Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Two Hired To Coach At Emmet Next Year

Emmet will have two new basketball coaches for next season.

The Emmet School Board, during its regular meeting Monday, April 5, hired Traci Young to head the girls' program.

Previously, the board gave the nod to Charles Young to lead the boys during the 1999- 2000 campaign on the hardwood.

Traci Young will be coming to Emmet from New Boston, Texas, where she has been the girls coach for the past three years.

Originally from Murfreesboro, Young will also be teaching some junior high subjects.

Charles Young, no relation to Traci, is well known in this area as he has been the coach of the Saratoga Bulldogs of late.

The two coaches were hired after former Eagle Coach Richard Stivers resigned. Dr. Gene Ross, Emmet superintendent, said the coaching duties were split this time because the district hopes to offer more than basketball and track to the students in the future.

And, the board took the first steps in offering more athletics to the students when Anita Allen, administrative assistant to Emmet Mayor Dale Booker, broached the topic of a new baseball field.

She told the board a 50-50 matching grant is available to help with the construction of a new baseball complex, and the grant can be obtained through the city. This is possible, she said, because of the previous grant the city received for its fun park.

Land for the baseball field will be on school property and the complex will belong to the school district once construction has been completed. However, Allen said, the city and school district must work together to get the grant money.

Once the diamond has been built, she continued, the school will be responsible for its upkeep.

Allen said the city should be able to get labor donated to help with the actual construction.

The average cost of a new baseball field, she said, is between $40,000 and 45,000.

However, the district, she said, will benefit from the diamond in the long run and can earn money from having tournaments.

The city, she added, needs a copy of the land deed to send in with the application.

When completed, Allen said, the field will meet all Arkansas Athletic Association standards concerning high school baseball fields. It will be fenced, with bleachers, a press box and lighting.

Fundraisers will also be held to help raise the city's portion of the matching funds needed.

The field, Allen said, could be used for summer baseball programs in Emmet. Now, children wanting to play baseball either have to go to Hope or Prescott and play in their leagues.

Deadline for submitting the application, she informed the panel, is Aug. 28, 1999. The board agreed to discuss the idea and let the city know its decision later on.

In other business, Dr. Ross said the building program is coming along fine, with bids being advertised statewide. Bids on the project to build three new classrooms for Emmet will be opened Tuesday, April 20.

Dr. Ross said by opening the bids then, the construction company hired should still have time to get the work done before school begins in August.

Emmet Elementary Principal Floyd Pollock gave the current enrollment as 185.

He bragged on Emmet students during the recent county spelling bee against students from Prescott and Nevada, telling the board they took five of six first place finishes and won the overall competition as well.

Emmet will host three summer programs for its students. The programs will run May 26 through June 29.

One will be the ABC program, with the second being a K-3 session. The third is a Shocks tutoring program to help elementary students prepare for the coming year.

The board approved two field trips for elementary students. One will be to Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia where the students will see some of their artwork on display and also visit the SAU farms and artificial marsh.

The other will be for fourth and fifth grade students, as they head to Murfreesboro to the diamond mine and Kadoha Indian village.

A total of 111 students are registered in the high school, Principal Frank Henson said.

Three award banquets will be needed this year to recognize the achievements of the students.

These ceremonies will be broken down by grade with students being presented with certificates and awards.

The board approved sending high school students to the state penitentiary in Texarkana for a day as part of a program called Pen for a Day.

This program allows high school students to tour the prison and go before an inmate panel to hear their stories and learn what life behind bars is really like.

Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell, also a member of the board, said there will be no hard core criminals on hand, but suggested screening the students who will go.

An incentive program was approved to help get SAT 9 scores up in the district. Dr. Ross said traditionally students don't try as the test has no meaning for them.

Recently, he said, the district received a letter from the Texarkana Police Association concerning movies for children at a nominal rate.

Dr. Ross suggested offering to take those students who score above the 50th percentile or raise their personal scores by 10 percentile to the movies, with the district picking up the tab.

He said the PTA may spring for soft drinks and popcorn while there.

These movies, Dr. Ross said, will be shown twice a day on May 17 and 21 and are done on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The board approved the salary schedule for the 1999-2000 school year, as well as the school calendar for the coming academic year.

Raises, Dr. Ross said, were factored into the salary schedule, with everyone getting roughly the same percentage increase.

The board also approved leasing a vehicle from John Hays Chevrolet in Hope to use for the district's driver's education class.