sixcat

Nice! I got up after making a tackle in Fries one time with a wire coat hanger sticking through my jersey and into my lower back. Still have a nasty raised scar. Dr. Vuurmans gave me a tetanus shot on the sideline. That would never happen in today's society. Dr. Vuurmans would lose his license, school administration and the coaching staff would be fired and my mother would go to jail. Okay, okay, maybe a little hyperbolic but not that much!

That isn't the only problem but it has been a huge issue. The hillside and tree coverage limits sunlight for a large portion of the day. That has the biggest impact on bermuda. Several industry professionals strongly recommended Grayson not go with bermuda but the former superintendent was insistent.

I completely forgot about Jordan Vaughan from Galax. He is a senior DB at Concord.

Yes, Galax uses the field for soccer games. Practices are held in Felts Park.

Bermuda has been attempted at other local facilities in the past. For various reasons, it doesn't remain healthy in this area as it does in North Carolina and closer to the Bristol area. A couple of golf courses experimented with it at one time to no avail. Grayson County installed it a few years ago and have had an extremely difficult time with it. They are looking at alternatives.

Mitchell is one example they are using. I wouldn't blame you for making Mitchell unusable prior to the next time Galax comes to town. All joking aside, given the people associated with this endeavor, I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn the results of the last two times Galax played at Mitchell are a contributing factor. Richlands, Ridgeview and Honaker are the other facilities being used as examples. As I stated before, I don't believe taxpayer dollars payed for any of these facilities, at least not directly. Please, correct me if I am wrong. Galax simply stopped taking care of the field in an effort to garner support for turf. The lack of transparency and honesty has bit them in the ass.

Not a lot of remaining room for a field house. There has been some talk of backfilling the lower parking lot behind the end zone up to the level of the playing field and building a field house there. I'm not sure if this "talk" is serious but that would be a significant investment in material. Based on Google Earth elevations, about 200,000 cubic yards of material would be needed. Or, to put it another way, about 25,000 dump truck loads at about $300 a load.

In my opinion, the field itself doesn't need improving, it needs better attention and maintenance. For a fraction of the yearly cost of turf, they could hire a professional landscaper to care for the grass. As for improved facilities, I agree. Lighting, concessions, restroom and visitor seating all should be improved before the field itself. My biggest concern in this matter is the fact that school board members are appointed by city council rather than elected by the voting public. This process amounts to what could effectively be defined as "lifetime appointments". In the rare occasion a position on school board does come open, an application must be submitted to city council. City council then actively recruits against anyone they feel would be "difficult to work with", or, as I like to put it, not a member of the good ole boy system. I know this to be fact because when a friend of mine applied for an open seat on school board, a coworker was approached to fill the vacant seat because the person applying was "an outsider". The "outsider" decided instead, to run for an elected city council position. He was elected to council and has been a thorn in the collective side of the "good ole boy network" ever since.

This is going to be a bit more pointed than the title indicates. I have been researching various stadiums and other athletic facilities throughout SWVA recently based on some political issues locally. I have become fascinated by the circumstances surrounding some of the regions best facilities. For a little background, the Galax City School Board is trying to push a resolution through in order to resurface the football stadium with FieldTurf. The issue I have isn't the unnecessary nature of the request but more in terms of the misinformation, lies and half-truths being put forward by certain members of School Board and the division superintendent in an effort to get what they clearly want. First, a school board member has used several far SWVA facilities as examples of what they would like to have done. What this person fails to inform the remaining school board members and the general public is the fact that each and every facility mentioned was not funded by local tax dollars, at least not the ones I have been able to research. And another isn't owned by the school system (Graham). It isn't an apples to apples comparison and they are asking a relatively poor community like Galax to foot the bill for a million dollar upgrade that isn't a necessity. Second, they are claiming to be able to have the entire project cost "a little more than $600,000". Another half-truth because the field turf alone will cost that, if not more. My best educated guess would be closer to $800,000. That would cover the turf and nothing more. Stormwater management would also have to be brought up to meet current Virginia regulation before necessary permitting would be granted for construction to begin. As a general rule of thumb, stormwater costs an average of 50% of the remaining project. Therefore, if the turf costs 800k, the stormwater measures would be an additional 400k for a project total of 1.2 million dollars. Third, studies show a significant health risk associated with kids playing on these surfaces from increased injury to the carcinogenic nature of the "rubber dust" lining the bottom of the field. There are more than a thousand lawsuits nationwide associated with the later. Forth, they had an article posted in the Galax Gazette where coach Dixon asked the Miami Dolphins to provide community support grant money to pay for the field. They were denied and told Miami isn't in the region covering Galax. This is purely and effort to distract the general public into thinking the turf will be funded by outside dollars when, in fact, it will be entirely funded by taxpayer dollars. Fifth, the school system has far more pressing needs than artificial turf for the football field. The school system hasn't given much effort to maintain the grass facility they currently have. I realize the field isn't in great shape but, in my opinion, no effort has been made to get the field in better condition because the worse it looks, the more likely they are to get turf. I would love information on how other communities have handled these issues in the past. Thanks for listening/reading.

