DON McDERMOTT MORE COLUMNS Advertisement

"Not all of the parties have been interviewed," said Dale Norton, an assistant superintendent of schools in the Nye County School District, when asked if there was a final determination in the case of Brian Hug.

The head football coach and athletics director at Pahrump Valley High School was placed on administrative leave, with pay, because of a public complaint received by the NCSD more than a week ago.

While Hug has been absent, in essence on paid vacation, the duties he was responsible for have been handled by people who have gone beyond the call of duty.

Sherry Allison is working in the athletics department office, completing her duties as secretary, as well as doing some of the jobs the AD normally does, including completing winter sports schedules. Those schedules, incidentally, were supposed to have been done, and sent to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, by Sept. 14.

Roy Goodell was coaching the football team this week, working on a game plan it will take into action next Friday at home against Mesquite Virgin Valley.

The visiting Bulldogs, in case you are not aware, are the defending state Class 3-A football champions and are top-ranked in the Pahrump Valley Times Class 3-A state high school ratings, which appear each Friday in this section.

We can't take the NCSD administration to task for being cautious in this situation, because someone's academic and athletics careers are at stake. Being careful is better than making a hasty decision.

We believe that the of the Pahrump Valley High School athletics programs need the best direction possible. Trojan teams still have plenty of action remaining in the 2007-2008 school year, and they have to start preparing for a move out of 3-A into the Class 4-A Sunset Region Southwest Division in 2008.

The quicker those tasks receive proper direction, the better off athletes and coaches at Pahrump Valley High School will fare.

The underlining question is, will that athletics program move on with new direction or with Brian Hug?

We do not have the responsibility of answering that question. If we did, moving in a new direction would be our response.