On a stretch of MacCorkle Avenue in Marmet, a new thrift store has opened its doors.
Bill Cooper and Charlene Cooper pose outside Pray and Play Thrift Store in Marmet, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
The racks of clothing and donated household goods represent more than just secondhand treasures for Bill and Charlene Cooper. They said the Pray and Play Thrift Store is the newest chapter of Pray and Play, a faith-based sports nonprofit that aims to provide local children with mentorship, structure and a sense of belonging.
The thrift store’s mission is simple. The funds from every sale support the program’s leagues, uniforms and outreach efforts. The Coopers hope it will make the growing initiative sustainable while giving community members another way to take part.
“Our program is called ‘Pray and Play’ for a reason,” Bill Cooper said. “We use the sports to get kids to come out. Then we pray, we mentor, we talk about life.”
A vision built on challenges
For Bill Cooper, the work and the support of the community is a deep taproot into Marmet. His childhood there was marked by instability, with his mother struggling with addiction and his father, with alcoholism.
He moved frequently, sometimes without a steady place to stay.
“I bounced from anywhere from South Dakota to Florida,” he said. “I lived in a car some, stayed with friends, stayed with strangers. I was lost. Like a lost soul.”
At one point, he nearly quit school. But he had a neighbor in Marmet, Ruth Jacobs, who stepped in.
“I was going to drop out of school in probably ninth grade,” he recalled. “[Jacobs] took me in, and me and her son are still best friends. She put me through summer school, got me caught up and everything.”
Now, Bill Cooper said he sees Pray and Play as a way to offer the same stability to children that Jacobs once offered him.
Sports as connection
Bill Cooper, founder of the Pray and Play sports league, works with a participant in the Challenger division, which includes kids with developmental disabilities. Pray and Play held a basketball event, on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at Horace Mann Elementary School in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Sports have always been Bill Cooper’s anchor. He started playing basketball after moving from Marmet to Charlotte, North Carolina, and his passion for the game continued into adulthood. Over the years, he said he’s coached countless teams. Today, he’s the assistant coach at DuPont Middle School and is Marmet’s recreation director.
Pray and Play began as a small basketball league in 2023. In less than two years, it has grown into a year-round initiative offering multiple sports, travel teams and community events that welcome children regardless of ability to pay.
“If I say we’re playing basketball and eating pizza, I get 40 kids in the gym,” he said with a laugh. “Before we play, we pray, and then the real learning starts.”
Charlene Cooper says sports are the bridge that allows the Coopers to mentor children on and off the court.
“It teaches teamwork, it builds confidence and it gives us a way to talk with them about bigger things,” she said.
The model is simple: prayer before and after every practice, open doors for any child who wants to join, and a focus on making children feel supported regardless of skill or circumstances.
“We don’t turn anybody down,” Bill Cooper said. “That’s the key.”
Bill Cooper (center, with hat in hand), founder of the Pray and Play sports league, leads a prayer with participants in the Challenger division, which includes kids with developmental disabilities. Pray and Play held a basketball event (shown here), on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at Horace Mann Elementary School in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Rooted in faith, focused on children
The Coopers’ path to this mission wasn’t straightforward. The couple married young, divorced under the strain of jobs, children and personal struggles, and eventually reunited — a turning point they both describe as faith-driven.
Charlene Cooper recalled being a single mom, battling postpartum depression and struggling to make ends meet.
“I prayed to God to give me my life back,” she said. “The next day, Bill just showed up at my door. We’d been divorced a year — and it was not a nice divorce. But he came back. We got saved, got baptized, remarried in the church. That was 13 years ago, and we’ve been in church since.”
That experience of renewal, they said, is what inspired them to create a program where children could find hope and safe spaces.
Canaan Carper, 3, gets help shooting a basket from William Cooper during a basketball event with the Pray and Play sports league at Horace Mann Middle School in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Now, the Pray and Play program helps hundreds of children from all backgrounds each year, and its reach continues to grow.
The most recent basketball league had more than 200 participants. The flag football league included 100 kids, and the Challenger League for children with disabilities has grown from about 10-12 to more than 20 participants.
The Coopers have welcomed children from a wide area — including Montgomery, Hurricane and Elkview, and outside of the county — to take part in the program. With multiple sports and year-round activities, Pray and Play now serves several hundred children annually.
Pastor Mark Thomas, of Living Faith Church in Marmet, and the Coopers said they feel the need for the program is clear, as the program has also reached children whose families can’t afford fees or supplies for other registered sports leagues and others who have issues at home.
