Since 2006, the LHS foyer has been filled with feature photos of LHS athletes in action. Starting in the 2016-2017 school year, they will no longer welcome LHS students every day as they walk into the school. The Booster Club and school have decided to do away with the feature photos in the foyer, and potentially replace them with something new.

Athletic Director Jim Dorman has worked at LHS for 11 years and remembers when the feature photos in the foyer first became a part of the school’s athletic culture. The idea first began with one mom and a small group of boosters who chose a few athletes to have photos hang in the foyer, and eventually it evolved into what LHS students see as they pass through the foyer every day.

“The Booster Club set up criteria to choose them [feature photos],” said Dorman. “Lately I know it changed into the coach would nominate several students, and what they would do is contact the student’s parents and see if it was okay with them.”

Inevitably, there have been some problems with the feature photos, from students feeling left out, to how they do not appropriately depict the diversity of the school. The latter is one problem that particularly pushed the problem over the edge.

“The problem that came up is that eventually the pictures come down, and the parents then have to pay for the photos, which is about $125,” said Dorman. “The student’s whose families could afford to put the picture up there became somewhat of an issue, because the students who could not afford to buy it were pretty much limited. If you take a look at them, the pictures, it doesn’t really show the diversity of our student population like we have.”

The next issue that will occur is what will replace the iconic feature photo foyer. Since it is a large, blank space, students, staff and families alike have contemplated what should fill the walls.

“Something will replace it, I’m not exactly sure what,” said Dorman. “One of my suggestions was to maybe contact the art department and have them paint something like a mural on the walls that would depict all of the activities. The feature photo may even come back in a different form, I’m not sure. That’s why the Booster Club and myself are looking at different options.”

Apparently all good things must come to an end, and the feature photos just happens to be one example. As welcoming as they made the LHS foyer, hopefully something greater will replace the photos. One thing that may comfort the student body is that the state championship photos will still hang.

“They were great, and people would come in and stand and look at them, and see all of the activities,” said Dorman, “But we will continue to have the one that goes up into the old gym that shows the state championships.”