clintblackfan01

Randy Richards, Greeneville High School Athletic Director, announced this afternoon the appointment of Caine Ballard to serve as the GHS interim head football coach. That was on http://www.wgrv.com Good luck Coach Ballard, you have the support of the community. I hope some of you negative people on here will apologize to Linda Stroud for all the crap you've said about her.

i almost fell for that until I remembered that everyone in Greeneville knows you use the name barb for these things. the reason i know is i wondered who you were when the greene county director of schools scandal hit a few years ago. you posted then as barb. i know this because my daughter was in your class and you bragged about it. i don't forget... i liked what you had to say then. i don't like what you have to say now. this is a football board - i wouldn't have a word to say if people weren't on here telling lies and spreading rumors that aren't true. i don't know mrs. barger except she taught my kids. that's why i'm so surprised that you're on here making noise. everyone knows you're her. the game is up, ma'am.

you have to specify where the money you're donating is going to. when they wanted a new field, they made donations for that field. those donations were funneled through GSIA. me, i donate directly to little projects here and there. i may be uneducated, but i ain't stupid. you always say where you want your donated money to go. you need to just accept the fact that this isn't any deeper than what you think it is. it's just a case of mismanagement of finances. why does it have to be more? why are athletes on this board so defensive?

you. you're pathetic. my girls are so disappointed in you. you have disgraced your name. how dare you tear down that school that provided you with a living for so many years. you never even worked for stroud. if i were you, i wouldn't throw stones in a glass house. people might start posting about you.

The entire girls basketball team got suspended because they sat there and watched a fight and didn't break it up. - why do you have a problem with that? they also let a boy in to video tape it. maybe you don't get it, but if you've ever seen somebody get beat up bad, then you'd probably realize that it's not safe to let people fight. fighting is not a right. it's dangerous and it gives the school a bad name. I don't know anything about being a principal except you're responsible for what goes on in the school. when you're the boss, you're in charge. simple as that. everybody does their job different. i work construction. i can sit in my office all day and let my subs build the house or i can go out there and swing a hammer. i swing a hammer. i think that's how stroud does her job too. i think your problem is that athletes used to be able to get away with murder at the high school and now they're responsible for their actions. my girls said that is a big difference now.

no, 10 helmets, plus all the new stuff he bougtht when he first started and it was never paid for costed $20,000. Everything he bought from April 2007 to now came due. See, that's the thing, all the bills he racked up with this one company were never paid. Mac said that he thought the equipment was promised by businessmen, but he wasn't filling out any purchase orders. The chickens came home to roost when he sent the 10 helmets in to get fixed. i agree that there's probably more to it, but that's enough to get anybody fired, at least if they work for my business. I don't know their finances, but I do know that every school is hurting for money. All that money is supposed to be going to education and it looks like it is. I know that I paid tuition for my girls and it makes me mad as heck to think that someone racked up $20,000 in bills that the school is going to have to pay for. And let me tell you, buddy, I do know a little bit more about this than you since I donate money I get to hear a little bit more about where it's going than nosey retired teachers and sad "glory days" football players who are trying to defend their coach without any information. So yeah, i don't know it all, but I know more than you, so maybe listen to the truth. Look at what knightw posted. It's the straight up truth.

Knightw has finally put it out there the way it is. Thank you for setting it straight. McCurry racked up $20,000 in debt for the school. $20,000... the company that he racked up $20,000 in debt with would not release the helmets until the debt was paid or a payment plan was started and the principal had to sign off on it. That's how the administration got wind of it in the first place. The school does not have $20,000. I offered to pay some of it when I heard about it, but the amount I could give wasn't even enough when I found out that it was $20,000. If one of my employees racked up $20,000 in debt, I would be calling the Sheriff. Mac got lucky and got to resign and probably go to a great job. I am sure he thought someone would pick up the tab, but they didn't. He tried to change the dates on the POs but that didn't cover up his mistake and that's why we are where we are. Now you have all of these nasty people on here saying things that aren't true. Talking badly about a principal who was just trying to do her job. Mrs. Barger, you should be ashamed of yourself. You taught both of my kids. They always said nice things about you but I see you on here spreading rumors and gossip, you should be ashamed. My girls would be sad if they knew what you were doing on here. Shame on you. Ryan, no offense, but you're just a kid. Adults like to protect kids from the ugly truth. Mac isn't going to tell you that he screwed up and put our school in debt and then just resigned and ran away from the problem. He was offered the chance to finish the school year, but he decided to quit instead probably so he could get another football job. I don't blame him for not destroying your image of him his self.

McCurry is the only one who can legally tell you.

This is from Tennessee Education Association: As employees of the government, public-school teachers are subject to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and thus required to be neutral concerning religion while carrying out their duties as teachers. That means, for example, that teachers do not have the right to pray with or in the presence of students during the school day. Outside of their school responsibilities, public-school teachers are free like other citizens to teach or otherwise participate in their local religious community. But teachers must refrain from using their position in the public school to promote their outside religious activities. Teachers, of course, bring their faith with them through the schoolhouse door each morning. Because of the First Amendment, however, teachers who wish to pray or engage in other religious activities??”unless they are silent??”should do so outside the presence of students. If a group of teachers wishes to meet for prayer or scriptural study in the faculty lounge during their free time in the school day, we see no constitutional reason why they may not be permitted to do so as long as the activity is outside the presence of students and does not interfere with their duties or the rights of other teachers. Teachers are permitted to wear non-obtrusive jewelry, such as a cross or Star of David. But teachers should not wear clothing with a proselytizing message (e.g., a ???Jesus Saves??? T-shirt). So lead by example... I wouldn't know Sinclair Lewis if he sat on my lap and called me Daddy. I just have a good pastor and he makes us take notes!

