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In the last couple of hours Wise County is in a bit of an uproar over the Norton situation- apparently the Wise County Superintendent has offered to keep Burton open for infinity if the city merges with the county. One can safely conclude that no matter what happens Burton will be there. Most of the opposition to the 6A plan seems to be out of Tidewater. Heard earlier the Bay Rivers was particularly unhappy.

This is curious- Richlands and Marion are on the modification list but not Abingdon or Tazewell. The 475 cutoff for single A is an odd number- I suspect it may have been arrived at to keep Eastside A- given who is chairman of the VHSL executive committee.

Apparently Franklin is not happy. HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS New R&R proposal places Franklin County in Seminole Wednesday, February 8, 2012 By STEVEN MARSH - Sports Editor CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The latest proposal by the Virginia High School League's (VHSL) Redistricting and Reclassification (R&R) Committee has placed Franklin County in the Seminole District along with schools in Bedford, Campbell and Amherst counties and the city of Lynchburg. The proposal, passed by the R&R Committee on a 12-0 vote last Thursday, was released Monday. This proposal coincides with the VHSL's plans to implement a six classification realignment structure for the state's public high schools with regards to athletics and extra-curricular activities that come under the organizations umbrella. The proposal, if approved by the VHSL's Executive Committee, takes effect during the 2013-14 school year. Also, it calls for the elimination of the Western Valley District, FCHS's athletic home since the fall of 2001. If approved, FCHS would be placed in Class 6-A and in combination Seminole District with current league members Amherst County, E.C. Glass and Jefferson Forest, all of which would be 4-A schools, and Heritage, Brookville, Liberty and Rustburg, all of which would be Class 3-A. The proposal, which divides the schools based on Sept. 30, 2011 enrollment figures, places Patrick Henry in Class 6-A and in the River Ridge District, William Fleming in Class 5-A and in the Blue Ridge District, Halifax County in Class 5-A and in the Piedmont District and George Washington-Danville in Class 4-A in the Piedmont. FCHS Athletic Director T.J. Shepardson said Tuesday that the plan does not benefit FCHS in terms of travel, but it does help alleviate some inherent problems in scheduling. Shepardson said FCHS will likely file an appeal to the plan in hopes that the VHSL will place FCHS in a district in the Roanoke Valley or create a league that's comprised of the larger schools from the Roanoke Valley Region. "The travel (with the Seminole) is an issue and regardless of where we land, there are scheduling problems,' Shepardson said. Why? Because teams that are placed in Class 3-A will not be required to play a school more than two classifications above it. Whether this rule applies for all sports or just football has yet to be determined, Shepardson said. "They were not clear in the R&R meeting whether this would be just for football or whether it would be across the board in all sports (in terms of scheduling),' Shepardson said. "If it is across the board, it's a bigger problem. "The River Ridge makes the most since to me just because of where we are (geographically), but the same issue is there with scheduling -- there are Class 3-A teams in there which are not going to play you, and they don't have to play you,' Shepardson said. (Member schools Blacksburg, Cave Spring, Christiansburg and Hidden Valley have been placed in Class 3-A). Appeals to the plan are scheduled to be heard on Monday, Feb. 27. Those appeals must be filed with the VHSL by next Thursday.

Wise County is more in need of Norton than Norton is of WC right now. Most of the talk coming from the folks who want to merge in Norton is based on future possibilities not current reality. They had a healthy increase in students last year and their enrollment is going to only go up. Wise County had a sharp loss in enrollment especially at the elementary level- notably from St. Paul. Wise County is already heading toward a financial shortfall on the school construction money. In re Dickenson County- The Counts family have been served with a notice of taking- but court action is still pending. They also have an attorney who is generally regarded as the best eminent domain lawyer in Virginia. It is a lot more difficult to take property in Virginia now than what it used to be. More protection for the landowner. Property rights groups are pretty strong in the state and several will back the Counts family. The whole thing is really dumb- there is plenty of property the county could have gotten without an eminent domain fight. It will be interesting to see if an attempt will eventually be made to revive a version of the old New River District. Giles, Radford, Floyd, Grayson, Galax,Fort Chiswell, and Graham would make a strong conference. GW might be interested. Narrows would be outmanned but they would probably be interested too. We may be in for some considerable change.

