Pikeville & Pike County Central High School Basketball Programs Chosen as Community Heroes

The Billy Johnson Community Hero for the second week of February, 2012 is actually a group of heroes joining together this weekend to fight breast cancer. And the heroes we are referring to are both the girls' and boys' basketball programs from Pikeville High School and Pike County Central High School. The "Play 4 Kay" event will be held on Saturday, February 11th beginning at 4pm at Pikeville High School, and is actually a series of four basketball games between the two schools. What makes this event special is that a portion of the proceeds from the gate will be donated to the "Kay Yow Cancer Fund". Kay Yow was the head girls' basketball coach at NC State, who died after a battle with breast cancer in 2009. Since her death, hundreds of "Play 4 Kay" events have been held across the country, at first mainly at college events, but now in high schools.

The Pikeville "Play 4 Kay" event organizer is Pikeville's girls' basketball coach, Cindy Stuart, who truly feels like they can make a difference through events like these. "These events are trickling down to a lot of High Schools and involving more sports such as running, golf and volleyball. I refereed a couple of volleyball games back in the fall where schools were doing "pink" games in October," explained Stuart. "You know, I'm getting to the age in my mid 40's where I'm starting to have a lot of friends who are fighting the fight. A lot of mothers of kids I know and mothers of my former players are battling breast cancer. As my friends and my age group are aging, I am starting to see breast cancer a lot more."

Ticket prices for the event are $2.00 for students and $5.00 for adults. Last year's event rasied $1,700, and Stuart is hoping for even more this year. Congratulations to both the girls' and boys' basketball programs at Pikeville and Pike Central High Schools...the Billy Johnson Community Heroes for the second week of February, 2012.