Goslin

I really started questioning rhe decisions made by the folks at GCCISD after they decided to fill the REL pool in with concrete. It was great. I knew a girl back then who was on the Water Polo team. Loved hanging out around there.

Yeah, Snowflake’s always been good. I remember the old location, barely. We didn’t go there much because we always went to B&L Donuts across from the old Hospital and the Library. My mom loved their Bavarian Cream donuts. They dusted them with powdered sugar. Had an old breakfast counter with the stools set into the floor. Great place. The old man that had it finally died and his kids didn’t want to run it so they sold out to an Asian lady that still makes pretty good donuts but they’re not the same. Best kolache I ever had, though, wasn’t at either of those places. They had them in the cafeteria at REL before school. Cubed ham and government cheese. Thing was huge, they served it on a small paper plate and it was the size of the plate. Good times…

Where snowflake is now or where it was before? Snowflake is in the old Bonus Burger building now and I think that building was a Whataburger originally back in the 50’s/60’s. Just trying to figure out what building that hamburger stand was in. That’s a great story, BTW.

Baytown Jr’s colors are still red and white. I still call their team the Red Goslins occasionally and every time I do I end up having to explain why. I don’t know why GCCISD decided to change the mascot when they built the current HMJS at its new location. Both Jr Schools feed into REL and are natural rivals and the mascots fed into that a little bit.

Now, if I were to answer that question, it might make it easier to reveal my identity and I’d rather just remain anonymous seeing as how I speak my mind on here and a lot of folks don’t exactly like what I have to say. I know that wasn’t your intention. I’ll say that I was at REL back when they were a powerhouse, and that’s about as close as I’ll go with it. I was using the term “Old Baytown” the way the youngsters these days do. They don’t know about the old rivalries between the folks who live in the State Streets, the fancy folks in Old Goose Creek, and the Pelly Rats. Funny fact, when REL was built in 1928 it was discovered after its construction that it sat just across the line in Pelly City Limits. Many of the street names in Pelly were changed after WW2 and before consolidation, named after Pelly residents who died in WW2. Their names are also on the plaque at REL’s Memorial Field in honor of all the REL graduates that died in WW2. The plaque used to be on the flagpole but after the remodel where they renamed it after Pete Sultis they moved the plaque to the entrance. There’s around 70 names on that plaque. Lot of history there.

Whatever else may be said of folks on The Hill, (and Lord knows I’ve said a LOT), one thing can be said for certain. They care. They care a LOT!!!

What killed the Consolidation idea years ago was that GCCISD went about the whole thing the wrong way. They had District employees hopping onto Social Media accounts and being extremely dismissive and downright nasty to anyone who was unsure of the idea. All that did was galvanize the opposition and drive all the fence-sitters right into the opposition’s open arms. Before they even begin to talk about Consolidation, they’ve got to build the new Senior High School where RSS now sits. They need to pass a Bond to do that and have failed in their last 2 attempts. After that, they go to the public and say “We’re broke, and we have to Consolidate the High Schools to stay afloat.” Don’t create a “maybe” situation, and for damn sure keep your employees from hopping online in their off-time to gloat about REL’s demise and end up riling up opposition to it. If they do it that way, and I think that’s their plan, they’ll probably have it done in the next 5-10 years. I love REL too. My whole family went there. My wife’s whole family went there. I met my wife there. Our kids will go there. With all that said, Consolidation makes sense, will eventually happen, and most folks realize this. Until then, though, REL is still Old Baytown’s school and we’re proud of it!

As I said in my prior comment, I do believe the opportunity to consolidate will arise again in the next 5-10 years and GCCISD will ram the change through. Their budget woes have to get bad enough where they can present the situation to taxpayers as “We have no other choice…”.

