Addressing a banner issue

KELLOGG — A recent change in decor inside Kellogg High School’s Andrews Gymnasium sparked some tension between the school and some concerned citizens who wanted to make sure that legacies weren’t being forgotten.

The south wall of the gym had always displayed bright purple banners signifying KHS athletic achievements over the years.

This collection of banners included six state championship banners that were designed before the new, larger all-white banners that are given to the state champions currently.

On the north wall of the gym, the KHS Golf Team had taken up residency as the only team in the modern era of KHS athletics to have any of the new all-white banners (five since 2005).

Those banners had to be moved following the painting of the new mural on that north wall and suddenly the banners needed a home.

KHS Athletic Director Mike LaFountaine thought that displaying only the championship banners, a “championship wall” of sorts, would be a positive way to display KHS’s athletic excellence and removed any banner that didn’t denote a state championship.

In the interim, he began looking for ideas for the banners that had been taken down.

While his intentions were good in theory, some residents took umbrage with the removal of the non-championship banners and they voiced their concerns.

KHS graduate and former Kellogg boys and girls basketball coach Jeff Lambert wrote an impassioned letter to the editor, where he spoke about how each of those banners was representative of a memory to Wildcats past and present.

Here is an excerpt from that letter:

My parents would take me to Andrews to watch basketball games starting in the ’70s. As a young boy, I can remember watching a vociferous coach with a purple suit and white loafers prowl the sideline. For those of us that are from Kellogg, we knew him by Coach Alexander. What a great time! When the Kellogg team from 1981 played for a state title in Post Falls, my family was there. Seated on the back row, crowded into a gym that seemed like it could not hold one more person. As an 11-year-old, I was devastated by their close loss. But every time I walk into Andrews, I would see that second-place banner and remember the great times in Andrews with my family. That second-place banner should be hanging for all to see inside Andrews gymnasium.

The 2010 girls’ basketball team, who was picked to finish fourth in their league, in a very surprising win in the runner up game at districts secured a spot in the state tournament. What a great group of young women. They had a work ethic second to none and a will to win that was undeniable. They would show that in three games at the state tournament. Finishing their season on the biggest stage available to an Idaho high school basketball player, The Idaho Center. They gave everything they had and then some, but came up a bit short. I still get choked up hearing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” That was their theme song. I still can hear and see them singing it on the bus on the way to the title game. What great memories! This is what I think of when I see their banner. Their second-place banner should be hanging inside Andrews Gymnasium.

Well, it looks like Lambert and many others may be getting their wish.

After a meeting between school administrators and some concerned patrons, the school is looking into ways to get the banners back into Andrews where they feel the banners belong.

The only difficulty is figuring out how.

Hanging them on the brick wall of the gym is both difficult and hazardous, and due to the banners being purchased over time, the colors didn’t always match.

“We are looking at a date to get into the gym to hang the purple banners in the middle possibly,” LaFountaine said. “We are looking at different options and ideas to hooking them to the cables. Please keep in mind, we need a system where they won’t move so we don’t have to keep adjusting them. The goal is to make them look good. Some concerns were brought up about being in the way for volleyball matches, so we will experiment with placement to find the best place. The sidelines are a good place, but we have lights and basketball hoops to work around.”

Lambert, who was in attendance at the meeting, was pleased to hear that the school was exploring options to get the banners displayed again.

“I thought it was a productive discussion,” Lambert said. “Everyone there seemed to be on the same page. Good discussion on the importance of the history of the high school.”

As mentioned, the former banners don’t all match meaning that those specific banners won’t go back up until they can be replaced with new banners that all match, but that comes with some potential issues as well.

“Banner costs are a concern too, we are having a tough time trying to find a place that will make these banners and the websites are about $350 a banner,” LaFountaine said. “We are behind about five banners, (it) might be time to start seeking donations to get these banners made.”

For more information or to help donate to getting banners made, please call Kellogg High School at 208-784-1371.