Mrs. Fisher reads from an article describing how Tangerine County is famous for how often it's struck by lightning.

This happens near the beginning of the novel, in the chapter titled "Thursday, September 7." Mrs. Fisher, the rest of the family, the school principal, the football coach, and many other parents of football players have all gathered for a a meeting at the Fisher family home. That day, a member of the football team, Mike Costello, has been killed by a lightning strike during practice after school. Storms and lightning usually hit during the late afternoon, when football practices are always held. Mrs. Fisher wants to prevent further deaths or injuries from lightning strikes, so she's trying to get the team to reschedule their practice sessions for a time when lightning will be less likely.

Of course, the coach doesn't want to change his entire schedule just because of this one sad incident. He presents several logical arguments to Mrs. Fisher, essentially trying to dismiss her idea. He seems to indicate that lightning strikes are random and rare.

But Mrs. Fisher is prepared. She reads from the article, from the local Tangerine Times, which says that their city experiences the highest proportion of deaths by lightning strike in the entire nation. It's excellent support for her argument--it totally negates the coach's point about lightning strikes being a negligible concern--and she succeeds in convincing the rest of the group to at least vote on a motion to move the football practices to a different time of day.