Union_Fan

I was going to add more, but decided not to. Long story short, if players didn't get their revenge on the field, they'd get it another way. 80's and 90's used to be wild with fights between kids from rival schools. This was back when people came from a 50 mile radius to cruise BSG on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Hamm kid was outstanding.

That was Appy's home field and the "home" side goalposts. Visitors either used the side entrance on the fence or the other goalposts. The disrespect came with Wise using the home goalposts for their entrance. PV never even did that. Back in the day, you did not disrespect Appy at their place. One very, very proud community and yet another reason why Wise is the perpetual villain in every male sport.

Kam Bostic dropping all those dimes against GC was very impressive. His pick 6 against Lebanon was a thing of beauty as well. Watching Ridgeview's punter warm up was awesome. Everyone that was sitting in the stands at the time was entertained by that. Don't think I ever watched a HS kid during warm ups as mesmerized as I did him. Especially, with my Adult ADD. lol Keith Chandler just being a beast week in and out. Mike Reece has been impressive for 4 years. Lee's 1st half game plan in the playoffs was as good as it gets.

Union/Clintwood were an immediate rival for the 3 years prior to Ridgeview, but Richlands was THE rival for Union until 2021 or so. Graham, without a doubt, took over as rival #1 for the Bears. Ridgeview is a solid #2, and I'm not sure there's really a #3. Central can't stand Union, and they may see it as a rivalry, but I don't think the Bear fans see it that way. GC could become one if their seasons become more consistent. As far as a heated/hatred rivalry goes, it would be hard to beat Appy/PV back in the day. Some crazy stuff went on between those two.

SWVA isn't the only place that wants to fire a coach after a bad decision. 😂 https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/town-wants-high-school-coach-fired-after-inexcusable-state-championship-game-decision/ar-AA1Sow1h?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=694148d67fdc4e758a4903a3052f90e2&ei=26

I have been in that situation and I left the employer due to more and more questionable activities and requests by my supervisor. I complained and ended up in a meeting with the superintendent. Once they realized I couldn't be gaslit, I was told, and I quote, "at some point you need to understand where your paycheck comes from and if you don't want to work here anymore you need to find a new job." So, yeah, I did know what to do and it was easy for me to do the right thing.

New head coach will determine a lot for Union next year. We'll have to wait and see what unfolds. Ridgeview will have the skill players for sure, just not sure about the beef.

If my training was in conflict with the law, then I received poor training. As an employee in any organization it is still up to me to determine what the law is and ensure that I'm not breaking it. Institutional policy doesn't trump law and ignorance of any law will not hold up in court as a defense. If I'm in a job that causes me to perform questionable duties that may run up against law, then the burden is on me to either not do them or find a new job.

Nope, I'm not missing what you're saying, and I tend to agree. However, the law is written in such a way that there is zero burden on the reporter. There is no "level." They don't have to be sure of anything. They don't have to be certain of anything. That's what the investigation is for. As a reporter, I only need to suspect something is happening/happened. It doesn't matter if 10 other people disagree. It only matters what the reporter suspects, and as long as the report is in good faith and not malicious in nature, there will be zero consequences, zero. The whole purpose of the law is to get people to speak up about inappropriate situations. If the burden of proof was on the reporter, nothing would get reported for fear of consequences. If I see/suspect something, I'm going to report it. If it's unproven or unfounded, then so be it. I will have done my job, as required by law, and the rest is out of my hands.

Union might have matched up better with Strasburg than Glenvar, but I'm not sure the Bears could win.

If he ultimately decides that he doesn't want the Union job, it will be interesting to see what he does do.

Most people that I've talked to say the same thing, but not a single one of them know if he actually wants it. That's turned into the big question.

Your perspective is spot on!

I agree!

After the VHSL, I'd sue Grayson Co and Liberty for being punks. Might sue myself after that, just for the principle of i! 😂

Like I've said before, the level of arrogance in that building is astounding. It is absolutely not illegal to name the employee, title, assignment, hire date, termination date or salary of an individual. To say otherwise is simply a lie. The only protections are those that fall under FERPA, HIPAA and discipline. Deny, hide and cover up has always been their #1 policy. Avoid bad publicity and liability at all costs.

