2 0 D M A G A Z I N E . C O M I I M A R C H 2 0 1 5
Front/Burner
Weve found when facing a big tasksuch as editing a major daily
newspaperits helpful to focus on one thing at a time. Start with
the basics. What does every editor need? Thats righta good
dictionary! We like Merriam-Websters Dictionary and Thesau-rus, but
you might want to try out a couple, see what works. Maybe invest in
a few other reference books, too. Bryan Garner has written some
that we just love. Next, familiarize yourself with the papers style
guide. Its a good idea to know the answer to every-day questions
regarding, say, serial commas. Then you should fire the absolute
hell out of Steve Blow. Maybe do it twice. And de-lete his columns
from the archives. Oh, also, figure out what to do about the whole
Robert Wilonsky situation. THE EDITORS
DEAR MIKE WILSON NEW DALLAS MORNING NEWS EDITOR
Joe pool lake is filled with boats, even though the sky
over-head is still filled with stars. The pitch-black water is
dotted with blue and red lights, and snippets of conversation are
audible, be-cause no engines can start until 6:45 am. Teenagers
from Aledo, Forney, and Sanger woke up well
before dawn so they could compete in a Texas High School Bass
Association tourna-ment. At quarter to 7, all the engines crank up
at once, and the boats carrying two-teen teams fan out in search of
fish.
The black sheep are the kids from High-land Park High School.
Their program was founded by junior Sam Stewart, a lifelong
fisherman who baited his first hook on a bridge near University
Park City Hall and caught his biggest bass off the 13th tee box at
Dallas Country Club. Stewart quit football after his sophomore
seasonI just didnt
really enjoy it that muchbut he still wanted to represent his
school. A team in the fledgling THSBA, which began hosting
tournaments in 2013, seemed like a natural fit.
Fishing and hunting are such big things in this commu-nity, says
Stewart, who has a part-time job at Fishin World, one of his teams
sponsors.
The Scots won that Septem-ber tournament at Joe Pool, where
Brett Hallsponsor of Arlington Martins squad and announcer for the
eventkept the mood light during the weigh-in. Speaking into a gold
microphone, he ribbed students from Allen when they hit the stage
with their catches: Hows that stadium doing?
A month later, Highland Park finished second at Lake Texoma,
where it was the
only Dallas County school in a field of 16. Heading into the
spring season (which starts March 7), Highland Park is in first
place in its division, ahead of 17 other schools. The Scots may be
largely perceived as city kids intruding on a coun-try game, but
the results back up their inclusion.
That rural flavor was evident before dawn at Joe Pool, during a
conversation with the mother of a Wise County competitor.
Like Stewart, her son had traded football for fishing, but for a
much different reason. He had a brain injury last year and cant
play football anymore, she explained. So now this is his
football.
Did he injure himself on the gridiron? No, hes a crazy redneck,
she said. He fell off the roof.
O P E N L E T T E R
Highland Park is known for its football team,
but its best squad may actually be a bunch
of anglers.By Dan Koller
Bait and SwitchS P O R T S
WIL
SO
N: A
LLE
N C
RA
WFO
RD
/PLA
NK
TO
N A
RT;
FIS
HIN
G: B
EN
GA
RR
ET
T
T H E B A S I C
RULESEach boat can carry no more
than two competitors.
Each boat must be driven by an adult, who donates his
time. The adults are there just to drive. Its not like we hire a
professional guide who says, Oh, you need to throw this lure, Sam
Stewart says.
Anglers can bring no more than five fish to the weigh-in.
Good grades must be maintained. As one mom put it, Were a
no-pass,
no-fish league.
ALL ABOUT THAT BASS:Junior Sam Stewart
founded Highland Parks first-place fishing team.
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