The holiday season is approaching, and Wabash District 348 Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer says students and staff are preparing for a busy stretch of activities.
During his report at Monday evening's School Board meeting, Bleyer said the coming weeks will feature numerous holiday concerts, musical performances, and other seasonal events throughout the district.
With winter sports also getting underway, Bleyer reminded parents and fans that athletic schedules and related information are available through the district's app.
The superintendent also addressed a topic that generated some discussion following Saturday's Mt. Carmel Golden Aces playoff victory over Benton — the use of air horns and other noisemakers by visiting fans.
Bleyer said he had received questions about the horns used by Benton supporters during the game at Riverview Stadium.
While describing the noise as extremely annoying, Bleyer acknowledged that the Benton fans generally avoided blowing the horns while Mt. Carmel was running offensive plays.
The superintendent said the rules surrounding artificial noisemakers at high school football games appear to be something of a gray area, and he questioned whether school officials have the authority to prohibit fans from bringing them into the stadium.
During the discussion, it was suggested that game officials would have the authority to intervene if they determined the noisemakers were interfering with play.
Bleyer said he plans to seek additional clarification on the rules. We have since checked with Matt Troha Associate Executive Director with the Illinois High School Association who told us the rule banning artificial noise makers was changed a few years and “is now up to the home school if they want to allow them”.
Despite the distraction, Bleyer noted that the Golden Aces came away with a thrilling 32-to-24 victory over Benton to advance to the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
And as the superintendent jokingly observed, the visiting fans and their horns became considerably quieter by the end of the game.