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Schenck policy wrong

This is in regard to Schenck High School coach Steve LeVasseur not being rehired as boys basketball coach (BDN, March 24).

I had the privilege to play for coach LeVasseur for two years while he was coach of the boys varsity at Stearns High School in Millinocket in the mid-1980s.

What I find most troubling at Schenck in East Millinocket, is the fact that the East Millinocket school system is trying to use a blatantly ambiguous and inconsistent co-curricular policy to justify coach LeVasseur’s departure.

I have no doubt that this policy, which states, “It is the responsibility of the coach/advisor to develop all participants to a level in which they can participate successfully,” was developed with the best of intentions and in an effort to promote a nurturing environment for student-athletes at Schenck.

The fact remains, however, that the students at Schenck, who are on the verge of adulthood and the “real world,” will not have the luxury of such policies subsequent to their graduation. Therefore, this policy has no place in Schenck’s charter.

The lessons I learned while playing under coach LeVasseur were simple, but highly transferrable to my current work environment in a Fortune 500 company. Here are two examples: 1. Work hard and without complaint and you will be rewarded and 2. Realize that your coach (boss) may know more about the game than you (or your parents), and if you are willing to learn you can improve.

Schenck’s current policy will only foster, in its student-athletes, the expectation that they should be treated and rewarded in the same manner as someone who delivers superior efforts and results.

In this case, parents and school officials need only listen to the people directly associated with coach LeVasseur: the players. The BDN reported that the Schenck boys varsity team signed a letter supporting coach LeVasseur. Parents and administrators should accept and respect this plea to hire the coach. To ignore the request of those most familiar with the situation would be irresponsible.

If the names in the starting lineup do not please parents, they usually need look no further than the efforts and abilities of their own children to understand the results. This does not mean that a student’s failure to “make the grade” in a given sport is a comment on their value as a human being. It may simply indicate what one’s personal strengths and weaknesses are and should drive that person to work toward improvement or concentrate on other skills.

My only concern, in this matter, is the responsible and thorough development of the students at Schenck. Its current co-curricular policy is inconsistent with that goal. Coach LeVasseur’s results speak for themselves and he should be thanked and appreciated for the important role he has played in the positive development of the area’s youth. Sean Sanders

Pasadena, Calif.

Learn about wildlife

In a few weeks I will be in my 86th year of life, all of which has been lived in Maine. I have always been an intense student of wildlife. During this time, I have never worked at any job where I did not have unlimited hours of daylight to spend in the outdoors on my favorite pursuits.

During this time, I have been a hunter and trapper as well as a game warden for 24 years. All game wardens are required to send in a daily report of activities and listing all dead deer except those killed by legal hunting.

For 16 1/2 years these reports came to my desk every week from 10 warden districts. During these 24 years, I know that I did not have reports of more than a dozen animals that died of sickness unless I count those that starved. Any animal that was suspected of starvation was taken to the University of Maine where a professor of wildlife examined them.

I have traveled thousands of miles on snowshoes following my hounds in the pursuit of predatory animals. It seems as though I have established my credentials as a wildlife authority. If these uninformed letter writers whose letters have been published can match this experience, I would like to hear from them. David Priest

Winn

The facts on Palombo

John Holyoke’s column (BDN, March 26) regarding University of Maine women’s basketball coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie is based on (to say the least) confusion about the basic facts which the column discusses.

Holyoke reports that Palombo-McCallie “blasted a local writer for reporting that she could be making a job-shopping trip that might include her alma mater, Northwestern.” This is a false statement of the facts. Palombo-McCallie’s reference was to Ron Brown of Maine RoundBALL magazine, who chose the weekend of Maine’s first-ever NCAA victory to publish a rumor that he claimed to know that Palombo would be the next Purdue women’s basketball coach.

This rumor was false: There was no contact from Purdue. But this didn’t stop Mr. Brown and his so-called sources. At a time which should have been a moment of celebration (victory over Stanford) and concentration (upcoming Old Dominion game) for the UMaine women, he spread a false rumor that, if it had gotten to the players, could well have drastically disturbed and distracted the team just before the Old Dominion game. Way to go, Mr. Brown. I would call that “irresponsible” even by modern media standards.

This was the context in which Palombo-McCallie, to her credit, referred to an “irresponsible” reporter. Now, if the BDN would like to maintain “Purdue, Northwestern, what’s the difference,” then that’s an interesting commentary on how interested certain journalists and editors are about getting their facts straight. Michael R. Montgomery

Bloomington, Ind.

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Letters should include a signature, full name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be mailed to: P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 or e-mailed to: bdnmail@bangornews.infi.net