Canyon Probe May Be Postponed

The Southern Section’s hearing to investigate the Canyon High football program might be postponed because of concerns about possible bias raised by the attorney for the William S. Hart Union High School District.

The inquiry is scheduled for Oct. 23 in Buena Park and will be heard by the section’s 17-member executive committee. Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, said he was willing to postpone the hearing to accommodate Wendy Wiles, attorney for the school district.

The executive committee had authorized Thomas to convene the hearing after admissions by Canyon Principal Bill White and school district Superintendent Clyde Smyth that rules violations had been committed in the football program.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Haig Kehiayan on Aug. 19 granted Canyon Coach Harry Welch a preliminary injunction that stayed a 5 1/2-month suspension of Welch. The Southern Section had recommended the penalty after Thomas investigated accusations that Welch had conducted an illegal off-season practice session.

Wiles has raised questions about the motives behind the inquiry. She also has questioned the neutrality of the executive committee because three members already evaluated testimony against Welch during a hearing this summer.

“I don’t know if this is just an attempt to clear their name,” Wiles said of the executive committee. “They might have another agenda. If that is true, then they might not just be looking at rules violations, but there could a question of bias.”

Wiles also raised objections to the timing of the hearing because she has not received official notice of the charges against Canyon.

The committee has the authority to recommend penalties against the football program, but Thomas emphasized that no penalties would be directed at Welch.

Wiles also said the hearing itself is potentially at issue, saying that it might violate the terms of Kehiayan’s injunction.