Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for March 29, 2007 CAIRO DISMISSED FROM BLACK DIAMOND

From the Harrisburg Daily Register...

Cairo on way out of BDC after 2007-08 school year

By Toby Brown
American News Service

The Black Diamond Conference will undergo another change in the near future.

The 12-school league voted Tuesday night to dismiss Cairo High School following the 2007-08 school year.

Although BDC president Quent Hamilton, who serves as principal at Zeigler-Royalton High School, isn't publicly acknowledging the reasons for the move, it is likely the Pilots' inability to field a team in all conference sports -- most notably in football -- was a major factor.

"The rest of the schools in the conference just felt it was in the best interest of the BDC that Cairo be removed," Hamilton told The Times early this afternoon.

Cairo, since coming into the league in 2003-04, has not had a volleyball or softball team, and voted to drop its football program last spring. The decision to drop football sent the other nine teams in the conference scurrying to find a last-minute replacement for the 2006 season. Some were able to find a replacement game, while others weren't and ended up accepting a forfeit.

And though no official action has been taken, it would appear that Vienna High School is on its way in to the conference for at least football, if not all sports.

Vienna's school board voted earlier this week to start up football and volleyball programs.

Hamilton said that Vienna had officially contacted the BDC about membership, but that things were "still going through the process" and that no official action had been taken on the matter.

Vienna, which is located in Johnson County about 30 miles southwest of Harrisburg, is currently a member of the South Egyptian Conference, which does not feature football.

According to Hamilton, Cairo High was represented at Tuesday's meeting and school officials had been given an opportunity to plead their case.