Burton and the Dickenson schools may be around for a while. I don't think there is any way that Norton will merge with Wise County if their kids go to Coeburn. Norton's terms for a system merger will probably require either Burton to be left alone or Wise County to build a new school in Norton. The completion date for a new Dickenson school may be much further off than has been depicted to the public. They do not yet have federal money in their hands for the project or the key piece of property they need for construction- the owners will not sell for any price and they are prepared to go to the State Supreme Court if necessary- that could tie it up for three or four years. Honaker, Castlewood, and Lebanon were all Hogo members at one time, but GW and maybe RR were not in the league (can't remember if RR was in the Hogo then). The best solution for right now might be conferences roughly divided among small, medium, and large schools. Increased travel time seems to be inevitable for all the local schools. Hour and more trips may be required for at least three or four games a season- two or three might be conference games but that might have to be accepted.

Eastside will not go into the LPD unless it is combined with Burton. Pledges have been made to Coeburn that this won't happen- they will retain a school in Coeburn.. A Norton Wise County merger is very questionable. I see Burton in the Cumberland and Clintwood in the BDD. Logical that Wise and Union would be in the CMD.

Can see Union going to the CMD- they play all the schools except Tazewell, JSB, and Abingdon- would solve their scheduling problems. The VHSL should not place a school in a conference-district which has already turned down that school for membership, in re Marion to the Hogo. Know they did this in the case of Coeburn-Eastside to the Cumberland- still is wrong.

Interesting article from Hillsville. I had been told that the four and five team districts were getting a lot of kickback over being too small and was wondering (if this is correct) if the SWD is folding . It would make sense for the LPD to be dissolved- but a swollen CMD might be too much for Union and Wise. With SWD disbanding, Carroll likely headed to River Ridge by Allen Worrell, Sports Editor Carroll News (Va) 7 days ago With the Southwest District drawing its final breaths, Carroll County appears to be headed for the River Ridge District beginning with the 2013-2014 school year. A new proposal from the Virginia High School League's Redistricting and Reclassification Committee would send Carroll County to the River Ridge District along with Patrick Henry to join the district's existing six schools – Salem, Pulaski County, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Cave Spring and Hidden Valley. While there are sure to be plenty of appeals between now and the date of final assignments on Sept. 20, Carroll County learned Thursday its most likely destination will be the River Ridge. “It's probably going to go through because the Southwest District is no more. Marion has opted to go to the Hogoheegee District and Abingdon, Tazewell and Richlands have all opted to go to the Clinch Mountain District,†Carroll County Athletic Director Darrin Matthews said. “The Southwest District is dead right now, which leaves Carroll County in the Piedmont or River Ridge.†The proposal calls for several district shakeups as the old three classification model which pitted schools in Group A, Group AA or Group AAA would be changed to a six-classification model. Under the new model, most districts would include teams from several classifications. The new River Ridge for instance would include four 3-A schools (Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Hidden Valley, Cave Spring), three 4-A schools (Carroll County, Salem and Pulaski County), and one 6-A school (Patrick Henry with 1,973 students). “The concept is very similar to North Carolina's current system. I don't know the exact structure, but there will be some kind of points system. We will be a 4-A school,†Matthews said. “Galax and Grayson County are going to want to play us because they are going to get more points by playing us, and if they beat us they will be even better off. They are good gates, good community, good rivalries.†Winning the district would not hold as much bearing for making the playoffs under the new system, which would be more geared toward a points system. In fact, the VHSL stated that winning a district title wouldn't automatically qualify a school for postseason play. It is still to be determined how teams would qualify for postseason play under the new district alignments, something that could have a huge bearing on determining final district members. While moving to the River Ridge would renew some old New River District rivalries for Carroll County, it would also put the Cavaliers' athletic programs at a severe competition disadvantage. Travel would not be much better for Carroll than the current Southwest District either with four schools in the Roanoke area (Patrick Henry, Cave Spring, Hidden Valley and Salem). “With Pulaski, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Carroll County, the old New River District, I think that's great. But I really right now don't want us to travel to Patrick Henry. Roanoke is in our district – Hidden Valley, Cave Spring, Salem – and I don't think it benefits us,†Matthews said. “If you look at the distance traveled, it's probably less but our demographics are different. We are a rural, agricultural, farming, production-type community and they are all very urbanized. And frankly I don't think it is the best fit for us, but at the moment it's all we have.†Matthews said redistricting issues are still being ironed out and there is an appeals process. He said he doesn't know exactly what other districts and schools are thinking. He has heard that the Western Valley District, which includes Patrick Henry, William Fleming, Franklin County, and Halifax County, doesn't like the proposal, but he doesn't know if that's entirely true. In the new proposal, G.W. Danville and Halifax County would move to the Piedmont District, which currently consists of Bassett, Magna Vista, Tunstall, Patrick County and Martinsville. “I don't know what their appeal is going to look like, but I do know that Patrick County does not seem real pleased,†Matthews said. “So pretty much our two options are the River Ridge and Piedmont. And here's the thing with the Piedmont. It would be a 7- or 8-team league and the bulk of your schedule is going to be down Lover's Leap Mountain. If the (Route) 58 project was complete and they had done what they did over in Giles County and straightened out that road, it would be wonderful. But it's just not a very good scenario. It worries me.†Matthews expects a lot of moving and shaking as other schools and districts feel out the proposal. There will be another meeting Feb. 27 to look at appeals, and another one in March. He said nothing would be iron clad until probably the end of the school year. Read more: Carroll News (Va) - With SWD disbanding Carroll likely headed to River Ridge

