She stands in the middle of a school crosswalk on busy Clays Mill Road in Lexington. Virginia Mayes wears a yellow safety vest, holds a large red stop sign, and blows her whistle to stop traffic in front of Clays Mill Elementary School.
From 7:15 to 8:15 in the morning Miss Virginia as she’s called known ushers’ children across with a smile and a friendly, “have a good day baby.”
Two other schools, Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary and Lexington Catholic, are nearby making this a very busy place. “I’m looking this way, that-uh-way, and this away. 'Cause, see I got three schools. So, I got kids coming this away, that away, and this away.”
