Little Bay de Noc Fishing Reports

Below is from the Escanaba Daily Press. Lots of talk now of launching a recall petition of the whole school board. I kind of feel for the superintendent because this is a big slap in the face to him. I'll keep you posted...
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RAPID RIVER - Applause filled the gymnasium Wednesday night as the Rapid River School Board announced its decision to reinstate ousted girls' softball coach Andy Schwartz.

The reversal of Schwartz's termination, which was originally handed down by Superintendent Henry Knoch, was accompanied by new, but less harsh game suspensions.

Knoch officially terminated Schwartz Aug. 25, just days after a trial addressing Schwartz's involvement in an illegal commercial fishing operation in early 2009. Schwartz is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa Tribe of Indians and, along with two of his brothers, was recently sentenced in tribal court. The brothers were among the six men involved in an illegal netting operation on the Bays de Noc, and were ordered to pay fines, costs, and restitution in connection with nearly 105 citation violations. The three also lost sacred tribal fishing rights.

After news of the termination trickled through the small Rapid River community, support for Schwartz, who also coaches boys' junior high football, grew. This support, however, was met with apprehension by other community members who felt the superintendent's decision was appropriate.

During Wednesday's special meeting of the board, community members, students and faculty filled the gym with opinions from both sides of the issue. More than 30 people made use of a five-minute time limit imposed by the board to make their opinion known.

Ruth Schwartz, Andy's mother, was among an overwhelming majority of audience members who spoke in favor of reinstatement.

"I am here to support Andy for who he is. I am very proud of what he's done for this school, the community and our kids," she said. "I think that everyone is going to lose if you don't overrule Mr. Knoch's decision. It's not going to be Andy; Andy is going to go on, but our kids are really going to lose from this."

Supporters of Schwartz questioned the scope of the school's authority to punish employees for moral wrongdoings, above and beyond the punishments of the law.

The opponents of Schwartz's reinstatement cited everything from the moral influence the coach could have on his players, to the severity of his actions and negative impact the fishing operation had on the entire community.

"We all know he (Andy), is a good coach, but that's not why we're here. It's about his actions and behavior off the softball field that's the problem," said Rapid River resident Mike Ryan. "The dictionary describes the word 'poach' as to catch game or fish illegally. It also describes the word 'thief' as someone who takes things that do not belong to him. So by definition, Andy is a poacher and a thief plain and simple."

After an hour of audience commentary, the board entered executive session with both Knoch and Schwartz.

Within approximately 30 minutes, the board returned to inform audience members that they felt the right decision would be to overturn the termination.

"Our job as a board is a difficult one never a fun thing. Now that we've had the opportunity to hear what everybody had to say, it's time - once we make our decision tonight - for our community to heal," said school board member Cara Brockway. "We need to remember that as a community, we need to be united and work together for our kids. We need to show our kids how to handle conflict peacefully and with respect and open minds."

The board also expressed confidence in Knoch's original decision, which was prompted by the information available to him at the time.

Schwartz's reinstatement was coupled with unpleasant news, however, as the board decided to suspend him from coaching junior-high football for the remainder of the season and from 35 percent of the softball season.

"When you do something and it is proven, we have to have consequences," said Brockway. "We feel that this is a very important thing for everybody in the community to see that we are responding to it."

Despite his punishment, Schwartz expressed gratitude toward the community members who showed support for his reinstatement.

"I had a lot of community support. I had a lot of people who put a lot of time in making banners, contacting school board members, passing out flyers. It was nice to see the community do what they thought was right," he said. "I want to thank the school board for making the right decision and now we can move on. Hopefully, it's a start in the right direction."