Believe Fort Chiswell was a member in the 60's- may have been a charter mem,ber.

From today's Kingsport Times News: J.I. Burton principal Tim Duncan has sent a realignment proposal to the VHSL’s Redistricting and Reclassification Committee and to administrators throughout Southwest Virginia. The Norton plan proposes realigning the Lonesome Pine, Black Diamond, Clinch Mountain, Cumberland, Hogoheegee and Southwest Districts into four conferences. One would be a 2A league comprised of Gate City, Lee High, Lebanon, Union, Central, John Battle, Virginia High and the future Dickenson County High School. Another conference would include Maron, Abingdon, George Wythe, Richlands, Tazewell, Carroll County and possibly Graham. A third would feature Twin Valley, Grundy, Hurley, Northwood, Twin Springs, Thomas Walker, Rye Cove as well as Haysi and Ervinton until consolidation. J.I. Burton would like to belong to a conference that includes Eastside, Castlewood, Honaker and Clintwood (until consolidation), and also Rural Retreat, Holston, Patrick Henry and Chilhowie. At a glance, this configuration shows particular promise as a competitive 1A football league. This appeals to Raiders football coach Jimbo Adams. He thinks travel distance issues with other sports could be managed c r e a t i v e l y. “Some of those Region C schools need to come this way. There’s imbalance. Northwood plays Twin Valley already. And from Norton to Rural Retreat, we’ve made that trip before. It’s not a bad trip,†said Adams, who admits that the storied LPD’s days are numbered — one way or a n o t h e r. “The bottom line is, we need more than three guaranteed football games each cycle. (The LPD) had an all-district meeting with two Division 1 and two Division 2 coaches. Fifty percent of our coaches were elected coach of the year. You can’t function reasonably in a league with only four teams.â€

The Southwest is the oldest by far. The current inception of the SWD came about in the mid 50's but I remember being told many years ago that it existed long before that. The LPD came into existence in 1960. When classification was first introduced there were three classes, or Groups- A,B, and C or Group I, Group II, and Group III. Have heard both letters and numerals used interchangeably. There were conferences within those classifications- but I am not certain conferences meant that much in terms of playoffs. After WW II the classification divisions were always designated and referred to as Groups. In 1946 the old conference system was abandoned and our current District system set up. The Districts in our area went by numerical designation except the SWD and the Western in Group I. In Group II everything west of Roanoke was in Districts 6, 7, and 8. The SWD schools were Group II until the 50's when they moved up to Group I. Many of the mid-level to upper level schools in Group II did not want to move up to Group I, but they wanted a higher level of competition, etc.- so the VHSL in its infinite wisdom split Group I into I-A and I-B. This is when the LPD, along with the New River and Valley came into existence. In 1970 this was wiped out. District 8 became the Cumberland, District 7 the Clinch Valley, District 6 the Hogo and others. The Districts before 1970 were very large- I believe District 6 had a max of 13 members at one time.

