Leading off today: You may have seen news reports over the last two months about a growing health issue in LeRoy, where more than a dozen high school girls have exhibited Tourette's-like symptoms.
While school district officials have said the students have been diagnosed with Conversion Disorder, several groups have called for environmental testing at the same time others are convinced that the girls are pulling off a hoax.
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich and multiple government and health agencies have become involved to varying degrees.
And now there are a couple of sports angles to the story. Late last week, CYO teams from Dansville canceled games scheduled against counterparts in LeRoy because parents feared their children could be exposed to health risks.
And now a coach has been dismissed for what would appear to be a severe lapse in judgment that surfaced publicly Monday at a school board meeting after word had been circulating for several days.
Speakers at the York Central school board meeting assailed Mike Falk, a veteran math teacher and modified boys basketball coach. Falk allegedly made light of the LeRoy situation in the locker room before a game against the Oatkan Knights by leading a cheer of, “One, Two, three, Tourette’s!” the Livingston County News reported.
York Superintendent Dan Murray said students did not participate in the chant and should be held blameless. Falk was in his first season coaching the team after previously coaching the JVs. He is also the school's volleyball coach and remains on the teaching staff.
"No one here likes where we are," school board president Joe Graves said in response to additional complaints parents voiced in seeking additional measures against Falk, who is tenured. "But we are following the rules and we are bound to follow the rules, and I understand how you may not like that."
A comeback story: A year after battling against MRSA for his life, Hauppauge senior Nick Mauriello won the Section 11 132-pound title wrestling Friday to earn a place in the NYSPHSAA tournament in Albany.
Mauriello decisioned Connetquot's Joey Gates 5-3 in the final.
"It is truly a remarkable comeback," Hauppauge coach Chris Messina told Newsday. "To come back from a life-threatening situation in which he needed to be in a drug-induced coma to wrestle again at this level is just incredible. The road has not been easy but here he is battling for the title."
In 2011, Mauriello was a state-ranked 125-pounder when he began suffering neck pain and breathing problems in late January. He was diagnosed with Lemierre’s Syndrome, a rare bacterial infection brought on by Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. He was placed on a ventilator and hospitalized for 19 days.
400 for Storm: Honeoye girls basketball coach Mark Storm notched his 400th career victory Saturday with a 42-32 win over Naples.
