R-7 School Board presents $10K check to Lair family

"We always say once a Zizzer, always a Zizzer. We talk about the Zizzer family, and in true Zizzer fashion the Zizzer family wants to help the family of Connor Lair," West Plains R-7 School Board President Jim Thompson said at the beginning of the board’s September meeting. A check for $10,000 was presented to the Lair family by the board, including gate proceeds from the Sept. 15 Homecoming game, donations from Rolla High School, passing a football helmet to collect cash donations and purple sticker sales. Lair is a 2022 West Plains High School graduate and Zizzer football standout who was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He is now attending Missouri State University in Springfield, playing football for the Bears, and has begun treatment at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. From left: board member Reid Grigsby, Vice President Cindy Tyree and member Brian Mitchell; Lair's grandmother Carolyn Honeycutt; Zizzer Athletics and Activities Director Ashley Cooley; and board member Christena Coleman, Thompson and member Jodi Purgason.