Thacker headed to Rowan County

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May 19, 2008

By STEVE CORNELIUS, Sports Editor The Commonwealth Journal Mon May 19, 2008, 08:24 PM EDT

Somerset — After nine seasons as Somerset High School’s boys basketball head coach, Shawn Thacker was named the new boys basketball coach at Rowan County High School on Monday.

“I called Rowan County School Superintendent Marvin Moore today (Monday) and informed him that I accepted the position as their new boys basketball coach,” Thacker said on Monday afternoon. “My decision to go to Rowan County was for the right reason — family. Coaching and raising three kids, with two of them active in extracurricular activities almost year-round, we had very little, if any, time to visit with my mother and other family members that reside in Rowan County.”

Thacker stated that he had not applied for the position, nor had he ever applied for another coaching position while at Somerset High School over the past nine years. A few weeks ago, Rowan County School officials were granted permission from Somerset Superintendent Wilson Sears to contact Thacker about the possibility of becoming the Vikings’ new basketball coach.

“Up until last week, I had no plans of leaving Somerset High School,” Thacker stated. “I had put a lot of work in finalizing next year’s basketball schedule and I was excited about coaching the group of kids returning to the Jumper program for next season.

“I feel like the good Lord took care of everything and this move was meant to be and everything just fell into place,” Thacker said. “Bottom line, being close to my family was the deciding factor in why I chose to accept the Rowan County position.”

Thacker leaves Somerset as the program’s second all-time winningest coach with 160 wins during his nine seasons. Only Coach William Clark has more wins, with 212, and more seasons coached than Thacker.

Amongst his peers, Thacker has the third highest winning percentage in the 12th Region during his nine years at Somerset.

“The 12th Region is losing a class act in the loss of Coach Thacker,” South-western head coach Dave Schulz said. “In my opinion, Coach Thacker has done a fantastic job at Somerset and I am certain he will do a fantastic job at Rowan County. Win or lose, I always enjoyed coaching against Coach Thacker, and we will all miss him.”

Besides his .604 career win percentage at Somerset High School, Thacker’s most notable accomplishments came in his teams’ three All “A” state runner-up finishes, plus eight consecutive All “A” regional titles. Thacker won one district title and made four 12th Region Tournament appearances.

The nine years prior to Thacker’s arrival to Somerset High School, the Jumpers had been through five different coaches and had an overall losing record. Thacker had three losing seasons at Somerset and had five seasons with 20-plus wins.

“Having to leave this school, and this community, is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do,” Thacker stated. “It was tough having to tell the kids I would no longer be their basketball coach. Corey Price (a graduating senior) told me I was the only Somerset coach he could ever remember coaching here.”

“I am proud of what I accomplished at Somerset High School and feel that I have left behind a solid program that we built from the ground up,” Thacker said. “I was looking forward to working with the kids we had for next year’s team.”

“I think the youth programs that have been put in place in the county are going to produce quality teams for all three high schools in the future and I think that regional championships and state tournament appearances are going to be the norm for all three schools,” Thacker added.

Thacker gave thanks to his coaching staff for all their help during his nine years at Somerset and to former Somerset principal Tommy Floyd for hiring him and taking a chance on a then-freshman coach.

“I have a lot of great memories during my nine years in the Somerset community,” Thacker remarked. “Not only have we (my family) made lasting friendships with the players and the people at Somerset High School, but we have made friends with people all over the county. There will always be a special place in our hearts for this community.”

“Mr. (Wilson) Sears and Mr. (Jeff) Perkins have always been supportive of me and wanted me, and my wife (Kate), to continue to teach on at Somerset High School,” Thacker said. “They both felt that we were a part of this school and the community.”

Thacker will take on added responsibilities at his new school, which includes coaching the girls cross country team. Thacker will replace Don Daniel, who had coached at Rowan County for 13 years prior to his resignation. Daniel led the Vikings to a 16th Region Championship in 2005.

As of Monday evening, Somerset Superintendent Wilson Sears had not received a letter of resignation from Thacker. Sears stated that he could not make any comments about a possible coaching replacement until Thacker’s resignation from Somerset High School was official.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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