From Galax: Steven Peoples - Virginia Tech Caleb Spurlin - Appalachian State Joseph Dixon - Liberty Zamir Eacheagaray - Ferrum Charles Harris - Bluefield Plenty more can be found in the following thread. http://www.swvasports.com/ipb/index.php?/topic/32450-locals-in-college/

In my opinion, Giles has earned the right to name their interpretation of the single wing. Masterful!

Grundy Marion Patrick Henry Central Union Lee Floyd Richlands Rural Retreat Hurley Twin Valley J.I. Burton Castlewood Eastside Chilhowie Bland Parry McCluer Narrows Ole Miss Michigan St. Virginia Tech Central Michigan West Virginia Tennessee North Carolina Michigan Stanford Texas A&M Oakland Baltimore Denver Carolina New York Dallas Graham 52

1. Richlands 2. Abingdon 3. Pulaski 4. Union 5. Graham 6. Giles 7. Galax 8. James Monroe 9. Hurley 10. George Wythe

Yeah, 494 yards on 78 carries in his first three collegiate games is impressive. He is showing UVA-Wise and ETSU they overlooked him.

I happen to agree with you for once Bird. Galax isn't as good as they were last season. Then again, neither is Giles. Brian Mann is as impossible to replace as Spurlin and Harris.

Alabama Ohio State Louisville Michigan Clemson Houston and Stanford are closing the gap. Clemson has been uninspiring all season.

May soon be 4 straight years. I believe Dougie Peoples went over 1,000 yards tonight and Galax appears poised for another deep playoff run.

Gotta say, I didn't see this coming. Actually wouldn't have been surprised with a reversed score.

GW may be bigger but Galax is stronger. Didn't see this coming given all the issues Galax has faced the past few weeks.

Dixon seems to have gotten the issues pretty well in hand.

After the dust settled, a handful of players quit before the season started but only one that played last year. A returning starter was suspened for 2 weeks and another starter was expelled from school.

Joseph Dixon from Galax successfully walked-on to the Liberty University football team.

2016 Galax Maroon Tide # Name.....................Off. Def. Ht. Wt. Gr. 1 Dougie Peoples .....RB LB 5-8 150 11 3 Joshua Spurlin......WR DB 5-6 145 10 4 Levi Reynolds .......... LB 6-0 175 11 5* Kelby Edwards.......QB 5-9 145 9 5 Carson Orton .........QB 6-0 190 12 7 Isaiah Harrison......... S 5-7 140 10 8 Jacob Brown............ DB 5-11 175 12 9 Ethan Robinson....WR 5-9 175 11 10 Walker Bobbitt.......... LB 5-7 145 11 11 Landon Dickson....... CB 5-7 150 10 14 Blake Brown...........RB S 5-8 165 10 21 Edward Medina.......K 5-7 130 9 24 Isaiah Brown.........WR DB 5-11 185 12 27 Austin McBride........P 5-9 170 9 30 Isaac Hawks............. LB 5-10 165 9 32 Noah Hutchens......TE 6-0 180 11 33 John Key.................. LB 5-9 175 11 35 Derek Donithan........ LB 5-9 155 12 40 Ben Williams ..........OL 5-11 185 12 42 Elijah Harrison..... WR/K 5-10 165 12 50 Josiah Tracy............. DL 5-9 180 10 53 Gavin Weatherman.. DE 5-9 170 12 55 Zaine Goodman.....TE DL 5-11 180 11 56 Tyler Wilson ............. DL 5-7 170 11 63 Daniel Edwards......OL DL 6-2 250 12 64 Matt Coomes ........... DL 5-8 180 12 69 Christian Brown ....... DL 5-6 200 11 70 Matthew Criner ......OL 5-10 190 10 77 Noah Burcham.......OL 6-2 220 12 78 Blake Willis............... DL 6-1 230 11 81 Jack Haga..............TE 6-0 170 11 Head coach: Mark Dixon (7th year, 57-23) Assistants: Eddie Ayers, Verl Brown, Kim Gillespie, Tyler Houk, Jacob Kohl, Bobby Parnell, John Patterson

I noticed that as well. Without question, the best football coach the Fort has had and he will do a great job in Pulaski.

Interesting stuff BR, thanks. I didn't realize Mark Dixon was already on top of the wins list for Galax but I shouldn't be surprised. Galax didn't make the playoffs once for the first 60+ years of the program and only have 5 playoff appearances prior to Dixon's arrival. They haven'y missed the playoffs once in Dixon's tenure. 1920-1984 = 0 playoff appearances 1985-2009 = 5 playoff appearances and 2 postseason wins 2010-2015 = 6 playoff appearances, 15 postseason wins, 2 state championship appearances, 1 state title Coaching matters! Credit to Craig Worrell of the Galax Gazette for the information. He puts out a football preview every fall and it is phenomenal.