I haven't been able to confirm through friends at GHS whether Mac went to inservice meetings or not. I don't know how I feel about that (I work in the business industry, so I don't really know exactly what inservice means). I just know that if he didn't show up to work when he was supposed to, then that should be a problem. Even if he wasn't hired to teach or whatever, there are just some things you have go to do, you know. So if he wasn't showing up to meetings like everyone was supposed to, driving around in a free truck, getting paid more than everyone else, then it's no wonder some of the faculty had a hard time swallowing him being there. Wins or not. Not everyone cares about football you know? My wife leaves the room everytime it's on.

In Iran, they would make you pray. They are a theocracy ruled by Mullahs (religious leaders). I think you would feel more comfortable there. They could even take people like me and execute me because I believe in religious freedom for everyone. That might make your day. I'm sorry I care about people. I didn't realize not being a fascist meant you had to be a panzy. Beware...Sinclair Lewis said, "Facism will come to America wrapped in a flag carrying a bible." My pastor read that quote to us, by the way, and he's not nearly as touchy-feely as some people!

Actually, in America, what's supposed to be great about our country is that we can move our families to East Tennessee, Chinatown, San Francisco, New York, or Texas without experiencing religious descrimination. What if you were the only player on the team who believed differently than the others? What if your parents told you that you weren't allowed to pray with the rest of the team? Most of you on here have never experienced religious descrimination. When you do, you won't feel the same way, trust me. Why do the same people who complain about "big government" want "government (coaches)" into their children's spiritual lives? Why can't you see that it needs to be separate? It isn't depriving the coach of any right to pray. It just deprives that coach a right to lead his team in prayer. it's the same thing in the classroom. in most companies, it's the same thing in the boardroom. what you see is "wrong" with our country is about all that's been right with it lately. i guess you just have to experience some different things in life before you can understand...

Has anyone heard who the next coach might be?

well trust me, if those beans got to me, then they've been spilled everywhere...

i also go to church every sunday. i'm glad my state is separated from most churches, though.

A coach, like it or not, is an agent of the state, and therefore cannot participate in prayer. Of course it doesn't make sense in East Tennessee when a majority of the students are the same religion, but in areas where there are many different religions and perhaps tensions between certain religious groups, then you wouldn't want the coach "taking a side" by participating in prayer. our country might have been founded on christian principles, but the main principle our country was founded on was freedom of worship and freedom from a state-sponsored religion. i think anyone who believes in the united states and the constitution can agree that we want government, which includes coaches, believe it or not, out of our religion. I always give myself the china town test when talking about 1st amendment issues... i always try to make the statement from a "what if we were in china town and everyone was buddhist but my child?" that's america. if you want a theocracy, move to iran.

I am just quoting what everyone knows is true. I'm not "plastering" anything that isn't common knowledge in the Greeneville community (and I live in Baileyton!). This is a different situation than a public works employee, though, since monies were promised then rescinded. I think mac is the real victim in all of this.

Employers never comment about that even if you put them down as a reference. It leaves them open for a lawsuit. I changed my tone because I calmed down

Tennessee state accounting principles require that administrators sign off on purchase orders. Apparently this wasn't followed because he thought the local businessmen would pick up the check. How sad. Of course, Richards wouldn't have signed the PO's because there was no money there for the equipment. Bottom line: mccurry got hung out to dry by businessmen, not ghs administrators

my point is that a lot of people on here are hating on the administration and faculty. you can have both academics and athletics, but what you're missing is that the tone of people on this board is against the ghs administration acting like they didn't want mccurry. only a few dingbats had a problem with mccurry, but many, and rightly so, had a problem with how he was hired. it's pretty crappy to not even let the principal of a high school have a say in who their next football coach is. that was the problem people had - it was not with mccurry himself. the bottom line is this, though...this is an unfortunate situation for both greeneville high football players, coach mccurry, and greeneville high staff. it's a difficult process. it doesn't help that people on here spread rumors that aren't true and have no founding. if you want the truth, ask Mccurry...he is the only one who can talk about it.

Greeneville High School was the state of Tennessee's only Blue Ribbon High School winner last year. That's a national distinction. I'd say that makes them a superpower. I think they're pretty happy with being an academic superpower. You know...academics get people jobs...jobs are hard to find right now...thank god they have the right priorities.

Are you people serious? Do you really think that this is a Stroud/McCurry issue? The issue is McCurry bought a bunch of stuff without filling out any PO's and left the school in enormous debt. Why isn't anyone talking about the reason he resigned and making up a bunch of other crap? Dr. Stroud has made a very positive change at Greeneville High School - oh wait...she punished athletes for their role in a big fight and caused us to not advance in the state tournament. That's the problem - you people think athletics are the most important thing in the world. What lesson have you learned from your coaches if you still don't understand why the bball team had to foreit its game. I saw the video - the girls were content to sit there and watch the fight until the girl they didn't want to win was winning. The boys who went into the girls' locker room were suspended, not the entire boys' basketball team. What is your beef with Dr. Stroud? That's she's an educator who cares about more than football. Jerry Ayers cared more about more than football and that's why the whole football coach hiring process was taken out of his hands and put into the hands of local businessmen. Look how it turned out...great...the faculty had a hard time dealing with the fact that McCurry was hired the way he was. It was a mess from the beginning. You people need to wake up to the fact that if athletics is all a school has, then it doesn't have much. Thank goodness you all aren't the people in charge. By the way, let's make something clear...McCurry RESIGNED...if he resigned right now that means he probably has a job open somewhere...don't get mad at GCS administration for that...

ww