Initial offering

A week after meeting as a group, their voices have been heard.

John Hemmelgarn, on behalf of a group of more than 100 who attended a town hall meeting last week to discuss issues with the Jay County High School athletics department, stood in front of Jay School Board on Monday to air a number of grievances with the Patriot athletics programs.

First, as Hemmelgarn read from a statement, was the accountability of coaches regarding their influence and leadership to athletes. Another was unequal treatment of said athletes, the feeling of being bullied or not encouraged to succeed by those coaches.

Others included a rather extended coaching vacancy which has affected offseason conditioning, community involvement at sporting events, recognition for seniors and an overall lack of spirit and pride for extracurricular activities outside of sports.

“Many parents in the community have brought these matters to the attention of the athletic director and superintendent and these people feel they have been ignored and forgotten,” Hemmelgarn said, although Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley later responded by saying “Folks will sometime say when they do not get their way ‘We have not been heard, no one listens to us.’”

Hemmelgarn continued: “Many feel repercussions with coming forward with issues. That was a common theme with a lot of people. A lot of people didn’t show up to meetings because they were worried it would affect the playing time for their kids.

“It would affect other things. A lot of people are afraid to speak up like that.”

Gulley stressed he hopes any dialogue between the board and community members from this point forward continues to be in a polite tone.

“I think it’s going to take a willingness for all of us to listen to each other respectfully, seek common ground, find ways so that we can collaborate together in a responsible way, a way that could make our own kids proud of us,” he said. “I appreciated the comments I read just a few days ago in The Commercial Review. I was happy to see in there, there was goals that did not include finding ways to tear people down, head-hunting, all that wasn’t part of what I saw in that article.

“That’s important.”

Hemmelgarn also asked the board to hold off any potential contract extensions for athletics administrators and coaches until he is able to give a formal presentation of the group’s findings at the April 15 board meeting.

After Monday’s opening discussion, Hemmelgarn said he is hopeful for talks to continue.

“We’re going to present our stuff to Gulley first so (the board) could have executive meetings so then it goes to the school board,” he said. “That’s kind of where it lies. We can’t go in demanding things. You have to go through the proper channels with this whole process and that’s been a learning thing for all of us.”