Coupeville Sports

“Many cleaning tasks are being left undone”

March 23, 2024 by David Svien

Pete Gebhard, seen with daughter Gabriella, is the lead custodian for the Coupeville School District.

The lead custodian for the Coupeville School District is calling on the school board to address a year-long shortage in staff.

Pete Gebhard has sent a letter to the directors, which is included with the agenda for their March 28 meeting.

In it, he states the maintenance department have not been able to “replace the full-time custodian at the middle school.”

“We are now coming up on one year since Dan Burns resigned,” Gebhard writes. “I have expressed my concerns about this decision to both (Superintendent) Steve King and (Business Manager) Brian Gianello via email or in person conversations.

“As of yet, I have not been given a solution to this issue. I have been told that we would discuss seeking a remedy to the shortage at a later time once the budget situation changes.”

Gebhard states the current crew has had to flex schedules “to accommodate for this significant loss of work hours.”

This has increased the workload for remaining workers, while “many other cleaning tasks are being left undone due to lack of time.”

“In the 20 plus years that I have been a custodian of the Coupeville School District, there has never been a school year where there was no middle school custodian,” Gebhard writes.

“We have never been asked to find a way to cover the middle school building by stretching out our work hours and cutting back our cleaning services, in addition to our regular areas of responsibility.

“I’m not entirely sure as to why our district has decided that the current situation is sufficient or that we just have to work our way through this shortage of funding, but I find it deeply concerning that we would sacrifice cleaning/sanitizing/disinfecting and stretch our current custodial crew out in this manner.”

Gebhard also expresses the concern the new superintendent, when hired later this year, may decide to keep staffing at current levels.

“At our current custodial staffing level, we are holding ground on basic cleaning, with no time for deep cleaning or classroom sanitizing,” he writes.

“If we were to lose more custodial hours in the form of a RIF, we would be forced to move our custodial staffing hours again and quite frankly this would likely require the elementary school to be placed on an every other day cleaning schedule.

“It’s really hard for me to say this, but our buildings will continue to not receive the cleaning they need, and this will result in unsanitary conditions for our students.”

In the letter he calls for the situation to be addressed.

“It is my honest feeling that if we are told that we must lose another custodian for the upcoming school year, the impact to our custodial staff and buildings will be tremendous,” Gebhard writes.

“Our custodians will be overtaxed with larger areas to clean, and our buildings will suffer and degrade at a quicker rate.

“We really need to strongly consider what our cleaning goals should be for our district before implementing any further changes to our custodial staff. I can’t emphasize the importance of this enough.”

To read Gebhard’s letter in full, pop over to:

Click to access P%20Gebhard%20Letter%20to%20the%20Board%20.pdf

UPDATE 3/25 — The letter is no longer available to read, as it was removed from BoardDocs at the request of its author.

Posted in Not sports? Tough! | Tagged Coupeville Booster Club, Coupeville School District, custodians, letters to the editor, Pete Gebhard | Leave a Comment »

Enter Sandman, exit Hurricanes

March 22, 2024 by David Svien

Yohannon Sandles was raking Friday, in more ways than one. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

“BE BIG!!”

Wish granted.

Rallying from four runs down late Friday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad survived nail-shredding tension and pulled out a stunning come-from-behind win in extra innings, sending its fans home happy, one step ahead of the encroaching darkness.

To get there, shanking visiting Mount Vernon Christian 5-4 in nine gut-wrenching frames, the Wolves dodged disaster, found a new groove, and listened to their fans constant plea to seize the moment.

And thanks to career-defining performances from players as diverse as Yohannon Sandles and Camden Glover, CHS evens its Northwest 2B/1B League record at 1-1, moves to 2-3 overall, and, hopefully, turns a corner while the season is still young.

A game after being no-hit in a loss to Friday Harbor, the Wolves came up with clutch base-knocks against MVC, while shutting down the Hurricane hitters when it mattered most.

Camden Glover, seen in sunnier times, was lights out Friday, a day before he turns 16. (Photo courtesy Stevie Glover)

Trailing 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Coupeville was hanging tough thanks to a huge pitching performance from Glover.

Coming on in relief of Peyton Caveness — who was fairly sharp himself but had been dinged by a play here, a play there — Glover was lights out.

The burly sophomore, who celebrates his 16th birthday Saturday, went 5.2 innings, striking out 10 while not giving up a single hit.

But with just six outs left to play with, the Wolves needed something to start clicking offensively.

They found their mojo thanks to some pain, some hustle, and some precision hitting.

Aiden O’Neill led off the bottom of the sixth by wearing a pitch, the ball whacking off his body with a dull thud.