REL still holds their own, Finn’s 37-33 in his time there so far. Folks don’t seem to realize that. GCCISD will end up consolidating the High Schools, but we’re still years away from it. First off, they have to get a Bond passed to rebuild RSS. After that, and after the rebuild, then they’ll pitch the consolidation as a cost-saving measure. It’s probably 5-10 years away. Thats the only way it’ll ever get done. The Board telling voters that there’s no choice left but to consolidate due to budget woes. GCCISD is headed into year 3 of budget cuts for 25-26 and are already saying that 26-27 will be a 4th year of cuts with no relief on the horizon. Until then there’s not much for the 3 football programs in Baytown to do but play the cards they’re dealt. REL does pretty well considering. With a former REL OC running the show at GCM maybe they’ll find a way to get 2-3 wins next season or maybe not but we’ll see. RSS has a good possible interim HFC in Coach Launius, hopefully they can find a way to at least tread water this season. After that, UIL redraws Districts again and 9-5A-1 might get a little easier for them. One more thing. When folks talk about too many folks wanting to keep REL, I think they mistake why that is. I think folks assume things about other folks without walking a mile in their shoes. REL over the last few years has been the High School with the highest test scores and lowest number of fights. 6 of the Seniors on the football team made Academic All-State Honorable Mention this school year. None from RSS or GCM. Folks in Old Baytown, (and I actually live there so I know), don’t want to send our kids to RSS where the foundation of the building is crumbling or all the way out to GCM where it’s extremely overcrowded and a total mess as a result. REL is where we prefer to send our kids.

If anyone wants to listen to the audio of the SEC meeting, here you go. [Hidden Content]

So looking into this a little bit further, Sterling’s DC left last week for the HFC job in Danbury. Toomer quit shortly afterwards and no one knew about Toomer until after the Board meeting where they accepted his resignation. Sterling’s OC & QB Coach, Coach Launius, is still there and I’m guessing is gonna be interim HFC until GCCISD can hire Toomer’s replacement. I imagine he’s scrambling to keep what talent they’ve got and QB1 would be top priority for him. So we’ll see…

Maybe? I mean, they do have the “Academies” options at GCCISD where you get to choose the campus you attend by choosing the STEM Academy or Maritime Academy or whatever. I don’t know if you have to stay once you’ve already chosen heading into 9th grade. Remember that GCCISD announced a rezoning taking effect at the end of this school year so that QB might already be coming to REL just based on zoning. He’d be grandfathered if he wanted to stay at RSS but maybe that’s what happened? Maybe what talent RSS has ended up having the chance to move to REL with the rezone and Coach Toomer just gave up after the maps became official? Those rezone maps only became official a month ago.

“Undisclosed personal reasons” I don’t know what those reasons might be beyond his 17-53 record at the helm, but I know for sure he put them in a real bind walking out without warning the first week in March. It took 2 months to find Ragsdale’s replacement at GCM and that’s with GCCISD knowing in advance that they were firing him. What a mess. Man, I wish Coach Finn good luck, great health, and long life at REL. They say these things happen in 3s and I’m not so sure we can count Abseck since he was in New Baytown.

Coach Toomer is calling it quits at Baytown Sterling. “Sterling High School head football coach Robert Toomer resigned from Goose Creek CISD Monday night for undisclosed personal reasons. Nancy Bonds, the district’s director of communications, did not provide any information regarding the resignation citing personnel confidentiality. The coach’s departure came as a shock to many of the athletes and parents in the football program. Hired by the school district in May 2018, Toomer had seven seasons as the head football coach and posted a record of 17-52.”

Agreed, completely. Never said otherwise.

And folks complain about me dragging the thread off-topic! The thread is supposed to be about BH’s former coach moving to Lufkin, then we started talking about BH making shady transfer moves. Of course, the moment anyone says anything negative about BH, here come the BH homers to distract from it by bringing up how much better they are than GCCISD. You realize that every time you reply to me you just prove what I’m saying is true. Folks from BH can’t handle the truth and respond to the truth in the same way, by ignoring it and trying to distract from it. Also, the way you present those stats is a bit misleading. REL has gone 37-33 since they hired Finn and that’s been 7 years ago. REL went 6-4 last season. Take them out of the equation and yeah, RSS/GCM have problems that no one knows how to solve but everyone knows that already including you. Oh, and Barber’s Hill/Mont Belvieu is well on their way to becoming New Baytown. Enjoy those Glory Years while they last because just look at what you’re becoming to see that they don’t last forever.

My teams are Baytown Junior and REL. Both had winning records last year and neither play BH. I can’t imagine the Hell it must be to be a RSS fan. I mean, at least GCM is making some changes so there’s the faintest glimmer of hope but even as screwed up as BH is right now they should still steamroll RSS next season. No reason not to move this over to a BH thread, though, or maybe even start a whole new thread about this transfer!

