WGXC-90.7 FM

Youth football dispute spills over into Cairo Town Board meetings

Aug 25, 2023 1:03 am

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that a dispute between two youth football leagues recently spilled over into a Town of Cairo meeting. On July 19 the Cairo Town Board voted to give use of the longtime Pop Warner shed at Angelo Canna Town Park to a new youth league, and incorrectly said in the resolution that, “Greene County Panthers Pop Warner Football is changing to Greene County Panthers AYF (American Youth Football).” Actually, the two leagues are in a dispute, and the Cairo Town Board turned over the use of a shed that was full of the other league's equipment. Stacy Serson-White, the cheer coordinator and now president of Greene County Pop Warner, said at the board's Aug. 16 meeting, “You turned over the shed with our contents in it without even notifying us. We did not even find out from the board that somebody had asked to use it and access was already given to somebody else.” At that meeting, the town board declined to amend or rescind their incorrect resolution and gave the youth group using the shed first three to five days to remove their property from the shed. Greene County Pop Warner is not having football this fall, only cheer, because many volunteers, football coaches, and board members from the group left to form their own league. Town Supervisor Jason Watts explained he was not sure what he was voting on in the original resolution. Watts said, “I didn’t even realize we were taking it away from you... When we did, I went out and I started looking for another building for you to go in and I found one right in the town park. You told me you didn’t want that one.” The story also quotes representatives from both leagues saying they are doing it all for the children. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.