Their cross to bare...Coleman will probably be the only person who reads this..

Nestled in the hills of eastern Kentucky, Charles Stewart had a vision. That vision was to continue his small but growing Baptist Church's mission, and go a step further. Create a school, which would teach students in the Baptist faith. At the time, no one could have foreseen what the future had in store for the modest Baptist institution.

To any, blue-blooded Kentuckian, basketball is, well, religion. Charles Stewart and his Rose Hill Christian School, the former name of the school before the hysteria came, were no different. Rose Hill started a fledgling Athletics Program, which in those thin days was basically just Basketball, from elementary ages to high school for boys and girls.

And that is where are story get's it's beginning, a very humble one at that. Stewart and Rose Hill decided that they would use Basketball as another tool to spread the word of Jesus Christ, The Gospel, and a source of Income for the private school's very modest monetary means. For years, Rose Hill was the 16th region whipping boy. They were the equivalent of the Washington Generals. Everybody loved to play the Royals. If any teams in the region had a talented ball player, they would have their showcase performance against the little Christian school. Teams would look right past them on the schedule, and, Rose Hill was a joke, even to their own players. They knew that they would go out there and be blown out of the gym, be made fun of, ridiculed, and laughed at. Yet, they kept playing the games. They kept fielding teams. Some years, against other small Christian schools, Rose Hill would be the top dog amongst their own kind. They would win games, and build confidence, then...they would crash back down to earth. The torment and embarrassment would start all over again. They would play the bigger schools. No storybook buzzer beating upsets. No divine intervention from God. Rose Hill would lose. Rose Hill would be demolished. To say that it wasn't pretty, well that is an understatement.

You would always here that so and so was transferring there from Ashland or Boyd County. That a doctor's kid was really good and that is where he went to school. I have seen some good players who could have played for any local school go to Rose Hill, and the result was still the same. It was like they were not meant to win. They were like Moses, lead the people to the Promised Land, but you yourself will never see it. Rose Hill had grown the reputation of being a basketball laughing stock and the school where the kids of doctors, other professionals in the area, and trouble makers whose parents thought God would straighten their kids out went to.

Nobody gave Rose Hill a second thought. When it was their turn to host Tournament games, they would have to barrow Boyd County's facility. They had no gym of their own. It would not be out of question to say that the tournament committees left Rose Hill off the list of teams in the District Tournament. They were a non-factor. They weren't there.

The elementary teams and Middle School teams, however, were good. Problem was, the lure of being a hero at either BC or Blazer was too strong to resist for most of them. They would leave before High School and once again, the promise of better days would be gone. Rose Hill was developing good ball players, unfortunately for Rose Hill; they did not get to reap what they were sowing. Kids would either return to whatever out of town school they were in the district of, or go to one of the big two.

Then. It happened. Word of Rose Hill's Middle School teams blistering everyone spread through the area. Rumors of phenoms who were playing there were making the mouths of boosters and alumni around Ashland salivate. But, a new day was dawning at Rose Hill Christian. A New era was on the horizon for local hoops.

Enter OJ Mayo. The Legend started at Rose Hill, when a true phenom in every definition of the word was playing 6th grade basketball and was doing so better than arguably it had ever been done, by anyone. Not only that, but there was no other middle school aged kid who could compete with him, and, you would have been hard pressed to find a high school player who could keep up with him. Quickly the one who would become known as 'Juice Monster' reached mythical proportions? Everyone wanted to see this kid from this tiny eastern Kentucky Christian school. Soon enough, they would..and he would have friends..

Rose Hill became a basketball power overnight when OJ Mayo's father decided that the Huntington native would stay at the modest Rose Hill and continue to play basketball for the Royals. As a 7th grader, he could play varsity ball in the Bluegrass. Rose Hill was in a place they had never been. That place was called a contender. Rose Hill decided it was time that the fairly well too do Church got more behind the Athletic Program. They opened up their wallets, passed the offering plate in the name of Basketball glory. How wide those wallets were opened is what is in question.

Rose Hill now had a Basketball Power-house, a fledgling Soccer and Baseball Program, as well as Softball. They had grown into a true alternative for students to attend. They offered the spiritual guidance, academics, and now, a whole slew of athletics to make it appealing for student athletes.