Hazard, one of the two teams Clintwood lost to in the regular season, won the Kentucky 1A State Championship today defeating Mayfield 24 to 6.

Agree. If Marion drops and goes to the Hogo I would think either Holston or PH would be moved to D- if the precedent set by the Battle move is followed. Enrollment size could be a consideration the CMD schools would be closer in enrollment size to Marion than the Hogo schools.

I would think that any schools dropping would be placed in Region D. A few years back the rationale for placing John Battle and Virginia High in D was to even the number of schools in C and D. Since then D has lost three schools. It would make little sense to place Marion in D- but if they go to C I would think someone would be moved- as they moved Battle. Tazewell and Richlands would probably be D.

Most of the Russell County layoffs would principally involve the Lebanon area and the Lear closure should have been reflected in last years enrollment figures. It is impossible for Castlewood to show a loss no matter how you cut it.

Was told some time ago that few of the power plant workers brought families with them. Something is wrong with all the Russell County numbers.

A potential solution to the Roanoke City problem is for Roanoke City to cut a deal with Roanoke County- alter attendance zones- send them some kids- problem solved. Grant you this would be easier with William Fleming than with Patrick Henry.

Figures are suspicious for Castlewood as well. Given that Castlewood ended up with at least 80% of the St. Paul students and they have had a fairly stable enrollment over the last several years- a 248 figure is unbelievable.

Cannot see why the VHSL would create small districts.The entire purpose should be- as VHSL Helper has pointed out- to ensure guaranteed games. A small district defeats that purpose. New districts should have six to nine teams to be effective. This latest proposal is no doubt being put together to placate the Roanoke City schools. It is ironic that this has come about due to Roanoke's decision back in 1975 to close Jefferson and go from three to two high schools. You can have too big a district- in the sixties the Lonesome Pine and New River were large enough to allow an entire season schedule to be played within the district.

If the VHSL drops Abingdon they would set a precedent that would open a whole can of worms. The Roanoke City schools would insist on the same treatment and so would everybody else. The best solution for Abingdon would be for the Washington County school board to modify the attendance zones or ban kids who don't live in the Abingdon attendance zone from going there. A few years ago a friend told me Abingdon was crowded- if this is still the case- they have a perfect excuse to reduce school size.

I believe there may have been an issue with Carroll County's enrollment when the state reclassified in 1970. I recall that J. J. Kelly and Gate City were going to be moved to the SWD- Wise threatened a lawsuit, Gate City went. While that controversy was going on I remember some mention of Carroll County. I best recollect the entire New River District went AA- Carroll was on the bubble. Carroll came into existence under the old alignment system in 1969, so numbers really didn't mean anything. Someone could correct me, but the 1970 realignment was the first classification to use really hard numbers. At the time Carroll County went AA Pulaski County was not in existence- still Pulaski and Dublin.

No doubt there will be realignment- but it will probably follow a divisional breakdown- nothing else would make sense. With the loss of three schools and the addition of only two more- I would think the VHSL might look at Marion in Region D. I recall that one of the reasons for Battle moving from C to D was to balance the number of schools.

Have been told Dotson has received a full ride offer from Marshall. Know he has been to Huntington for a visit.

Ed Clark played the entire game against Burton in '67. I played in that game. I did manage to touch him once. I really feel that he was the best athlete out of the lot- no disrespect to the others.

Southwest Virginia is in better shape in terms of athletics than East Tennnessee. There still exists more interest among kids and fans. Friends of mine who have coached in East Tennessee have told me of consistently declining participation rates- even in schools with gains in enrollment. Gates are also not at all what they used to be. Greater mobility- with more things to do and a lot of competition from other sports and from the ubiquitous computer. I do think the athletic future for rural schools is not bright- increased transportation costs will certainly hurt participation