I don't have a "bee" in the fight, and ultimately don't care, but I don't know how you punish a school for playing eligible players just because the VHSL wanted them to be ineligible. If the arbitrator found them eligible then they were eligible for the whole season. Innocence should be retroactive. Forfeiting the game to Liberty just because the appeal hadn't been granted yet should not make a difference. Nothing changed with their situation except for the overturning of the VHSL's arbitrary and capricious vendetta against them. From what I read on a different news site, it seemed that the school system negotiated this outcome, so I guess they're ok with it. 🤷 I'm just anti VHSL, so I'd sue. Lol

This is going to do nothing to help the situation. Tuesday, Dec. 9, News 5 spent all day at the Wise County Courthouse speaking with the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, the Clerk of Circuit Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The Clerk of Circuit Court confirmed a Circuit Court Judge ordered a seal on any documents pertaining to Turner's case until further notice. https://wcyb.com/news/local/circuit-court-judge-orders-seal-on-any-documents-related-to-travis-turner-case

It can only go one way in Virginia. Directly from the code. The only threshold is "suspect." Because they are required to report, they are immune from both civil and criminal liability. § 22.1-291.3. Notice of duty to report child abuse or neglect. Each public school board and each administrator of every private or parochial school shall post, in each of their schools, a notice, pursuant to § 63.2-1509, that: (i) any teacher or other person employed in a public or private school who has reason to suspect that a child is an abused or neglected child, including any child who may be abandoned, is required to report such suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to local or state social services agencies or the person in charge of the relevant school or his designee; and (ii) all persons required to report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect are immune from civil or criminal liability or administrative penalty or sanction on account of such reports unless such person has acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose. The notice shall also include the Virginia Department of Social Services' toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline.

It is indeed a crime for certain people, in certain positions to not report child endangerment, regardless of the category. As you pointed out, no specific person has been mentioned. I don't think a position nor "someone on the team" has even been hinted at. It's mostly just questioning the complete and total unknown of it all. "One of his fellow coaches" had to know VS "Somebody had to know." are two VERY different statements. I don't think there's been an accusation of the former. I personally think that questioning knowledge is valid. I've worked in K12 settings for 26 years now, hard to believe, and having seen this before, you can bet there will be a thorough investigation, especially with the police involved. Computers, email, Internet History, and any other school related device will be scrubbed. Software to do this is already in place and required for K12. Now that there are charges, all electronic devices in the home will be scrubbed. Interviews with staff in every position, that is even remotely suspected, of knowledge of the situation will take place. All students that have any knowledge of the situation will be interviewed, plus the other students/staff that come out of those interviews. After all that is said and done, and the case closed, I will feel confident that no further charges will be announced. I have no clue who knew or didn't know what, if any. However, having seen situations like this play out, too many times, I will NOT feel confident that no further people didn't know something. Like has been mentioned, what you know and what you can prove are two different things. Just keep in mind, "knows" and "suspicions" are what start investigations. It is the investigation to find the proof, if it exists. If nobody expresses their suspensions there will never be an investigation. If someone suspected something and didn't report it, they didn't do their job, and that job is to protect children.

I've not seen one accusation. But there are lots of legitimate "questions." No names mentioned, no positions mentioned. It's just hard to believe that not one adult saw/knew something.

I don't think it would be a stretch to say that 50 + would be on the sideline if they could get there. It is beyond great to have community support. I will never question community support, but a line has to be drawn somewhere when it comes to accessing the sideline during a game. There's way too many down there now. I can only remember 2 or 3 guys in the booth and another 4 or 5 on the sideline when I played.

20 + on average. Some years 18. Others 22/23. I'd say 20 is a very good general estimate over 15 years. And that doesn't count the folks that don't have "coach" shirts on.

Very sad, but very true!