They brought in Jeff Hall to lead the program. Local furniture kingpin Rob Vanhoose sent his kids there to play ball. And behind his wallet some say, the program shot ahead light-years of where they were just mere months before. The circus that was known to surround the young Mayo came along, and with them, they brought some of OJ's childhood buddies from Huntington and South Point and all points in between. Marques Dawson, Mayo, Bill Walker, Marcus Thomas, and cast full of potential Division one prospects now lined the sidelines for a school who just the previous year didn't have a single NAIA level player. They debuted a style of ball that nobody could compete with, aside from Blazer. They made quick work of Boyd County and took them out of the equation. It was still a two horse race. But now, it was Rose Hill and Ashland. It wasn't even like it was the same small school, Even the name had changed. They were now Rose Hill Christian Academy. Often times, they would be referred to as just Rose Hill Academy when they would play in those tournaments filled with national powers. Out of state teams would be brought in to play Rose Hill. They went from not having their own gym and renting the Armory and barely having enough spectators to open the concession stand, to building a brand new on-campus gymnasium that still would not facilitate the crowds of people coming to watch. They were now having to have games move to larger venues due to crowd size, playing in front of thousands at a Marathon (Jeff Hall's day job) sponsored tournament with some of the country's best teams at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena (furniture king pin Rob Vanhoose's baby), to selling out Memorial Coliseum in Huntington in OJ's back yard, drawing larger crowds than Marshall University, and packing more people at Boyd County's gym than BC ever could, even more than the Frank Lee/Wayne Breeden days.

That is also when the allegations of wrongdoing started. Disgruntled and knocked-off their perch BC and Ashland fans started to claim illegal recruiting was going on. They couldn't put their finger on it but dang it Rose Hill was up to something. Ashland Students began carrying signs into games stating 'Jesus Knows Your Cheating", the two schools began what some would cal a blood feud reminiscent of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. They didn't like each other. Everything was fine when Rose Hill was getting pummeled every night by 50 points, but now the shoe was on the other foot. And BC and Ashland didn't like it. The Fan bases of both schools started to resemble Oliver Stone films with all the allegations and conspiracies that flowed from their collective mouths. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone...How quickly both schools forget about their own dirty little secrets. Boyd County used the Ramey-Home pipeline and Ashland has been using illegal out of district players for YEARS. But, Rose Hill took the high road. They never made reference to this fact, well, in public anyhow. They just sat back, let the insults and allegations come rolling in, as they racked up win after win. They claimed no wrongdoing, they were not breaking any rules, and at the time, the KHSAA confirmed this. They were a private school and were allowed to recruit. It al seemed cut and dry. They were abiding by the very standards set by the KHSAA. Of course, retaliation was 'well, private schools should not be eligible for State titles since they can recruit and we can't"...Whoever said you weren't recruiting? So, that kid lives in Greenup County but goes to Blazer? Interesting why he would choose to drive all that way to school...I bet your making him pay out of district tuition right??Oh, he stays with a relative in Ashland...I see..

Of course all good things come to an end, OJ's handlers decided after his 8th grade year that it was in his best interest to take his game to a bigger market to become more visible to college recruiters...i.e. sports agents. And lord knows that Dwaine Barnes, OJ's psuedo 'Grandfather' and, for lack of a better word, manager, had his best interest in mind. This is the same man who ruined Bill Walker's High School experience by trying to get him double promoted in school so he could play on OJ's AAU team, then after that was accomplished, wanted Rose Hill to de-promote him back to his rightful grade so he could have another year of eligibility. To RHCA's credit, they bucked at this. They refused to do so. Maybe they had enough of the circus that was OJ Mayo and Rose Hill Basketball. Like a thief in the night, the empire had fallen. It was back to whipping boy.

It did not last long. After a very hard post Mayo tenure, lasting maybe two seasons, Rose Hill was generating more steam. Another middle school group was coming up with yet another talent-laden kid. This time, it was one of their own. A member of the Church itself. The child had attended Rose Hill most of his life, and his mother, Pam was the girls coach and Athletic Director. Enter Dakatoh Euton. With Euton alone, Rose Hill was expected to be at or near the top in the Region again. Tim Fraley, who had taken over as coach after Hall left, was slowly building a competitive Rose Hill squad seemingly on the merits of local, long time enrollees of the school. Euton was going to be the lynch pin to the rebuilt Rose Hill Machine, and there was nothing Ashland, Boyd County or the KHSAA could do about it this time. All were long-time, tuition-paying students. Or, were they?

Chad Jackson, a transfer along with his brother from Lexington would join the fray and once more, Rose Hill was a power. With Euton and Jackson both 8th graders, the nightmare was starting all over again for BCHS and Blazer. Jackson as a transfer drew the obvious red flag as potentially something being amiss at the school again. Other Transfers would follow suit, but for the most part, most could claim ties to the school on a long-term basis. There didn't seem to be a paper trail this time.

