BCLUW board approves unified K-12 mascot

It was an issue that could’ve been extremely contentious and emotional, but the BCLUW school board’s unanimous decision to compete as the Comets in all grades and discontinue the use of the “Cobra” mascot at the middle school was met with little resistance during Wednesday night’s regular meeting. And now, the transition period begins: Superintendent Ben Petty and board members warned, however, that it won’t all happen right away.
           
After the board met in May, an online survey was sent out to residents of the BCLUW districts in all five communities, and the consensus was quite clear: almost 87 percent of the 275 respondents wished to see a unified, K-12 Comets mascot, while nine percent wanted to keep the middle school teams as the Cobras and four percent responded with something other than the two primary options. There were no public comments on either side of the issue during the meeting on Wednesday.
 
Since BCL and U-W began whole-grade sharing 30 years ago, athletes at the middle school, which is located in Union, have worn green and black and competed as the Cobras (the former U-W mascot), and those at the elementary and high school, which are both located in Conrad, have worn black and gold and been known as the Comets (the BCL mascot).
           
One potential hold-up to the transition is the fact that new green and black Cobra uniforms were ordered this year for some sports, and Petty indicated in a follow-up e-mail that there is no definitive timeline for the transition. 
 
Read the full story in this week's Grundy Register.