I read two letters to the editor last week from Andrea Hanson and Dennis Hanson. Both severely criticized the Staples Motley High School for letting Gordy Thompson go as head wrestling coach. Both letters put together are biased and tell half the story. Both have high praise for Gordy and so do I.

But there is another side to the story. For details on the other side of the story you'll have to talk to the wrestlers and their parents. I will not go into details here because I am not writing this letter to "bash" Gordy. I personally think he is a heck of a nice guy and like Andrea, I think he has a real passion for the sport. If I see Gordy tomorrow, I'll shake his hand, sincerely thank him, express my regrets and genuinely wish him well.

But in the end, as with any job, if your employer(s) give you instructions and you decide to go your own way, you can't be too surprised to get a pink slip.

In Andrea's letter she says she feels sorry for the current students of Staples Motley school. I also graduated from Staples and have two kids in the "system", one of which is in his fourth year of wrestling.

I have had my criticisms of the system, and I'm sure many (most) people have considered me to be argumentative, blunt, harsh (etc.). But I do not feel a darn bit "sorry" for the students. I talk to my kids about school, check on them at school, go to conferences and sports events and for the most part the teachers and coaches seem decent even by my standards.

Any system made by mankind (and life in general) is not perfect and there is defiantly room for improvement, but to claim that the school is so bad it's "chasing families away" is a bit far fetched; again, even by my standards.
Daniel DeYonge
Staples, Minn.