However, the allegations remained. Same as they had been in the previous years. Eligibility of players, age and grade levels, Academic standard, and tuition and other financial concessions.

This looked different. It appeared that there would not be the running rough shot and over-powering of the region and then a mass exodus like the last time. It appeared as if this team was built for the long haul. That was quickly extinguished. Euton and Jackson both left the school for greener pastures of Kentucky High School Basketball by transferring to Scott County. Pam Euton stepped down as AD. Too many people has now been in and out of the program to not start questioning, maybe something is going on at Rose Hill...Maybe they are all abandoning the ship for a reason. It was not limited to the Boys program; the State Power girls program has its share of controversy. Kayla Faulkner, arguably one of the best girls player's in the history of the region, along with her sister, came to Rose Hill that already featured Emily Queen and Lara Terry. Allegations began pouring in of questionable financial assistance, and the reason Faulkner had to leave Russell.  Coincidently, the AD, who all players must clear and the Girls coach, was Pam Euton. Mother of Daktoh Euton.

As quickly as they lost two more phenoms, they once again were without a coach. Tim Fraley took the head coaching position at Greenup County. Was it a case of seeing the writing on the wall as far as being able to compete with the region teams that Rose Hill was going to lack, or was it to hopefully further hide some dirty doings or escape before the smoke attracted the KHSAA?

RHCA was forced to rebuild again, with yet another new coach at the helm for the boys program. The girls program is a shell of it's former dominating self, but the boy’s team was not left this time with a completely bare cupboard. Coach John Bush had managed to inherit a good team, Euton and Jackson were going to be obvious voids, but the rest of the team stayed in tact. And, of course, RHCA was able to attract some talented transfers. Not on the level of a Marques Dawson or Chad Jackson, but talented nonetheless. Rose Hill continued to be a top tier 16th region team under Bush. They were still winning. Still beating BC, and splitting with Blazer. But, all was not well within Rose Hill. Bush drew critics for his overuse of his son Johnny and even the amount of playing time his youngest son was given in varsity games. Some sources close to school say that Bush is "Cocky and arrogant" and that "He is selfish". Also, they did not like the coach's over-all attitude. A rumor that can be now confirmed is that a petition was handed in to the school to have Bush removed as coach. However, some insist that the players wanted Bush and coach and wanted to play for him. That Petition was presented in January of 2009. It has about 75 signatures on it, and interestingly only one is of a current players parent.

Enter the KHSAA ..Again. Enough fuel had been added to the fire once more, provoking another investigation of Rose Hill's Basketball program. Same old allegations as before, dating back to the OJ Mayo era.

This time however, it seemed direr. There was reason to believe that Rose Hill was in some very hot water. Rumors as to the and how began to fly. It was said that Rose Hill was on the verge of getting the” Death Penalty" from the KHSAA and none of their athletic programs would ever be sanctioned again. Apparently, there were some infractions from the Jeff Hall/OJ Mayo regime that prompted the KHSAA to very kindly but firmly, slap RHCA on the wrist. But, also, giving a very stern warning, clean this mess up and don't let it happen again. The KHSAA more than likely was willing to look the other way previously due to the fact the OJ Circus was leaving town. This time, it appeared as if they were not going to do so again. Concerned parents began flooding the KHSAA offices with calls and emails, and to this point, the organization still has offered no word or confirmation as to what would happen to RHCA. Parents of non-basketball athletes asked the KHSAA if this would affect all of the programs, or just basketball, and once more, no comment. However one parent was told that "If it were my child, I would look for another school", that according to an unnamed source with claims to be close to the school.

Now, some say that the majority of the school, faculty and parents would rather do away with all the athletics all together. To me, this just sounds like sour grapes. All because the power sport in Kentucky schools, basketball, can't be played by just anyone who wants to say they played High School ball anymore at RHCA.

Things begin to get awful dark for Rose Hill. The KHSAA confirms that Rose Hill is listed on their agenda for September 14th of 2009, for what is termed in the statement as a 'review of current investigation, legal cases and personnel'. Then on September the 11th, Rose Hill's name was removed from the agenda and no discussions of Rose Hill would now be taking place during the meeting. In the meantime, the bomb went off.... again. Players Johnny Bush, his brother, Gregg, Adams, Terry and Vanover are all announced to be leaving the school and transferring to other local schools. Ashland would benefit the most obtaining Bush and Gregg. Later, Kennedy would also leave the school as well as rumblings that Bush's father, head coach John, had also left. Rumors also began to circulate that former coach Tim Fraley sent a txt msg to JD Adams just moments after he left the school as to his future plans.

