HARRISBURG, Ill. - Harrisburg Unit 3 School Superintendent Mike Gauch continues to prove that he's the best guy for the job, addressing an uncomfortable issue between two rival schools that occurred Friday night after a football game in such a manner as to win accolades from the public.
While we don't have too many details, what we've learned is this: Following a football game Friday, August 31, one or two Harrisburg athletes went into one of the locker rooms and took a whiz all over it. Yep. He (or they, again, we're not clear how many were involved) peed all over the place. Marked their territory. 'Cept it wasn't theirs, it was DuQuoin's. And it caused a huge amount of grief and consternation when it was discovered.
So on Sunday (September 2), Gauch took to his personal Facebook page, and in a public post, apologized with class:
This is to the community of Duquoin, District 300, and my friends of Duquoin,
I am the Superintendent of Schools of Harrisburg and I want to apologize on behalf of the Bulldog Football Team, The school district, Coaching Staff, Administration, Board of Education and the entire community of Harrisburg regarding the incident following the Varsity Football game on Friday night in your facility.
Our entire district is disheartened, dejected and disgusted that we had a student/athlete make a very poor decision and show no respect for themselves, our district, our community, or your community by committing an act so repulsive and out of character for 99% of our student / athletes here in Harrisburg. My staff, students and our entire district pride ourselves on presenting Unit 3 in the most positive light and this event is troubling for all of us on many levels.
I will be reaching out to Dr. Kelly on Tuesday Morning to assure him that we will do everything possible to find out who is responsible for this and they will be dealt with accordingly. This is not something we will look the other way at..... I have spoke to our Board President and this will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately. I will also convey to Mr. Kelly that the district will take care of any restitution involved in clean up or damage.
What I would ask of my many friends in Duquoin and the community in general is to not cast a net over an entire team, school district or community for the actions of 1 or 2 young men that made a horribly bad decision Friday. These are young people and while they must be held accountable for their decisions.... and they will..... please remember we have over 45 young men that came to your district and competed Friday and graciously shook hands and boarded the bus and went home. I can only apologize profusely and assure you that we deal with this issue and hold the young people involved accountable.
Finally, We all here in Harrisburg understand how upset ( and rightfully so) you all are about this, we just ask that you understand this does not represent the majority of our district or community here in Harrisburg. Again, please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of all of us in the Proud Bulldog Family. Please feel free to share this as needed. We wish Duquoin all the best moving forward this season and this school year.Respectfully,
Mike Gauch
Superintendent
Harrisburg Unit 3
Gauch has received nothing but praise for the way he addressed this issue. It's well-deserved...and it's hoped that the kids actually learn something over it and through Gauch's example.