telephone.