Whitwell Football

[TheTruthPrevails]

They would make one school and make people come from Whitwell mountain to Kimball? I understand some counties doing it, but from the tip of this county to the tip on the other end is over an hour apart.

15 minute drive time from whs to the new one. People arent driving from one end of the county to the other. Time difference would be from their school they attend now to the new one. If it was too far, they could attend richard hardy, north jackson, grundy or seq.

[possum]

Possum... come on man!!! Your posts sound more like a job interview... Whitwell almost went bankrupt because of theivery! Not to mention a new head coach every year for what seemed like 5 years in a row.. I'm big on giving coaches a chance to win i.e. 3-4 years, but if Helton couldnt win with the last two years atheletes then I dont expect him to win with the ones that are coming up.  I would second TTP and Bassy, Whitwell will not beat that SP bunch for a few years, if it happens then....

As far as a job interview I think I will go on record and say he has my support., and if he needed my services I would be there to help so let's end the speculation.

Point I was making in the post was when the TSSAA made us play those at the time rec. league private teams we lost a lot of money at the gate. iF we played Temple, David Brainerd, Grace, or Silverdale we lost about 3,000 a game. wE play a team like Sequatchie we make about 5,000 more.

As a head coach you not only a teacher, coach, promote program, in other words we cannot recruit, but also a business man. You love playing those teams because most times than not you are going to win. However it takes at least Twenty five thousand dollars to run a program like Whitwell. When I was at Soddy and Red Bank we took in a ton of money. Small programs like Whitwell do not have that luxury.

When I was at Whitwell we wanted to be competitive with local programs, Make enough money to run the program so kids had what they needed, and make the playoffs. Last time I was at Whitwell we made the playoffs we went 5-5 and faced Monteray who was 8-,2, in the playoffs and people said we did not belong there. They forgot how most teams we played were in a bigger classification. To make a long story short we beat them easily,and went on to play Boyd.

My point is Money matters sometimes more than wins. Playing the bigger teams also make you better and the kids enjoy it.

[9zo]

Yep, I,ve also heard that consolidation is a done deal. School will be close to center of county. Hmm........ wonder who will be the head football coach?

[CoachRCHelton]

15 minute drive time from whs to the new one. People arent driving from one end of the county to the other. Time difference would be from their school they attend now to the new one. If it was too far, they could attend richard hardy, north jackson, grundy or seq.

TTP,

 

I've heard that the attempt to consolidate has happened a couple of times before, in fact, they even went so far as to poll for a name, colors, and mascot. I also heard the land along the west boundary of Hwy 28 just north of the Little Sequatchie was one of the previously proposed sites (as it served as leveled land and a convenient access point with a somewhat centralized location). 

 

The largest obstacle from such a proposal will be the perceived loss of "local control". During my service with M.C.S.O. (Maricopa County) I was a supervisor in the Contract Services Unit tasked with reaching out to smaller communities within the county to consolidate with M.C.S.O. to provide law enforcement services and disband their local police departments (often departments with a T.O. of 30 or fewer employees). We utilized the rationale of the Clark County (Nevada aka Las Vegas Metro) enabling legislation to serve as the statutory basis for a forward-looking model, and I visited King County (Seattle) Sheriff's Office to survey their internal operations and table of organization to determine the viability of the model. The economies of scale were absolutely conducive to fiscal savings and an enhancement of professionalized services (Helicopter, Lake Patrol, Dive Teams, Canine, Full-time SWAT, etc.) that the smaller jurisdictions (municipalities) could not afford. 

 

Ultimately, even with the popularity of my Sheriff (who is known globally) we could not pull it off due to the "local control" perception of the various smaller towns/cities whose populations ranged from approximately 5,300 to 117,000. It was a stark reminder of the genius of Thomas "Tip" O'neill's book entitled; "All Politics is Local: And other Rules of the Game"...

[9zo]

My understanding is that Whitwell and Jasper agreed to it years ago but the thumbs down came from SP. I can only imagine the opportunities that our children have missed because of that one school board member. I really don't think you can equate Maricopa County with Marion County either. All the variables are far different. We are a rural county with a pathetic economy due in large part to a lack of educated and skilled workers. That's why we need more than just the very basic education that three small schools can offer. The larger the school, generally the larger the opportunity to offer a more diverse curriculum. If consolidation does happen I will miss the rivalries the same as everyone else.

