Hometown heroes
Chalk it up to Rep. Verla Insko for a rather prescient comment during her remarks at the opening ceremony of Carrboro High School in 2007.
Insko said she had attended a brand new school and could relate to what the students at CHS were about to go through. She noted that in its first season, her school’s football team didn’t win a game; but by the time she graduated, they’d won a championship.
Last week, the Jags’ remarkable run ended with a loss in the Eastern regional semifinal playoffs to East Bladen, 56-48.
They didn’t win a state championship, but they are still champions. And after a season that saw Carrboro defeat all but one of their bigger in-county rivals (and that Cedar Ridge game could have gone either way), the smack talking about the team from the little school south of town has pretty much dried up.
Of course, there’s more to the school’s athletic program than just football, and all the athletes at the school deserve a big show of support, as do the coaches, parents and grandparents who stuck by the school’s teams in their building years. In addition to gridiron accomplishments, there will no doubt be a few more statewide honors added to the CHS trophy case this year.
But the football team that grew up together, and its coaching staff led by a very determined Jason Tudryn, deserve a special thanks. They taught the school and this community some important lessons in teamwork, persistence and battling adversity. Hats off to them. We look forward to next year.
Localizing
Since we’re what the media pundits like to call a “hyperlocal†newspaper supported almost exclusively by local advertisers, we’re not sure if The Citizen actually needs to remind our readers to remember to shop local this holiday season. But we will.
Recent studies of the local economy continue to show that some of you are still sneaking over the border to make a few purchases. (OK, a lot of purchases.) We doubt we can stem that tide with a few choice words, but please remember that the money you spend here tends to stay here and the money you spend thar is scattered to the four winds.
With just a tiny bit of extra effort, you can find about anything you want right here within the confines of Orange County and, in most cases, you can do so at a place owned and operated by one of your neighbors and a comfortable distance from the madding crowds.
Think about that next time you’re gassing up the sleigh for a trip down I-40.