Not one to grimace or show any discomfort, the speedy sophomore instead bounded down to first, then promptly shot down to second on a steal.

He came around to score Coupeville’s first run on a hard-hit grounder off the bat of Sandles, and CHS seemed to be in business.

Until the Wolves briefly stalled out, stranding runners at second and third to end the inning.

Not a problem, however, as Glover mowed down the side in the seventh, and then his teammates rose to the moment in their “final” at-bats.

Pinch hitter Aidyn McDermott led off with a single that chewed up the glove of the MVC third baseman, before Caveness thumped an RBI double.

The Hurricanes looked like they were going to escape, however, striking out the next batter and putting themselves an out away from scampering back to the vans, a visit to McDonalds possibly in their early evening plans.

To which the Wolves said, stow those burgers and fries, buccos, with Cole White and Sandles knocking in runs with back-to-back perfectly placed blasts.

Sandles gets dynamic. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Suddenly it was 4-4, we were headed to extra innings, and the overflow crowd of MVC fans were beginning to kvetch.

Just the way Cow Town likes it.

Glover survived a tense moment in the top of the eighth, plunking two batters before getting a ‘Cane slugger to weakly launch a foul ball right to first baseman Caveness with the bags juiced.

Coupeville put two runners aboard in the bottom half of the frame thanks to MVC errors, and the visitors reloaded the bases in the top of the ninth thanks to walks, but neither team could break through.

With already black skies getting darker and the game pushing three hours, that set up a fab finale in the bottom of the ninth.

White rapped a one-out single, then moved his lanky body down the line at a rapid rate on a steal, before Sandles wrote the final best-selling chapter.

Hitting cleanup, the Wolf junior, famous for his crowd-pleasing photos on the Coupeville Barstool Instagram account, capped his best day as a CHS diamond dynamo.

With his fan club hootin’ and hollerin’ on every pitch, Sandles dug his cleats into the prairie dirt, swung from his heels, and launched a gorgeous laser into faraway left field.

Ball hit grass, White’s toes tapped home plate, and the rush was on, as the Wolves poured out of the dugout to envelop their stellar second baseman.

Peyton Caveness and Co. swung big in key moments. (Morgan White photo)

Sandles finished with three hits (according to the official book), though some might argue he actually had four depending on how you viewed one base knock which was recorded as an error.

Joining him in the hit parade were White, who rapped two, Caveness — who whacked a two-bagger — Landon Roberts, and McDermott as CHS outhit MVC 8-2.

O’Neill, Caveness, Glover, and Jack Porter walked to round out the offense.

With the wild win in hand, the Wolves prep for a super-busy week, if weather permits.

Coupeville is slated to travel to Orcas Island next Tuesday, host Sequim Wednesday, trek to Concrete Friday, and host South Whidbey Saturday.

Oh, and the Wolf JV will play in Oak Harbor Monday, leaving very few open dates on the schedule.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged baseball, Camden Glover, CHS Wolves, extra innings, Mount Vernon Christian, Yohannon Sandles | Leave a Comment »

Net crew gains valuable experience

March 22, 2024 by David Svien

Kauri Hamilton (left), seen here with fellow CHS basketball manager Melanie Wolfe, is bringing her A-game to the tennis court this spring. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Some days are more about growth, and less about wins and losses.

Friday was one of those afternoons, as two high school tennis programs in very different places found a way to meet in the middle.

Granite Falls has more than twice as many students as Coupeville, and that carries over to its net program, where the Tigers have 24 girls wielding rackets.

The Wolves, who have brand new coaches and no home matches on the schedule as they wait for new courts to be built, have eight players.

And one of those netters was MIA Friday as the two teams dodged rain drops and played a different format than normal.

To give Granite Falls a chance for both its varsity and JV to see action, Coupeville’s players each squared off with two opponents, playing a set apiece instead of the normal best two-of-three.

While keeping the Tigers busy, the format also allowed a very-young Wolf squad to get plenty of court time.

“It was more of a coaching style match to help our newer players to tennis get more comfortable playing more of a variety of opponents,” said CHS assistant coach Starla Seal.

Along the way, the Wolves captured their first wins of the season, with 8th grader Tenley Stuurmans and sophomore Brynn Parker standing tall.