[CoachRCHelton]

My understanding is that Whitwell and Jasper agreed to it years ago but the thumbs down came from SP. I can only imagine the opportunities that our children have missed because of that one school board member. I really don't think you can equate Maricopa County with Marion County either. All the variables are far different. We are a rural county with a pathetic economy due in large part to a lack of educated and skilled workers. That's why we need more than just the very basic education that three small schools can offer. The larger the school, generally the larger the opportunity to offer a more diverse curriculum. If consolidation does happen I will miss the rivalries the same as everyone else.

9zo,

 

Not so much a comparison of Maricopa and Marion County, rather an illustration of the anthropological tendency of factionalism and localized retention of control (or perceived control) which is reinforced by the Tip O'Neill reference. He wasn't from either of the mentioned counties, rather he spoke to the nature of localized populations insofar as they relate to a certain "comfort" level with the way things are (with respect to their specific world-view)... 

[9zo]

9zo,

 

Not so much a comparison of Maricopa and Marion County, rather an illustration of the anthropological tendency of factionalism and localized retention of control (or perceived control) which is reinforced by the Tip O'Neill reference. He wasn't from either of the mentioned counties, rather he spoke to the nature of localized populations insofar as they relate to a certain "comfort" level with the way things are (with respect to their specific world-view)... 

Of course, many in our county are satisfied with the way things are now, as they were thirty years ago. It's a lot easier to stick with the familiar. And yes, those who have wielded power over local schools and sports programs will be the most unsatisfied when and if consolidation occurs.

[Astimeexpires01]

My understanding is that Whitwell and Jasper agreed to it years ago but the thumbs down came from SP. I can only imagine the opportunities that our children have missed because of that one school board member. I really don't think you can equate Maricopa County with Marion County either. All the variables are far different. We are a rural county with a pathetic economy due in large part to a lack of educated and skilled workers. That's why we need more than just the very basic education that three small schools can offer. The larger the school, generally the larger the opportunity to offer a more diverse curriculum. If consolidation does happen I will miss the rivalries the same as everyone else.

+1

[rikberry]

The powers that stopped consolidation in the 90's are not nearly as powerful as they were then.  The squable over the SP gym proved that.  They wanted a 20 million dollar convention center as a center piece for the Cornbread Festival but they didn't have the muscle to get it done.  The economic base and power structure of the county has changed.

[Astimeexpires01]

The powers that stopped consolidation in the 90's are not nearly as powerful as they were then.  The squable over the SP gym proved that.  They wanted a 20 million dollar convention center as a center piece for the Cornbread Festival but they didn't have the muscle to get it done.  The economic base and power structure of the county has changed.

Couldnt tell you just how right you are Sir.. This will happen within the next 5-8 years.

[possum]

By the way, Whitwell has three fairly new schools in one complex. Does jasper not have three new schools, and South Pittsburg, not have new facilities as well? If consolidation was going to take place it should have took place before now. However I have ideas being to different systems on on how to make that happen.

We could have three elementary schools, two middle schools, a vocational school in Whitwell, and a high school in the Kimball area. In academics everything kids needed could be offered. I personally would like to see a good band program and the way things are now I do not see that happening with three schools.

In athletics we would be no bigger than 3A, and could compete with anyone. One can only say that after it is all said and done what would be the best thing for the kids. In reality that is all that matters.

[TheTruthPrevails]

By the way, Whitwell has three fairly new schools in one complex. Does jasper not have three new schools, and South Pittsburg, not have new facilities as well? If consolidation was going to take place it should have took place before now. However I have ideas being to different systems on on how to make that happen.

We could have three elementary schools, two middle schools, a vocational school in Whitwell, and a high school in the Kimball area. In academics everything kids needed could be offered. I personally would like to see a good band program and the way things are now I do not see that happening with three schools.

In athletics we would be no bigger than 3A, and could compete with anyone. One can only say that after it is all said and done what would be the best thing for the kids. In reality that is all that matters.

You are correct sir, the kids should matter and not a petty rivalry which is what has stood in the way 20 years ago. Whitwell has three newer schools. Marion doesnt, they are using a mddle school that was the old highschool in the fifties i believe. It is like the old whitwell middle. I agree avocational school is needed. College isnt for everyone. Sp only has two schools. Money will be put into the high school to upgrade and make improvements. Jms will go to the mchs building. By true numbers we would be 4a, similar to soddy and east hamilton but i have also heard ways to do the numbers so we would be 3a with about 900 kids and is a common practice with larger schools. If they were to be 3a then the school would be a powerhouse from day one the way the classes are now.