Morning Briefing: Do We Want Armed Guards at School?

1. Weather: Mostly sunny skies await Canton today, says the National Weather Service. Today's high should be roughly 58 degrees, followed by a low of around 33 degrees tonight.

2. In Case You Missed It: The Cherokee County School District has increased police protection around all schools in light of the tragedy in Connecticut on Friday. The district sent home a letter with all students outlining the county's plans to take measures that are aimed to prevent a similar situation from occurring here. Should armed officers be part of a long-term or permanent security plan for county schools? Tell us in the comments!

3. Happening Now: Have you talked to your children about what happened in Connecticut on Friday? Patch wants to hear your tips and tricks for helping children make sense of an often senseless world. If you need some pointers yourself, hop over to this blog post.

4. Looking Ahead: The lawyer for former Canton Police sergeant Stacy Bailey talked to Canton-Sixes Patch over the phone yesterday, and we (I) wrote up an article outlining his claims and reasons why he feels his client has been unjustly terminated. Once I receive some documents from the City of Canton via an Open Records Request, I will run the article. I am hopeful that I will have everything ready by noon.

5. On This Date in History: On Dec. 18, 1916, the Imperial German Army calls off its six-month assault on the French fortress town of Verdun. The attack, begun on Feb. 20 with the largest artillery bombardment in history, was intended by the Germans to, "bleed France white," as Verdun was a town of great symbolic importance to France. The battle claimed 336,000 German lives and 362,000 French soldiers, making it one of the bloodiest battles of human history.