Players not only ones going to State
By Gwendolynne Larson
Originally published 01:02 p.m., March 3, 2008
Updated 01:02 p.m., March 3, 2008
When Olpe High School basketball teams make it to state, school board policy dictates school schedule changes and travel plans. When Northern Heights teams qualify, plans begin to be formulated in the stands during the Sub-State tournament.
Northern Heights
“We are ecstatic,” said North Lyon County Superintendent Steve Mollach this morning. “This is a historic moment for our district.”
Mollach was in the stands at Wellsville High School on Saturday night as the girls team clinched a berth at State, only the second time the team has gone. In 1999, the girls took third in State, coached by Doug Boline, now principal at Heights. And the superintendent remained in the stands as the boys team beat Erie to go to State for the first time since the school opened in 1956.
By this morning, the decision was made: All North Lyon County schools will shut down after lunch on Wednesday.
The decision loses only one day of instruction time, Mollach said. The district already planned for a half-day of classes on Thursday before parent-teacher conferences that night and Friday morning.
Now, parent-teacher conferences throughout the district are canceled and report cards will be mailed, Mollach said.
For Mollach, the decision was based on simple logistics.
“We would not be able to find enough substitutes,” he said, referring to both teachers for classrooms and drivers to cover all the buses that will be used to get to Hutchinson, site of the State tournament.
Both teams will travel to Hutchinson on Wednesday morning, Mollach said, using a bus and the district van to transport luggage. It will take another 1 1/2 buses to get the cheerleaders and Northern Heights band to Hutchinson. And Heights students are signing up today to ride pep buses. Mollach estimated at least one bus will be needed, although two were needed for the boys’ first Sub-State game at Wellsville.
Mollach expects he’ll see a large contingent of fans at Hutchinson.
“Everybody will be allowed to go if they choose to go,” he said, noting that staff will not be required to work during the days classes are canceled.
Olpe High School
Down in Southern Lyon County, Olpe Principal Shari Hatfield said her decision is easy — once she sees the State brackets. That’s because board policy is set up to take into consideration travel time to the State venue and time of the first games. Because the teams’ first games are at 3 p.m. in Hays, school is canceled for all day Wednesday and Thursday. Friday already was a day out of classes for a scheduled in-service day.
But that decision only affects Olpe Junior and Senior High Schools, Hatfield said. The elementary building remains open.
One bus and all the district’s support vehicles will be used to get the teams and required personnel to Hays, Hatfield said.
“We still run all the required routes,” for the elementary side, Hatfield said, so no pep buses will be going.
That won’t keep students from cheering on their teams. In the past, Olpe, like many rural towns, almost seems like a ghost town once all the fans head to the game.
Emporia High
With games set for Wednesday night in Topeka, Emporia High doesn’t have to adjust its class schedule, Principal Scott Sheldon said this morning. But, the school is arranging to take pep buses to the games.
Seats on the bus cost $12 per student, Sheldon said, which will include a prepurchased ticket to the game and a State tournament T-shirt.
“We’ve made our own,” Sheldon said of the T-shirts.
The school planned to start selling the T-shirts during lunch today. Each T-shirt costs $5. Anyone wanting one can order through the school by calling 341-2365 and asking for Athletics.
Wednesday’s pep bus will leave around 4:45 p.m., Sheldon said. Thursday’s will leave at 3, immediately after school.