Tim Fraley just put himself back into the frying pan. People began to talk. Tim Fraley may be the focal point of the newest investigation of Rose Hill. He has been accused of Illegal recruiting practices as well the possible miss-use and financial gifts to players or in the interest of players. Fraley has also come under fire for some possible infractions at his current job as head coach of Greenup County. Rose Hill called a special meeting to discuss what the possible charges could be against them and to try to see what, if anything could be said in their defense. Fraley attended this meeting by request and self admitted that he did in fact 'cover' tuition and expenses for a former, unnamed player. One would assume he was speaking of Chad Jackson.

Just a month prior to RHCA being put back on the KHSAA agenda, school officials met with the KHSAA in August and no sanctions were levied against the school for any sort of wrongdoing.

With, once again, a very depleted roster void of all the programs best players and the head coach, rumors began to fly that Rose Hill would not field a Varsity team any longer due to this fact. It was also said that this was in part to not enough students to field the team due to the state of the economy and a drop of enrollment, as well as impending sanctions against the school by the KHSAA. Nothing was confirmed. Rose Hill, who had also began building a dominant middle school football program was to attempt to field a varsity football team for the first time in schools history. They even hired Bill Tom Ross as head coach. However, Ross resigned when he stated it would be in the best interest and safety of the kids to not field a team due to the lack of numbers that came out to participate. Rose Hill has said that they will eventually like to have a football program, but it is going to be on a longer timetable than they had hoped.

The school has never officially stated that Bush has resigned as coach. However, many dislike him for what they say was his only interest of "Pushing his sons to the forefront", the same thing that has been done with Euton and before that, Jeff Hall's son, who would end up transferring after his dad stepped-down as coach before that could ever come to fruition. That is a common practice though in high school sports. Roger Zornes did it at BCHS with Tyler Zornes.

After multiple statements were made that RHCA would have a basketball team despite hardships and rumors, the Daily Independent reported on September 20th, Rose Hill would in fact have a team. The school held an organizational meeting attended by 16 players and announced a new coach. Mark Watkins was given the reigns of not only the boy’s team but the girl’s team too. Alot to handle. Or maybe this is just preparation by the administration for some impending charges.

Now, keep in mind that there are alot of disgruntled folks on both sides of this story. However, after reading some comments from people who have ties to the school as either parents or faculty members, one begins to wonder if there is something truly foul going on at Rose Hill?? What are they hiding??

Two names that come up often when hearing of the corruptness of RHCA are a Dr. Douglas and a Mrs. Parsons. Some claim that these two are responsible for all of the schools problems. However, to some, these two are merely 'scape goats' and 'puppets' to a seemingly mythical group who run the school that are referred to as simply, the 'powers that be'. More claims are made where people claim first hand knowledge of gag orders placed on faculty and employees to not speak of anything pertaining to the athletic programs. Some claim that threats of losing jobs and other consequences would await them if they do. It has also been said that Charles Stewart has resorted to "lies, half-truths and extortion" to build his basketball program.

Some, take the other route and say that Rose Hill has lost it's vision of what it originally set out to do, that the school has lost sight of God.

And some say all of this, every bit, goes back farther that Tim Fraley and straight back to the OJ Mayo era. It is said that the real parties responsible for all of the troubles RHCA has faced and the one's who set the wheels in motion for countless cover ups and scandals are Jeff Hall, Rob VanHoose, and attorney Charles Leadingham. They had to cover up so many wrong doings, that RHCA has no choice but to keep piling on to it.

Now, names are being named. It is reported that such names as Mayo, Walker, Dawson, Euton, Jackson, Gregg, Vonover, Terry, Faulkner, Hall, Bush, Thomas, Frazier, and any of the Huntington players not singled out never "Paid a dime of tuition". To the KHSAA, this could be a big red flag, and it needs to be pointed out that not a bit of this is confirmed, and, there are some names on the list that automatically discredits this.

Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear. Rose Hill is under investigation. This is the 2nd time that these allegations have been made, under three different coaches, over the span of 8 or 9 years. There are just simply too many rumors to straighten the mess out. We will all just have to wait and see what the KHSAA has found to be true in November.

So, as RHCA mounts up, the Christian soldiers are marching off to war...a war in which they may suffer many casualties. One of which could be their Athletic Program. The lambs may be being led to slaughter.