Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Aaron Schultz Column – 7/28/2008



At the Lester Prairie school board meeting last Monday, the board approved a motion to extend the current all-sports pairing with Holy Trinity for two additional years.

That means the two schools will remain paired in sports through the spring of 2011.

As a coach for the program, I have resisted covering much of the technical aspects of the pairing, and left that up to the editorial department of the Herald Journal.

Well, that all changed this past Monday as I was asked to attend said meeting and cover it for the A section of the newspaper.

To say I was a little uncomfortable covering and writing about this issue would be an understatement, but I knew I needed to do it.

People’s passion runs deep on both sides of the pairing issue, with many of those being parents of children I coach and cover.

I haven’t been shy about stating my opinion that I was, and still am, for the pairing.

With that said, I headed to the school board meeting knowing I needed to keep an open mind, and attempt to write a fair and balanced story.

That was something I had been worried about when the pairing issue first arose over a year ago.

The story, which starts on the front of the A section, is my best try at covering this issue fair and balanced.
Trust me, it wasn’t easy, but I gave it my best shot.

This was the first time in almost seven years since I covered a school board meeting.

Back when I worked at the McLeod County Chronicle in Glencoe, I covered one school board meeting when the editor was on vacation, and to tell you the truth, I didn’t exactly enjoy it.

So, when I came to the Herald Journal, I was excited to learn that I wouldn’t be covering those meetings with the budget talks, and those types of mundane items.

Of course, those are important issues that needed to be covered and talked about openly.

However, to me, they put me to sleep as if I was counting sheep. In other words, it isn’t for me.

All right, I’m losing focus here on the issue at hand – it happens from time to time.

The pairing is going ahead for an additional two years and I believe that is the right move.

There were numerous issues over the first year, but bumps in the road needed to be expected when something like this is so new.

I honestly believe that many of those issues will be resolved this year, and each year after will only get better.

Does this mean that issues still won’t arise this upcoming year, or the years to follow? Of course not. There is always going to be something.

But let’s face it, if the two schools were again on their own, there would be a whole set of separate issues that we’d all need to deal with.

From that stand point, I just believe that the good the pairing between Holy Trinity and Lester Prairie brings outweighs the negatives.

And in the end, I believe the pairing is in the best interest of all of the kids, and that is why I support it.

Top 100 movie quotes

The top 100 movie quotes picked by ESPN continue, with quotes 5 through 1.

That’s right, I finally made it through the top 100 movie quotes, and it only took me almost a year.

OK, I may be exaggerating a little, bit, but not by that much.

• 5: “I’m out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.”

From the movie “Airplane!”

• 4: “Juuuuust a bit outside!”

From the movie “Major League.”

• 3: “Show me the money!”

From the movie “Jerry Maguire.”

• 2: “You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let’s face it. It was you, Charley.

From the movie “On the Waterfront.”

• 1: “Yo, Adrian!”

From the movie “Rocky.”

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