New Buffalo school board accepts resignation of middle school principal Bradley Brunner

SCHOLASTICS

New Buffalo school board accepts resignation of middle school principal Bradley Brunner

New Buffalo Area Schools Board of Education accepted, with regret, the resignation of middle school principal Bradley Brunner effective June 30, 2022, at a special meeting Wednesday, June 1.

Board members approved the hiring of Brunner as middle school principal in July 2020. Before arriving in New Buffalo, he was director of K-12 teaching and learning at Yongsan International School of Seoul in South Korea.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

“Upon return from South Korea, as the global COVID-19 pandemic raged, the New Buffalo Area Schools accepted my family and me into the school community. I am grateful to provide leadership to the middle school in the most uncertain of circumstances,” Brunner stated in his resignation letter.

The letter stated that Brunner is “not resigning from my commitment to the New Buffalo community. I look forward to future opportunities to serve the community!”

In a statement after the meeting, New Buffalo Area Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Leslie said that Brunner has accepted a position at The College Board, which provides students with college search and admission tools and assists them with their SATs and AP exams.

He told board members that Brunner’s position will be posted the next day and that he plans on having a recommendation to them by their Monday, June 27, board meeting.

SPORTS

From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

So, it’s early June.

Boston is playing Golden State for the NBA championship (the series is tied at one win for each team). The New York Rangers are taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning for hockey’s Stanley Cup (New York leads two wins to one). The NFL’s preseason games don’t start for a couple of months, so men’s professional sports will be dominated by baseball here in the heartland for the next couple of months.

I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t covered a wider range of sports. Women’s sports are growing by leaps and bounds. Youth sports continue to be joyful to watch. Soccer, golf, tennis, and more are appreciated by many. In the future, I will attempt to give these sports a bit more attention.

In 1972, Title 9 was signed into law by President Nixon. While not specifically aimed at sports, it had a huge effect on women’s sports. Fifty years ago, one in 27 women participated in sports. Today, that number is one in five. When the law passed, it was aimed at equal rights. It stated that “no person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Unlike legislation that divides, Title 9 has been beneficial for all.

Sunday night’s baseball national game of the week on ESPN featured the Cardinals versus the Cubs. The game was well played and close, like many of the games the Cubs have been involved in this season. The national announcers pointed out some of the differences between the Cards and the Cubs. In the past, some of the things they said would have offended me; however, not right now. They pointed out the fact that the Cardinals youngsters seemed ready to be in the major leagues, while the Cubs kids seemed to be feeling their way. They also pointed out that since the Ricketts purchased the team in 2009, they’ve been under .500 six times while the Cards have been under .500 only once since 2000. When the Ricketts purchased the Cubs, I believe it was said that they would strive to have the team be competitive every year. Instead, the Cubs are undergoing their second attempt to be as bad as they can be since 2009. Right now, the team seems much more interested in making money than winning baseball games. Winning the World Series was nice, but I hope they learn from the Cardinals on how to be consistently excellent. Thank goodness for David Ross and Jed Hoyer, who seem to be capable of leading the Cubs back to the top. When they arrive, let’s hope they can stay there.

Jim Tressel said, “The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency.”

Be careful out there. Talk to you next week. Peace, love and happiness.

Lady Bison drop district opener in softball

BY STAN MADDUX

Despite noticeable improvement during the season, the New Buffalo High School girls’ softball team was overwhelmed by the hitting and pitching of Bridgman in losing the opener of the District 4 tournament.

The Bison lost 20-1 in a game on Friday, June 3, at River Valley High School that was called after three innings under the Michigan High School Athletic Association mercy rule.

Head Coach Morgan Motycka said she knew the game was going to be a difficult one for her players to compete.

“We just knew the pitching that we were going to be seeing is probably faster and more accurate than we’ve seen all season,” she said.

However, Motycka said her hitters often put bats on the ball, which showed the progress her mostly inexperienced players made during the season.

“We batted better than we fielded, which is kind of weird because we’re more of a fielding team,” she said.

Motycka said her hitters also did well putting runners on the base paths from being patient enough to swing only at strikes, even though just one player crossed home plate.

The Bison finished the season 3-9 in the conference and 6-18 overall.

Motycka said the team’s performance on offense and defense improved by “leaps and bounds” since the beginning of the season.

Her players after being sounded defeated by teams nearly won when the two teams met again later in the season.

Motycka said the team losing just three seniors is positioned to have more future success because of returning players who will be stronger and more experienced next season.

“I’m excited for the girls to come back and gel even better than they did. I’m anxious to see what that is going to look like for that core group,” she said.

8 kids a day are accidentally killed or injured by FAMILY FIRE.

FAMILY FIRE is a shooting involving an improperly stored gun, often found in the home.