National Signing Day

[jack daniel]

Yeah, originally from Roaring Spring.....how good would the Dragons have been with Runk in the backfield and Brumbaugh under center?

Thats scary to think about.

[psycho]

To show you just how far Western Pennsylvanian football has fallen there was an article in one of the Pittsburgh papers recently that said there were only 20 kids from WPIAL that signed with D1 A schools for football. That's the lowest ever.
My senior year at JHS we had 4, Richland had one, Township had one , Mccort had one.

So the lack of competition does not seem to be isolated to the Greater Johnstown area. LACK OF COMPETITION and handing out too many trophys must occur other places as well.

[Crimson09Crazy]

Or maybe the kids in the WPIAL aren't that good. I've been saying that for sometime now.

Let's put it this way, Richland Forest Hills Windber and everyone else you want to throw into the massive school district didn't have a D1 player. Now if they were one school like you want them to be, would there be a D1 player from Richber Hills? Probably not.

The WPIAL isn't short of Big schools. Butler is one of the biggest schools in the state, they probably couldn't win the LHAC.


Point being, massive schools don't mean great athletics. I understand your point with merging some of these tiny schools, but trust me, that horse is beyond dead.

Handing out too many trophies....well we have 4 classes, thank god. They 8 class talk was on here a few years back, and states like Michigan do have 8 classifications. Thats a little ridiculous. The PIAA has 4. Thats the right number.

[The Ancient Enemy]

There should be 6, IMO.

[Ghost]

There should be 6, IMO.

Agreed. About 100 schools per classification. Makes sense.

[say_oww]

A decline in Division 1 talent is not surprising considering that Pittsburgh's metro population has declined by 12 % since 1960 and that Johnstown's has decreased by 18%. Since the average gain in population for the United States is 13%, we have a net population deficit of approximately 30%.

[Eaglealum]

4 is plenty, but 3 for public schools and 1 for private.

[psycho]

say oww, there you go again... makin up "facts". Since 1960 the population of the Johnstown metro area has DECLINED by 28% with the number of school age kids dropping much more. The average age in Cambria County is like 41????

The population of the City of Johnstows is DOWN by about 68% from a peak of 82,000 to it's present 26,000, with many city residents being elderly. That's why JHS went from graduationg 600 to 180 - Ferndale went from classes of 210 to 30 and Conamaugh Valley went from classes of 220 to 40. That's one of the reasons why there is NO COMPETITION in piss ant schools anymore and why the coaches have to live with band kids and soccer players on the football team.

Population has plummeted, but there has been NO REDUCTION is school districts - each protecting what remains of its little turf - to the detriment of the kids.

If you weren't around in the "olden days" or have never spent any significant time out of this area to see how consolidation has been carried out in other places where there is political leadershp with half brains who are not constantly holding their hands out for more taxpayer money, you would not understand. This area could be great again in academics and athletics but you need half the current number of school districts and you need to get rid of the political correctness disease so the kids can be challenged again.

This problem is not confined to the Greater Johnstown area. Much of Pennsylvania has it because of the unions. But the day of reconing is quickly approaching. Look at what is happening in Westmont. The board has announced that they want to build a new high school to keep up with the Jones in Richland. No talk of consolidation at all. As a direct result there are 175 homes on the market in Westmont and another 40 or so in Upper Yoder (part of Westy school dist). The normal number of homes on the market in Westy-Upper yoder is around 45 total. Home prices have PLUMMETED because of the ridiculously high taxes, with a huge tax increase to come if the board goes through with the new school. People are STUCK with houses and are taking losses to get out to avoid the high taxes they are already paying as well as the $10,000 in taxes owners will soon be paying on houses worth $100,000. As a result, there is a slow creeping blight that is beginning to overtake that area. The neighborhood is slowly beginning to change as properties that went for 100,000 10 years ago are sold for 45,000 to absentee landlords for rentals. Soon there will only be islands of the "old Westmont" arrogance remaining as the board and "borough elite" sit and watch Rome burn.

[say_oww]

http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_popl.html

Psycho, this is where I got my information, because I wanted to state facts. It lists Johnstown and Pittsburgh metro areas including surrounding counties. However, if you have figures which indicate population is actually down 68%, then that would support the reasoning behind the decline in D1 players even more.

On the other hand, CONSOLIDATION is not a direct result of population decline. It is legislative proposal which is desired and lobbied for by some Pennsylvania residents in order to decrease spending and taxes. You favor CONSOLIDATION, while I favor eliminating Social Security and Medicare benefits. It will be interesting to see which of these proposals are signed into law first. I say neither one will ever come about in our lifetime.

[psycho]

say oww ...a fellow libertarian.

The thing in Westmont is pretty serious though. Families are fleeing in droves (or trying to). I know a guy out off Menoher who pays almost 20,000 a year in taxes. His neighbor pays 17,000. That's nuts.