Following a weekend during which high school students and their parents protested in Charleston and Morgantown while WVU defeated Eastern Kentucky 56-10 in Monongalia County this past Saturday, the assistant superintendent of Ohio County School has a gut feeling state official soon may be changing some of the guidelines currently in place.
Rick Jones attended several athletic events on Saturday and was pleased with what he saw from the student-athletes and their coaches as far as precautions being taken, but he also witnessed much frustration being communicated on social media.
“Based on what I read, there were a lot of people who very upset, and rightfully so,” Jones said. “It’s frustrating for everyone because I am a believer that we can go to class and play sports as long as we follow the guidelines, and that is what everyone is doing. We have taken every precaution possible so we can move forward. But when you see WVU playing in the only ‘red’ county in the state where those high school athletes are not allowed to play, it makes you feel for those kids.
“My personal opinion is that because there is so much pressure now, I think something is going to change,” he said. “I don’t know any inside information or anything like that. It’s just a feeling I have right now concerning the guidelines and the rules for school and sports. There have been kids and parents protesting at the Governor’s Office, and they have protested in Morgantown, so I think there could be a change since everyone is allowed to play sports in the state except for the high school kids.”
The Threat of ‘Orange’
At the end of last week, there was speculation that Ohio County would move from “yellow” to “orange” when the new map was released by state Department of Health and Human Resources over the weekend, and the possibility seemed impossible to Jones.
Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that all schools in in counties designated orange would be mandated to virtual learning only with no extracurricular activities permitted.
“We were pretty shocked when there was a chance for the county to be orange because of how well the first week went for us,” the assistant superintended explained. “In fact, we’re looking at possibility of going to the schools for four days next week if we can. That decision should be made a little later this week.
“Right now, we do not have any cases in our schools, so we’re in the mode of moving forward with going to our classrooms as often as possible,” he said. “That’s why we were pretty shocked that there was a chance that we wouldn’t be able to go at all, especially after Gov. Justice said what he did on Friday about the orange colored counties in the state not being able to go for in-person learning, and not being able to play sports.”
Having a Blast
Wheeling Park High traveled to the Eastern Panhandle to play Hedgesville Friday night, and the Patriots evened their record to 1-1 with a convincing 49-0 victory.
Several other WPHS squads were in action, too, over the weekend, and Jones was impressed with what he saw.
“Sports for us have been going really well for us, but I do feel terrible for the people in Mon County and some of others that aren’t getting to play right now,” Jones said. “But I have attended volleyball, soccer, football, and cross country, and everyone is following rules, everyone is spread out, and our people are wearing their masks even when they are outside.
“The kids are playing, and they are having a blast. It’s really a great thing to see right now,” the assistant superintendent added. “We are also putting those events out on Facebook so the people who are unable to go because of the rules can still watch those events. We have a group of students that is helping us accomplish that for the family and friends who are permitted to attend.”
