Heath High School (Kentucky) Explained

Heath High School was a secondary school operated by the McCracken County Public Schools district in the rural community of West Paducah, unincorporated McCracken County, Kentucky, near the largest city in the state's far-western Purchase region, Paducah. Established in 1910, the school served students in grades 9–12. It closed in June 2013 in advance of the August opening of a new McCracken County High School, which consolidates Heath, Reidland and Lone Oak High Schools.

Campus

The school shared a campus with Heath Middle School. Heath Elementary School was and still is located across the road. The Heath High School building now houses Heath Middle School and the old Heath Middle is now the Alternative school for the entire school district.^[4]

Extracurricular activities

Student groups and activities at Heath High School included 4-H, book club, concert and marching band, choir, drama club, environmental club, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, fitness club, Friends of Rachel, Frisbee, Habitat for Humanity, National Honor Society, pep club, SADD, Spanish club, student council, and yearbook.

1997 shooting

See also: 1997 Heath High School shooting. At approximately 7:14 a.m on December 1, 1997, fourteen-year old Micheal Carneal, armed with a rifle, shotgun and a Ruger pistol, shot eight students while at a prayer meeting, fatally killing three. Carneal then surrendered to the principal and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Athletics

The school's sports teams, known as the Heath Pirates, competed as members of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. The football, cross country, and track teams competed in enrollment Class 2A (the KHSAA divides schools into enrollment-based classes in those three sports only). Teams were also fielded in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball.^[5]

State championship titles held by the school's teams include:

• 1929 Kentucky Boys Basketball State Champions^[6]
• Football: 1986 (A)^[7]
• Boys Baseball All A State Champs: 2004
• Girls Softball All A State Champs: 2005 & 2009

Notable alumni

• Julian Carroll, former Governor of Kentucky (1974–1979)
• Steven Curtis Chapman, musician^[8]
• Betty Karnette, former California State Assemblymember^[9]
• Stephen Vaughn, Acting United States Trade Representative, 2017
• Daniel Webb, former relief pitcher for the Chicago White Sox^[10]

External links

• Heath High School (Archive)

Notes and References

1. Web site: [{{Gnis3|493981}} Heath High School ]. . . 2010-01-10 .
2. Web site: School Detail for Heath High School . National Center for Education Statistics . 2010-01-10 .
3. Web site: 2012–2013 Audited School Enrollments (in alphabetical order) . PDF . Kentucky High School Athletic Association . June 15, 2013.
4. Web site: Our Schools . McCracken County Public Schools . June 15, 2013. The street address of Heath Elementary is 4365 Metropolis Lake Road. Heath Middle's address contains a typographical error; the street number is listed as 330 instead of the correct 4330.
5. Web site: Heath High School KHSAA Directory Entry . Kentucky High School Athletic Association . 2010-01-10 .
6. Web site: Past Winners: Boys' Basketball . Kentucky High School Athletic Association . 2019-10-05 .
7. Web site: Past KHSAA State Football Champions . Kentucky High School Athletic Association . 2019-10-05 .
8. News: Mike . Joyce . STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN "(Speechless)" Sparrow; GEOFF MOORE "Geoff Moore" Forefront . Washington Post . 1999-10-08 . N18 . Chapman wrote the comforting ballad after three students were slain at his alma mater, Heath High School in Paducah, Ky. .
9. News: Tina . Griego . A Race Against All Odds . Los Angeles Times . 1992-11-15 . 1J . Karnette grew up Betty Petty-much to the delight of her classmates-in Paducah as the Depression was ending. She attended Heath High School... .
10. Web site: Daniel Webb. 11 April 2017.