Hoop tourney kicks off anti-violence activities

Rain didn?t dampen the spirits of the nearly 150 youngsters who turned out Wednesday night for the Stop the Violence Lynn 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Fecteau-Leary Junior/Senior High School.Former English High girls basketball coach Fred Hogan, a member of the Stop the Violence Lynn committee that organized the event, said when he arrived at the school an hour and 15 minutes before the tournament was slated to start, approximately 70 kids were outside waiting to get in.?We had a great turnout for the first (Stop the Violence Lynn) event,” Hogan said.Participants received T-shirts, a slice of pizza and a bottle of water for the whopping cost of $5 per team.The Lady Bulldogs took the title in the high school girls division. That team featured Sam Holey, Kosama Chhay, Rachel Calnan and Nairobis Rodriguez.In the high school boys division, C.J. Lights, Nick Simpson and Phil Rogers, also known as the Ghost Squad, took home the win. In the middle school boys division, Edwin Solis, Melvin Nieves, Tyler Williams and Jalen Johnson took home the top spot. There was no middle school girls division.Stop the Violence Lynn will hold a rally tonight at Fecteau-Leary. The purpose is to seek input from the community in identifying some of the problems the city, and its youth, face and brainstorm to help find solutions.