Violations prompt school to suspend sports players

A party in Glenns Ferry has resulted in a series of suspensions of students from school activities there and severely impacted the school's sports program.

The Glenns Ferry Pilots football team already missed its game against Wendell on Oct. 11 and will not play Declo on Oct. 18 because some of its members were suspended from school for two weeks, a Glenns Ferry School Board member told the Glenns Ferry Gazette newspaper.

That newspaper is part of the Mountain Home News family of papers.

The suspensions and forfeiture of two games resulted from the athletes' failure to comply with an agreement they signed with the school prior to the sports season, said the board member, who asked not to be identified.

That agreement states that athletes will adhere to all school policies, including one banning the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Because the details of the matter cannot be discussed in public, the board member was not at liberty to say what exactly transpired that resulted in the school district's decision.

The suspensions will impact the school's football, volleyball and soccer teams. According to the board member, the football team was the hardest hit.

Athletic Director Kelli McHone said injuries and other eligibility issues, coupled with the suspensions, left the football team short-manned.

Soccer players involved in the incident also will sit out two games, as will some Lady Pilot volleyball players.

McHone said she is "proud of the kids for stepping up" and admitting that they broke school policy. Now she hopes the athletes will "move on and accept the consequences" of their actions.

She also noted that the suspensions could have been up to a year, but a more lenient penalty was applied because it was the "first offense" for most of the students involved.

A parent, who asked not to be identified, said a Glenns Ferry student invited the entire school to her home for a birthday party. Her children decided against attending the party after the student posted on her Facebook page that she had acquired a hooka. A hookah, also known as a water pipe, is designed as a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking a flavored tobacco called shisha. While hookahs are legal in Idaho, the user must be at least 18 years old.

The mother said she supported the school district's decision to uphold its policy.

Adults were present during the party but apparently were not in the same location where the activity that got the students suspended took place, the parent told the Gazette.

Athletes affected by the suspension are still attending practice, McHone said. However, soccer and volleyball players will be benched during their next two games and will not suit up with the rest of their teammates.