Board considers Aug. 18 start date Thursday, April 10, 2014
Winfield’s Arthur signs letter of intent, Page 4
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50 Cents Volume 145
By Kelly Stadelman
l Issue 14
kelly@theputnamstandard.com
Putnam County School officials listened when Randy Short, a Hurricane High School parent, expressed concerns about the 2014-15 calendar at the last board meeting. Short asked board members to start the second semester earlier so that AP students could get in more instructional days before taking the AP exams. “We had the meeting on March 17 had and some good comments and discussion,” superintendent Chuck Hat- Teddy Stewart, Poca High School Football Coach field told the board. “We went back and looked at the two options that we presented that night and made some modifications to Option 1. “We thought Mr. Short made some good points about trying to get more days into that first semester.” Also during the April 7 meeting, the board unanimously approved hiring Teddy Stewart, former assistant football coach at Hurricane, as the new head football coach for Poca; Jeff Pitchford as the new cross country coach for Buffalo; Ginger Miller as the new girls tennis head coach for Winfield and Jerry Wyant, Jr. as the new girls track head coach for Buffalo. Dr. Cindy Daniel, assistant suSEE BOARD ON PAGE 5
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Sorsaia gets first-hand look at Al-Qaeda By Kelly Stadelman kelly@theputnamstandard.com
During the heart of the basketball season, Putnam County prosecutor Mark Sorsaia spent a week sitting in a courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with Al-Qaeda terrorists instead of in the Hurricane High School gym cheering for his son, Henry. “It was probably one of the most interesting experiences of my legal career,” he said. “I can’t say it was fun, but it was fascinating.” Sorsaia was selected by the government to travel to Cuba and observe the military commission court trial for two Al-Qaeda terrorists, Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu Al-Nashiri and Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi. “I was the former vice president for the National District Attorneys Association, and that put me on the first list,” he said. “I got a phone call and was asked if I
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in February to observe the military commission court trial for two Al-Qaeda terrorists. For seven days he lived in a tent at “Camp Justice.” wanted to be on another list of the prosecutors to go to Guantanamo, and I said I would.” Sorsaia left Andrews Air Force Base for Cuba on Feb. 16 with a
group of 11 other civilian observers. He was the only prosecutor in a group that included defense attorneys, ACLU individuals, freelance writers and people
from the Judicial Watch organization. After landing at the U.S. miliSEE SORSAIA ON PAGE 4
Hurricane victorious in matchup of top Class AAA teams By Matt Gajtka matt@theputnamstandard.com
It was certainly warm enough for comfortable baseball, but the circumstances at Lola Meeks Field in Hurricane provided some extra heat. In a matchup of arguably the two best Class AAA teams in West Virginia, Hurricane scored an energizing result when it rallied from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to top visiting Cabell Midland 9-4 on Saturday, April 5. Hurricane junior first baseman J.T. Rogoszewski hit a two-run homer as part of a three-RBI day while second baseman Ace Estep and pitcher Austin Hensley drove in two runs apiece. Hensley, a senior, played a critical role on the mound, settling in to retire 18 of the final 22 Midland batters while the Hurricane of-
fense went to work. He struck out four, but most of his success was the result of inducing weak contact and letting his fielders do their jobs. "(Midland) was aggressive in the first inning and I got rattled," Hensley said. "I had to regroup, trust my stuff and trust my teammates." Hurricane compiled 10 hits, with every batter in the lineup reaching base at least once. Shortstop Trey Dawson walked three times and scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Brandon Pauley, Sam Balser and Zach Fitzsimmons also grinded out multiple productive at-bats. After striking out four times in the first two innings, Hurricane came around in the third and fifth frames, yielding seven runs comSEE HURRICANE ON PAGE 10
Hurricane right fielder Alex Dunham (swinging, center) drives an RBI single in the first against Midland. Third baseman Brandon Pauley (right) looks on from the on-deck circle.
Inside This Week: POCA BASEBALL WINS - PAGE 8 SCHOOL, CHURCH MAKE EASTER EGGS - PAGE 9 WINFIELD SOFTBALL COMES BACK - PAGE 16
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