Friday’s results:

1st Singles — Tenley Stuurmans lost to Giorgia Felizzuni 6-2; beat Gola Paolikova 6-0

2nd Singles — Brynn Parker lost to Samantha Hagman 6-3; beat Audrey Vanwinkle 6-1

3rd Singles — Kaitlyn Leavell lost to Hailey Granger 6-2; lost to Samantha Hagman 6-4

1st Doubles — Stuurmans/Parker beat Luanne Thurston/Vanwinkle 6-1; beat Ari Dimitrova/Alisha Wright 6-3

2nd Doubles — Kauri Hamilton/Sofia Phay lost to Dimitrova/Ava Combs 6-0; lost to Brooke Mann/Marjorie Garcia 6-1

3rd Doubles — Delanie Lewis/Rafaela Silva De Campos Conceicao lost to Ashlee Meusling/Wright 6-0; lost to Mann/Garcia 6-2; lost to Hailey Grangley/Yolanda P. 6-3

Posted in Girls Tennis | Tagged Brynn Parker, CHS Wolves, girls tennis, Granite Falls, Tenley Stuurmans | Leave a Comment »

Six remain in play for superintendent gig

March 22, 2024 by David Svien

And then there were six.

The Coupeville School Board narrowed its list of candidates to replace departing Superintendent Steve King after holding an executive session Thursday night.

Who are those six? That part is hush-hush, for a logical reason.

With many of the candidates currently working in other districts, the search consultant firm being used by the school board recommended keeping names private through the early rounds.

It is believed that helped to increase the applicant pool, School Board president Morgan White said in a statement.

The six candidates still in play will be interviewed during another private meeting Tuesday, Mar. 26, with the three finalists publicly announced by Mar. 29.

The final trio will tour the Coupeville School District and meet with staff and community between Apr. 8-10.

A detailed schedule of stakeholder meetings will be released next week, with opportunities to meet candidates and provide feedback.

The current plan is to hire a new superintendent in April, with that person starting the job in July.

Whichever of the six candidates wins the top spot, school board members are looking forward to the positives they will bring to the job.

“We are hopeful about the future of our district,” White said. “And we are grateful for wonderful candidates who are eager to serve Coupeville Schools.”

Posted in Administration | Tagged Coupeville School Board, Coupeville School District, executive session, superintendent | Leave a Comment »

Coupeville AD Willie Smith retiring

March 22, 2024 by David Svien

Willie Smith, best dressed athletic director in the state? (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One more year in the gym, but with a lot less stress.

Willie Smith, the last of a “trinity” of longtime Coupeville High School/Middle School coaches/teachers/admins, is moving towards joining former compatriots Ron Bagby and Randy King on the sidelines.

He plans to teach one more year of PE but will step down as Athletic Director at the end of this school year.

That will put a cap on Smith’s second run as Coupeville’s AD, which began in 2016. He previously held the position from 2005-2010.

After arriving from Sequim in 1994, Smith has been actively involved in Wolf athletics at every level for the past three decades.

As a coach, he led the girls’ varsity basketball program from 1994-2000, advancing to state twice and earning the school’s first-ever big dance win for a girls’ team in any sport.

Smith also was a CHS football assistant coach from 1995-2011, ran the middle school program for three years, and put in 19 years at the helm of the Wolf varsity baseball team.

Coaching back when baseball guys wore stirrups, like God intended. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

During his AD stints, he set a high standard for his coaches and programs, with both high school and middle school teams collecting a wide range of awards, trophies, honors, and praise from rivals.

He has led CHS through life in both the 1A and 2B classifications, guided transitions through numerous leagues, and was a resolute leader during the pandemic.

Currently the Northwest 2B/1B League president, Smith is known and respected throughout the state.

Last year, right after CHS sports teams earned three academic state titles, on the heels of football and baseball advancing to state for the first time in decades, the AD position was put in jeopardy.

A list of proposed budget cuts included taking Smith’s admin duties away and giving them to an already overworked assistant principal.

The uproar was deafening.

In a very short time, school district officials were hammered from all sides, with numerous AD’s, coaches, fans, parents, and athletes – former and current – speaking out on his behalf.

The proposed cut was removed long before the final budget was approved by school board members.

Without skipping a beat, Smith continued to merrily chug along, doing what he has always done for three decades plus — put his athletes, coaches, and students first.

The Wazzu super fan has never been about the glitz and glamour or tooting his own horn.

Few realize how much time and effort he has put in, or how complicated the AD job is, especially in the modern world where cell phones make sure you can always be reached.

Taking a real vacation, or simply spending time with wife Cherie, is hard, as everyone with a question — including yours truly — is always looking for his calm answer.

There’s a rumor he once sat on a tree stump during a hunting trip, watching elk wander by and stick their tongues out at him, while he talked everyone through a football-related meltdown back at home.

Which goes a long way to explaining why now is the time for Smith to step aside and let a new generation live and die by the email tsunami.