Staff Writer
ELKINS A new era will begin this fall for Elkins High School’s football program, as the school’s football facility will no longer be historic Wimer Stadium.
The Randolph County Board of Education voted Tuesday evening to approve a resolution enabling the county school system to enter into a lease purchase agreement with Citizens Bank of West Virginia.
According to documentation provided by county officials, the loan will provide funding for new bleachers to be built for EHS athletic programs, including football, baseball and band. As part of the bleacher project, county officials will be relocating the home of EHS football from Wimer Stadium to Elkins High School’s current location at Kennedy Drive off the Beverly Pike Five-lane.
Apr 29, 2021
Frank Wimer was a man of faith, a man of courage and a man of determination. He was a veteran of the armed services, an educator, a coach and a father not only to his own children. He was a father figure to every student and player he taught in a classroom or on the field. Anyone lucky enough to have known Frank Wimer might well have said he was the greatest citizen Elkins ever had.
It was on a grass field and/or a coal cinder track where thousands of kids learned to grow up and start to understand how hard work and determination could result in a successful life. It was only fitting for that piece of ground in South Elkins where so many learned to bear the name Wimer Stadium.
Hott
ELKINS Elkins High School’s football program will see changes in its coaching staff for the 2021 season after the resignation of the head coach and three assistants.
During the most recent regular Randolph County Board of Education meeting, the resignation of Elkins High School’s head football coach, Evan Hott, and three of his assistant coaches was accepted by the board.
The resigning assistant coaches were Zachary Neff, Shane Richardson and Timothy Patrick.
The EHS football team won the first playoff game in the school’s history this season, after playing no home games during the regular season due to Wimer Stadium being deemed unsafe earlier this year.
To EHS alumni, former athletes, band members, cheer squads and all that have utilized Wimer Stadium:
I have waited for someone to question the deceitful and non-transparent information and events surrounding the namesake of former Coach Frank Wimer and our football stadium. It seems to me that our Board of Education has planned to move the football stadium, permanently.
Our young men and women performed remarkably well this 2020 football season under very difficult conditions. They had no home field to play on nor home field advantage due to the sudden closure of Wimer Field.
I am confused about how the engineering, the materials, money and planning could have gone awry in the short period of time of the “new bleachers” that should have lasted another 100 years. The thing I am most disappointed about is that I see no plan or explanation for the future of this namesake. I see no solution for our kids having a field to play or perform on in 2021.