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STORM CENTER: Choose your mascot wisely

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On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C.
During a Bible study, a man opened fire with a handgun and killed nine people.
That man was Dylann Roof, who at the time was unemployed and living in a part of Charleston that’s predominantly African-American. Roof was later captured in a traffic stop on June 18 in Shelby, N.C., about 250 miles from the site of the shooting.
Roof then confessed to committing the attack at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston. He’s scheduled to reappear in court on Oct. 23, 2015, and Feb. 5, 2016. His bond has been set at $1 million.
Roof had a “Confederate States of America” decoration on the bumper of the Hyundai Elantra he was driving at the time he was stopped.
This senseless tragedy has caused waves of emotion to wash over the country.
Nowhere was this more on display than in Fort Smith, Ark., which is where your current sports editor lived and worked in 2013 and early 2014.
I was a copy editor for the Times Record, building sports pages for the newspaper.
See, a Fort Smith school board committee passed a motion on Tuesday to ban the “Dixie” song during the 2015-16 academic year.
In addition, all Fort Smith Southside teams will no longer be called the Rebels as of 2016-17.
This motion was passed unanimously.
A school board member openly admitted the decision to remove the Rebel mascot stemmed from the mass shooting in South Carolina. Read more of this column in the weekend Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

The sports editor wonders if this mascot offends you, the reader? This is Fort Smith Southside’s mascot. Let him know at: [email protected]. We appreciate feedback. (Logo provided by the Fort Smith (Ark.) School District, no copyright infringement inferred) 

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Saint Jo Girls Basketball Interview

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Interview with Saint Jo basketball players Krista Reeves (left) and Kamron Skidmore following their district win against Bellevue on Jan. 14, 2025.
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Saint Jo Boys Basketball Interview

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Interview with Saint Jo basketball players Barrett Johnson (left) and Landon Shannon following their district win against Bellevue on Jan. 14, 2025.
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Girls Basketball Roundup

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Mattie Broussard led Bellevue with 14 points in the team’s win at Forestburg on Jan. 11.

Bellevue
The Bellevue Lady Eagles came out on Saturday and gave Forestburg a one-sided beating to improve to 2-0 in district play.
The Lady Eagles won 60-26 on the road, imposing their will on the Lady Horns.
Bellevue came into the game following a bye-game which gave the team extra time to get ready, so when the snow came later in the week it did not throw off too much.
The Lady Eagles full-court press proved too much for the young Forestburg from the start. Bellevue led 16-6 after the first quarter and 28-12 at halftime.
Even when the Lady Eagles pulled back from playing the press in the second half, the defensive intensity still stifled the Lady Horns. Only when all of the bench was on the court for most of the fourth quarter did Forestburg make up any ground, but by then the starters were just cheering on their teammates.
Bellevue won 60-26.

Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians got their biggest challenge in district play this season with a win against fellow state-ranked team Seymour at home on Saturday.
The Lady Indians won 63-56, holding off a big time scoring plunge from the Lady Panthers in the fourth quarter to win.
Nocona was confident heading into the game. The Lady Indians were well-rested after having a bye earlier in the week and focused on the one team in the district that looked like it could give them a challenge. Nocona had blown out every team in district already and last suffered a loss in district play in 2019.
The Lady Indians got off to a good start up 16-8 after the first quarter. The second quarter was more even, but Nocona led 28-19 at halftime and was in control.
The Lady Indians added to their lead in the third quarter, outscoring Seymour 17-12 and leading 45-31 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw the Lady Panthers come unleashed offensively. Seymour nearly equaled its three-quarter total, scoring 25 points and making Nocona sweat.
The Lady Indians thankfully were up to the task offensively, scoring a game high for them 18 points, with more points on the table if they would have made a few more free throws down the stretch.
Nocona won with some breathing room, 63-56.
Meg Meekins led the team with 27 points and seven assists. Reagan Phipps was second with 15 points as she made three 3-pointers. Aubree Kleinhans grabbed a team high eight rebounds.

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers dominated at Midway on Jan. 7 to pick up their second district win.
The Lady Panthers won 54-15 against the Lady Falcons to continue their defense of the their district title.
Saint Jo came into the game confident following a one-sided win to start district the previous week at Prairie Valley. Midway did not prove to much more of a challenge as the game was again finished with the starters on the bench.
Payzlie Cervantes led the team with 15 points while Jordyn O’Neal was second with 13 points while she dished out a team high five assists. Kamron Skidmore grabbed a team high nine rebounds.

Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns had an up and down week last week, starting district 1-1 in games against Prairie Valley and Bellevue.
The Lady Horns won early in the week 59-21 against the Lady Bulldogs, but were on the other side of that when they lost 60-26 against Bellevue later in the week.
Forestburg came into the week a bit rusty, having last played a game on Dec. 20. Despite that, the Lady Horns came ready to play against Prairie Valley on Jan. 7 on the road.
Forestburg was up 17-4 after the first quarter and 28-11 at halftime. The Lady Horns did not let up in the third quarter, scoring 25 points to pull away before pulling back in the fourth quarter. Forestburg won 59-21.
Brenna Briles had a rare quadruple double, finishing with a team high 22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 14 steals. Jocelyn Rich was second with 11 points. Braylee Briles had a team high four blocks.
It was the type of game that can get the team going in the right direction as every player got to play big minutes and scored at least one basket after such a long layoff. Coach Cori Hayes credited the team effort for the one-sided win.
Unfortunately, it did not carry over in the Lady Horns district home opener on Saturday against Bellevue.
The Lady Eagles fullcourt pressure proved too much for Forestburg from the start and the Lady Horns were behind 28-12 at halftime. Even when Bellevue pulled back its press, the aggressive defense continued to cause Forestburg trouble as the team finished with 33 turnovers. The Lady Eagles won 60-26.

Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs lost a tough district game at home against Forestburg on Jan. 7.
The Lady Horns won 59-21 in a game where the Lady Bulldogs struggled against the physical defense.
Prairie Valley was coming off a tough start to district play the previous week, playing the defending district champs Saint Jo. Forestburg proved to be another game where the team struggled to not turn the ball over.
Renee Stout led the team with 10 points while Natalee Young and Abby Pepper each had four points.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.

To see more pictures from the Bellevue vs Forestburg game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6872188&T=1

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