Tuesday Night was a very special evening at Carmi-White County High School for 1,000 different reasons.
The Bulldogs pulled off a hard-nosed 44-38 win over Edwards County, improving their record to 18-5 and 5-1 in the Black Diamond Conference.
In the win, CWC junior Mitchel Edwards surpassed the 1,000 career points threshold – becoming the 29th member of the CWCHS 1,000 point club, the 19th boys basketball player to score 1,000 points and just the 2nd boys basketball player to do so in his junior season. Of course, Edwards had to make sure he got a few ferocious dunks in before the night was over as well.
It was a memorable evening, but the most memorable moment for me happened before the game had even started.
Over the weekend, tragedy struck the heart and soul of Carmi-White County athletics. CWC head football coach and athletic director, Kurt Simon and his family, lost their home in a house fire. Thankfully, coach and his wife Stacy, their two boys Luke and Jake and dog Sisco were able to escape the home safely, but the fire was deemed a total loss.
The morning after the fire, a donation account was set up by We Love White County, an organization that Stacy Simon has been heavily involved in since its creation. Families, friends, community members, area schools & towns did what they do best.
Help out one another.
There were three more individuals who wanted to help out the Simon family.
IHSA officials, Dana Pearson, Cory Miller, and Mike Dammerman were set to work the Carmi-White County vs Edwards County ball game Tuesday evening. Before the start of the contest, the three officials decided to donate their game checks to the Simon family.
The entire crowd at McDougal-Evers Gymnasium rose to their feet. A moment that made the hairs on your skin stand up, and a moment that almost made this broadcaster tear up behind the microphone.
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t consider myself fortunate to live in a community like Southern Illinois.
We come together to help out one another, even in the most difficult of times.
Anyone who would like to donate to help the Simon family can do so at this link;
Keep Kurt, Stacy, Luke, Jake and Sisco in your thoughts and prayers.