He doesn’t have to shop his son. His son is a known quantity. If a program wants him with no worries about eligibility, all they’ve got to do is hire Daddy for the season. It’s greasy, for sure, but doesn’t violate the letter of the law. It’s a slippery slope from high on The Hill down into the Dirty Bay and it looks to me like BH are well on their way! Really living up to their “New Baytown” nickname!

The whole thing stinks like a whorehouse at low tide. The kid will have ended up playing for 3 separate teams, (2 non-consecutive seasons at Anahuac), attended 4 separate high schools, and transferred 5 times by the time he gets his diploma. Of course, since these Districts hire Daddy as an assistant coach, the transfers sail right through. I get it, the kid has talent, but for a program and town that’s beaten their neighbors over the heads for years with the claim that they’re superior because they’re “traditional, homegrown, old-school, etc”, it sure is funny to watch them throw all that right out the window now just they’re afraid they can’t beat Lufkin in a football game. SAD!

Doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence, that’s for sure. When’s the last time BH football missed playoffs? How long ago?

Not much else to say about it except what I heard and that’s what I heard. I mean, I wouldn’t out the kid even if I knew his name which I don’t.

What is this, “Opposite Day”? Or are you just trying to get out ahead of folks picking apart each loss next season by accepting said losses in advance? BH still has athletes. They’ve got some talent at QB next season, one young and one a transfer and they look good. Correct me if I’m wrong but even though Abseck was willing to sign off on transfers up until the moment he vacated his AD position I don’t believe many BH kids/parents took him up on it. BH has home field advantage this year, (Lufkin has the long road trip), so while BH is the underdog the only way BH gets blown out is if they completely fall apart in the 1st quarter and can’t recover. If that happens, Abseck will run the score up on them worse than 25+ like he used to against the GCCISD teams. Simper knows all this, and he’s got the whole offseason to get ready for it. If BH gets blown out it’s 100% on Simper and Poole and what a mess that’ll be on The Hill! You know, if BH is really in such bad shape, maybe they ought to schedule REL/GCM in out-of-District play this year. They’d probably have to pay a little money to make it happen but yall got plenty of that. Just a thought. BH couldn’t beat Deer Park last season before their troubles began, so they definitely don’t want to be scheduling any “statement” games in OOD this year.

“Vouchers” themselves have never been put to a statewide vote. I imagine that if it was ever put to a vote, it would never pass. Pro-Voucher folks say that the “Voucher Election” was last Nov when enough Pro-Voucher Republicans were elected as replacements for Anti-Voucher Republicans to get a Voucher Bill passed in the Statehouse. This was achieved by first eliminating most anti-Voucher Republicans through the Primary process. The Senate passed its version last week. The House has signaled that it has the votes to pass its version. There’s gonna be negotiation between the 2 Chambers over what the final Bill that lands on Abbott’s desk is gonna look like but Vouchers in some form are guaranteed to pass into law this year.

No coincidence. There’s VERY rarely a choice that’s universally liked at the outset. I mean, just take Abseck’s name out and place Simper’s name in its place in that paragraph and it reflects the current situation at BH. Simper’s also been busy putting his own mark on BH. I don’t want to get into exactly what the moves are but he’s shaking things up, has his own way of doing things, and at least from what I’ve heard he’s doing differently it seems like they’re all good ideas. We’ll have to see what it looks like on the field but there’s a lot going on and at least right now it all sounds really good. It’ll be interesting to see what opinions are a year from now. Both Lufkin and BH have high expectations for their football programs and both are in the same District. One program is going to end up on top of the other next season. The Coach of the team that comes out on top will have silenced any detractors with that win. The Coach that ends up on bottom is gonna have a harder row to hoe.

Folks have already said that. The reply given is usually something along the lines of “We had primaries and an election last year and TX House members who were against the Vouchers were voted out and replaced by enough new pro-Voucher members to pass the legislation.”. I’d prefer a statewide election myself but I’d also like a winning Powerball ticket and Baytown Lee Football strong enough again to make deep playoff runs year after year.