The Jamestown Public School‘s Mascot Committee has recommended the District stop using the “J with the feathers” and adopt a new logo. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said the committee was tasked at looking at the district’s mascot, the imagery used, and the school nickname, “We are reviewing different styles of mascot and imagery and will be discussing the various styles. And the committee will be making a recommendation for several different types. And we’ll be moving forward with making a decision about that as soon as possible.”
Athletic Director Ben Drake chaired the mascot committee, which had 20 members from coaches, student athletes, parents, teachers, and members of the committee. He said the committee originally formed in 2014, “And at that time, the committee had decided to cease using the Native American imagery. And during that time we adopted the new logo of the “J” with the feathers. And we’ve been using that for the last six-plus years.”
Drake said the committee looked back in history and found the sport teams in Jamestown were known as the “Red and Green” from the early 1900s until the 1930s. He said the late 1930s is when they found the first reference to “Red Raiders,” “In the late ’40s is when the first mascot was seen in yearbooks. And the original Red Raider mascot was what we’re referring to as a big cat-slash-panther. That was used sporadically over the next 20 years. And in the early 1970s is the first time that we saw, and it was on the side of a football helmet, the first Native American logo.”
Drake said the committee will continue meeting through the summer and into the next school year to make further recommendations.
The Jamestown School Board accepted the award of a $10-thousand dollar grant from the United Way for the Summer LEAP program. The board also passed the Bond Resolution for $86,500,000. The resolution had been approved by district voters in May. The money will be used for reconstruction and renovation to various District buildings and facilities.
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