Judge sends parties in Goshen case to mediation

The hiring of a new head football coach at Goshen High School remains at a road block.

Pike County Circuit Court judge Judge Thomas E. Head III ordered parties in a dispute relating to issues in the hiring of Goshen’s football job to mediation.

Head made his order early Thursday after denying motions from Pike County Superintendent Dr. Mark Bazzell and Goshen principal Dr. Al Griffin, including “to dissolve and/or vacate the preliminary/temporary injunction” issued by Head that prevented the Pike County School System from hiring a new head football
coach for Goshen.

Head’s temporary order came Monday night after a motion was filed by a group listed in court documents as “concerned citizens of the Goshen community.” 
The group alleged Bazzell and Griffin violated the open meetings or sunshine laws.

Bazzell and Griffin and the school system were set to hire former Geneva head coach Mike McCombs for the football job and athletic director’s position on
Monday night, but Head’s order came an hour before the school system’s board meeting.

The two Pike County school administrators responded to the allegations Wednesday, through the Board of Education’s attorney Richard Calhoun. In addition to
asking the injunction be dissolved or vacated, they requested all the judges in the 12th Judicial Circuit “recuse themselves from participation” because of
dealings with Sheriff Russell Thomas, one of the 12 members of the “concerned citizens of the Goshen community.”

Head, though, denied the motions in his order that was filed Thursday at 11:23 a.m.

“The undersigned does not feel that his ability to objectively and impartially decide the issues in the case is in any manner impaired,” Head said in his order.

Head also stressed he did not “wish to unduly delay the defendants and/or Pike County School Board from employing a football coach at Goshen,” leading to
his order of mediation.

“To expedite a possible early resolution of this matter, the parties are directed to submit same for resolution through the mediation process,” Head said.

Head requested Thad Yancey, a prosecutor in Troy, to serve as mediator. Yancey agreed.

The parties, as ordered by Head, had to conduct the mediation no later than today and furnish a status report to the court after the conclusion.

Should the parties be unsuccessful, the court would then confer with counsel on Monday to schedule a hearing within 10 days as imposed in the temporary
order.

Efforts to reach both Calhoun and Matthew Baker, an attorney for the “concerned citizen of the Goshen community,” on Thursday for reaction to Head’s order
were unsuccessful.

The Pike County School System is seeking to hire a replacement for Joe Thornton, who resigned from the positions of head football coach and athletic director
in late May to accept an assistant coaching job at Enterprise.

The board appeared set to hire McCombs on Monday, but the “concerned citizens of the Goshen community” filed the motion for an injunction to stop the hire.

The group alleged that the defendants conducted meetings with board members to influence “said members to vote for defendants’ predetermined candidate.”

They also alleged that defendants informed McCombs to “conduct his first football practice on June 15, 2009 at approximately 6:15 p.m,” just 45 minutes after
the official board meeting at 5:30 when McCombs was to be officially hired.

Head issued the temporary order, stating “the defendants may have possibly violated the laws and regulations of the state of Alabama regarding open meetings
and by allowing the hiring of a new football coach, the Plaintiffs may be irreparably harmed.”

Bazzell and Griffin then filed their response on Wednesday, including the motions of dissolving or vacating the injunction and the recusal of judges.

Other motions included defendants requests for “award of attorney’s fees against plaintiffs to defendants,” “award of damages to defendants” based off “false
statements made under oath” by plaintiffs along with “orchestration to have the false charges of law violations carried by Montgomery, Alabama television
stations.”

Prior to Head’s latest order, depositions for the 12 plaintiffs and the two defendants were scheduled for next Wednesday at the law offices of Calhoun, Faulk,
Curtis & Faircloth.