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2007 grid game incident involved paint splashed on WVW band uniforms

September 25, 2009

Super: Berwick fixed problems

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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BERWICK – Berwick Area School District Superintendent Wayne Brookhart concedes there was an unfortunate incident involving paint and the Wyoming Valley West band two years ago at a football game, but blames the problem on a small grassy spot behind the stadium that was poorly lit and poorly patrolled – two problems that have since been fixed.

At the 2007 game between arch-rivals Berwick and Wyoming Valley West, held at Berwick, pranksters snuck up and managed to toss containers holding paint toward the WVW band, splattering paint on some uniforms. As a result, the WVW band is considering leaving uniforms at home when the two meet again in Berwick tonight, lest another mishap ruin their uniforms right before a big band competition they plan to enter Saturday.

Brookhart said he was not superintendent at the time of the paint incident, having come on board in November 2007, but that he looked into the matter and was told by the athletic director that the perpetrators apparently launched their prank from “an area behind the visitor bleachers, behind a wall, not owned by the district but used for parking.

“After that, we installed some security lighting and increased police surveillance,” Brookhart said. “It was a very difficult place to see and an area where we had been having other problems.”

The efforts seem to have been successful, he added, as the area no long seems to be a trouble spot. “We feel very good about the success of the security measures there.”

Brookhart said he knew of no other serious pranks between the two schools during his short tenure at Berwick. He said he suspects the 2007 game may have sparked some additional intensity between the longtime rivals because it was the first time WVW came to Berwick after having hired veteran coach George Curry away from the Columbia County district in 2006.

Curry resigned from WVW and coaching in December 2008.

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader Staff writer, can be reached at 829-7161

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