Last week I mentioned that there had still been no announcement from the Ellenville Central School District on who would take over the girls' varsity basketball coaching spot vacated by Tom Nolan. Always a class act, Coach Nolan decided to walk away with little fanfare. One would think that the school district would actively seek to fill the vacant post as soon as possible with a well-qualified candidate. One would be wrong. The people in the Pine Bush school district on the other hand just completed a search for their vacant varsity volleyball coaching position by naming not only a new varsity coach but also a new junior varsity coach. The architects who run Blue Devils High could learn a little something from how Pine Bush took care of business. It appears as though the vacant girls' varsity spot is not a high priority at 28 Maple Avenue. If it were, we certainly would have heard something about the situation by now. Last week I opined that there were only three internal people I felt qualified to handle the position — three staff members who had the experience, the knowledge, and the ability to instill some much needed discipline in a team that has talent but to this point has not achieved to a level commensurate with their ability. Those three staff members are boys' varsity soccer coach Maxwell Mead, boys' varsity track coach Phil Althouse, and Tim Lukaszewski, an art teacher who also handles the school television studio in addition to having a wealth of experience and knowledge about the sport of basketball. It is not my intention to put undue pressure on any of these three gentlemen to take the position. Each of them is already very busy building successful programs in our district. My point is that there are viable, qualified candidates for the position and that the school district leadership should be doing everything in their power to ensure that they hire the best possible candidate for our kids. To date, there is no proof that the district is fulfilling that responsibility. My thoughts here will most likely be thought of as negative, irresponsible, or oppositional by the school administration. So be it. Because if rattling the cage of the superintendent, board of education president, or athletic director brings us the best possible coach for our athletes, it will have been worth it……….A few years ago a small group of people began an ill-fated campaign to rid the Ellenville Central School District of the Blue Devils mascot. No event or topic in recent local memory stirred as much emotion. The movement died down after an overwhelming amount of support for the Blue Devils mascot came from students, faculty and staff, community members, and alumni. The board of education and administration took a look at the situation as they promised they would and then, correctly so, took no action. The Blue Devils faithful breathed a big sigh of relief and then went back to business as usual. There were several positives to come out of the debate. We recognized the rights of the minority — in this case the minority being represented by the small group of those who were anti-Blue Devils. Our young people learned that open and honest debate is not only invaluable, but at the core of our democratic society. Our community reinforced that our elected officials understand that government is still run by the people as was evidenced by the fact that the board of education and administration listened to its constituents. And hopefully, we all realized that tolerance of those who hold opposing views or who are not like us is a good thing. That is why it is disturbing to note that a website entitled www. ellenvillebluedevilmustdie.blogspot.com has popped up. More disturbing is the fact that the authors of the website claim that the goal of the website is "to create a space for the Wawarsing community." The website features a section called, Blue Angels Sports Talk. If imitation really is the truest form of flattery, consider me flattered. But the website claims that Blue Angels Sports Talk "is here to support, encourage, foster, and develop interest in all Wawarsing Christian Academy Athletics." The authors of the website would probably be more successful spreading their Christian ideals if they renamed their website something other than "Ellenville Blue Devil must die." Additionally, one has to wonder if the good people who actually run the Wawarsing Christian Academy support this stance because the whole thing seems to me to be somewhat, um, un-Christian……….It might not be too late to secure a spot for your foursome in the annual Elks Benefit Golf Tournament. There is no group that does as much for youth activities in our area than the Elks. This year's proceeds from the golf outing will go directly to the Elks Youth Activities Fund. The tournament will be held on Friday, August 28, at the Rondout Country Club. The entry fee is only $85 per person and includes golf, cart, and a prime rib dinner. If you've ever been to an Elks event you know those guys appreciate great food. So don't miss out on this opportunity to support the Elks and everything they do for our local young people. Call the lodge at 647-8001 and speak to either Larry Haight, John Stone, or Dick Steers to reserve your spot…………Whether you are a N.Y. Mets fan or a N.Y. Yankees fan, you had to be sad to see Mets third baseman David Wright get nailed in the head by a pitch last week. Wright is the heart and soul of the team and if the Mets had more players like him they wouldn't be so lousy……….You could do a lot worse than being entertained for a few minutes by the always-affable Mark Steinhoff. I ran into the former Ellenville teacher and perennial coach-of-the-moment at Shop-Rite last week. Steinhoff asked if I was still coaching and when I informed him I was "retired," he quickly performed an on-the-spot interview, complete with a sales pitch as good as any of those paid commercials on T.V. telling me all about the wonderful intrinsic rewards I could gain from being the girls' indoor track coach for the Ellenville Lady Blue Devils. I got the feeling that Steinhoff had practiced this speech before — with anyone that would listen. Seems Steinhoff thinks he would much more enjoy warm weather and beaches in February than making those late night trips to places like West Point for developmental track meets. Steinhoff's speeches at the end of the year athletic awards banquets are worth the price of admission. So I would like to encourage everyone to run the other way when you sense Steinhoff is about to recruit you to coach. Steinhoff did remind me that the Ellenville boys' track team won three consecutive Section 9 - Class C Track and Field titles in the late '90s when he was coaching those teams with Tony Borriello. As I was leaving Shop-Rite I could hear Steinhoff needling a former student who had the good fortune of working the register when Steinhoff was checking out. Referring to the speed of the service, Steinhoff said, "This is supposed to be an express lane." The young lady, who clearly appreciated Steinhoff's sense of humor, could not contain her smile. Now what parent wouldn't love to have her daughter coached by the irrepressible Mr. Steinhoff? Long may he run………….until next time!