Wednesday the 17th marked the 15th year since the tragic death of WOS QB Reggie Garrett. For those of you that don’t know, the 112% that you see all over the WOS campuses, buses, tshirts, etc. was what Reggie lived by, always giving 112 percent. He wore number 12.
Garrett had just thrown a touchdown pass to Mark Roberts against the Jasper Bulldogs and he came to the sideline and collapsed. He was later pronounced deceased while we were doing the game on the air.
I remember paramedics tending to him on the sideline and when they raised the stretcher and brought him onto the track, I could see his eyes were open although he didn’t look like he was there. But I was trying to find something positive to say during the broadcast. I remember saying, “his eyes are open so that’s a good sign.” But I learned later he was already gone. It was a wild scene around school and town for weeks after because people just didn’t know what to think or say other than condolences. I remember the outpouring of support by the surrounding communities was pretty special to see. The adoption of 112% was a great move by the school, proving that Reggie Garrett will never be forgotten.
–
We’re also coming up on the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Rita. The one that started it all as far as our run of bad storms. We had just started texting at that time. That was when you had to hit each number 1-2 or 3 times to get the desired letter. And that was before home generators. Most businesses didn’t have them either. We had gas line breaks all over because of the uprooted trees. And I’ll never forget the heat the first couple of days and the bugs at night because of all the broken trees.
–
Vidor Superintendent Jay Killgo came to speak at the Orange Rotary Club on Tuesday and listening to him speak was just another reminder that we live in a different time from when I was in school. So much of his job as Superintendent has nothing to do with teaching kids and managing teachers. Since Hurricane Harvey the district has spent everyday building and rebuilding and dealing with FEMA. Certainly a full time job in itself. He also spoke about the creative methods they’re now using to recruit teachers and then finding ways to keep them. And it sounds like they’re doing a good job of it. And he said the banning of cellphones has been a great thing.
He also mentioned the new acronym spreading around the state is CCMR which stands for “College Career Military Rating.” He said the State is wanting to produce students that are workforce ready which is why you’re seeing so much emphasis on CTE (Career and Technical Education). It wasn’t that long ago money was being taken away from extracurriculars and now they’re pushing. That usually means someone’s making a lot of money off of it but I still like it for the students. Killgo does a great job in Vidor. If they would’ve put him in charge of Orange Street it would’ve been done by now.
–
I was at the WOS game last Friday and got a call from a trustworthy friend that Coach Wade Phillips had died. Being from the area I started thinking of what I was going to say on KOGT.com. But I’ve learned that these days I have to have at least two sources about a death or something similar before I will react. Social media has ruined so many things and while we get kicked off or suspended from a platform for the stupidest thing, these fake sites continue to cause all kinds of problems.
Sure enough the statement was fake. Phillips later came out and spoke about it and was pissed because some of his family had seen it. Just a note, when you see a site that you’ve never heard before, check a reputable news/sports source before sharing. I scrolled Facebook for a minute and came across Football Alliance, Sport Spirit, and there’s several with the word Fans in it that are fake.
–
“If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock”
Have a great weekend!
-Gary Stelly-
gstelly66@gmail.com
Volume 1 No. 31
The Juice is a weekly column where Gary Stelly discusses things that happened the past week and mixes it with 40 years of being involved in the Orange County community. (If we think of a better way to explain it we’ll change it) You can also check out his podcast by clicking on the Behind the Mic banner on the KOGT.com front page.
Social Media