[HDE]

I agree with you MP10. As someone who,from my earliest memories,always lived and breathed Harlan High School,it makes me sad to think of a world without the Green.But,I have to hold on to the sliver of hope that the state government will change it's laws and give parents the choice of where to educate their children. There has to be a way that it can be done. I always dreamt of playing football for Harlan and wearing the green,, as a kid, and some day watching my boys live it just like I did. I would hate to see it go. It would be the worst thing for this county ever. I have always said that when you take away tradition you strip away identity. Harlan High School has always been known for families that have gone there for several generations. I know kids who's grandfather's and grandmother's went to school together at Harlan before marrying and their son's and daughter's also went there. Look at all the tradition that was lost when Cumberland, Evarts and Cawood went down. The money that was spent building the new school could have saved those schools. It's hard to believe that no one saw the decline in county population coming when the decision to consolidate was made. But, thats all history now. None the less I'm holding on to hope for our county and our school. God Bless Harlan High School!!!

I normally agree with you, but I think you have your head in the sand in regard to the impact HCHS has had on the county.
Many of us saw the decline in population, which was the reason the school was built. There were countless stories written about the declining population. Why would you spend millions to fix up 70 year old schools when you could instead build the nicest high school facility in Kentucky.
As far as sports, why would anyone want to continue losing as the county schools had been doing for the most part over the past 20 years when you could join forces and build strong teams in just about every sports.
The HCHS football team won a regional championship in its THIRD year and will be favored to win a second this year. Evarts and Cawood won one regional title each since 1959. Harlan still hasn't won its first.
The girls basketball team advanced to the regional finals its first two years and both HCHS basketball teams will be ranked second in the region this year.
I disagree that tradition was lost. Nothing was changed about the history of those schools. It's still there in the record books.
As far as identity, notice all the Black Bears signs on cars in and around Harlan County. It's staggering to think the popularity the teams have already accumulated in such a short time. I'm sure MP 10 could tell you about the excitement around HCHS football games the past couple of years. There is no comparison to what I saw at Cawood, Cumberland, Evarts or Harlan in recent years. The kids seem pretty happy to identify with winning.