Children play Duck, Duck, Goose during a basketball event with the Pray and Play sports league, on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at Horace Mann Elementary School in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston. From left are: Troy Hamilton, 13; Oaklee Myers, 4; Alison Barrett, 15; Carter Dandy, 5; and Bentley Reese, 12.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
“Unfortunately, we do have more and more kids whose parents are absent from their lives, either one or both. Grandparents or other family members are raising a lot of them,” Thomas said. “I think a lot of these kids do grow up longing for that type of investment in their lives, and then kind of wrestle and fight with what their identity is and who they’re supposed to be. We have a generation of kids that are, I believe, hungry for role models.”
“It’s rare that you see Bill and Charlene anywhere that there’s not also a group of kids, including his own, helping them do whatever it is that they’re doing,” Thomas said.
For the youth involved, the impact is tangible, Thomas said. He said he’s seen youth coming to church more often due to their involvement with Pray and Play.
“They might play 10 or 12 basketball games a day. But before every basketball game, they meet in the middle of the court, and they pray over the kids, and they pray over the game,” he said. “They try to give honor to God, first, from the beginning.”
Rahkis Smith (foreground), 13, and Bradley Riffle (at right), 12, play basketball during a Pray and Play sports league event, on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at Horace Mann Elementary School in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
“They make you feel welcome,” said 13-year-old Rahkis Smith, who now spends a lot of time with the Coopers.
Before joining, he said he wasn’t involved in church much. But last year, he and his best friend, the Coopers’ son William Cooper, were baptized together.
Rahkis and his friend, Bradley Riffle, 12, said friendship like theirs is what matters most about Pray and Play.
“I’ve met a lot of new people playing basketball,” Bradley said. “Praying before games makes me feel good.”
Fueling the mission
A variety of items are sold at Pray and Play Thrift Store in Marmet, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
The thrift store, opened in July, is designed to make the program sustainable. Every sale funds uniforms, gym rentals, equipment and food for team gatherings.
“We can’t run these leagues without funding,” Bill Cooper said. “The store gives us a way to keep things going and help more kids.”
The thrift store is located next to Chum’s Hotdogs, a local eatery that is owned and operated by the town’s mayor, Frances Armentrout, who praises Pray and Play’s mission. She directly supports the Coopers’ mission by donating the space, which she owns.
“It’s good for the community,” Armentrout said. “I’ve worked with Mr. Cooper for a couple years now, and he is excellent with children. He reaches out to children who don’t have a very good home life and just does so much for all kids.”
The Coopers said they want the thrift store to become another community hub — a place where neighbors can donate, shop and know their contributions are cycling back into programs for children.
A variety of items are sold at Pray and Play Thrift Store in Marmet, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Thomas said this concept of a store whose proceeds go to charity is a novel idea for Marmet. He also thinks it’s a good way for the community to be more involved with Pray and Play.
The Coopers say Pray and Play is more than a sports league to the community.
Charlene Cooper said her goal is to “teach [the children] right, give them a safe space to be, and keep them fed.”
Bill Cooper added, “These kids are making choices right now that will shape their lives. If we can give them a safe place, if we can mentor them, if we can pray with them — then maybe they don’t end up where I almost did.”
The driver of a stolen car crashed into Lightning’s Boxing Club in Oakland early New Year’s Day after colliding with another car — sending two people to the hospital — then fleeing on foot. The estimated repair costs are between $50,000 and $1000,000.
As KTVU reports, a boxing ring used by heavyweight champion George Foreman in the 1980s sustained extensive damage after a car thief crashed into Lightning’s Boxing Club on 5845 MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland at some point in the early hours Thursday morning. Kris Lopez, who co-owns the gym with his wife Denise Lopez, said the impact of the crash was forceful.
“It’s like an earthquake,” Kris Lopez told KTVU. “The force knocked over the ring stairs and pushed the ring out of place.”
Per KRON4, the Lopezes are raising funds for the repairs and staff payroll through GoFundMe, which was close to $10,000 Sunday morning. According to the fundraiser’s page, the boxing ring will need to be replaced.
Per KTVU, the gym has played a crucial role in supporting underserved youth in the community, some of whom have become professional boxers.
“Dear Oakland Community, we have given our all to this city for the better good—mentoring youth, creating positive members of society, and even producing the occasional boxing champion,” the fundraiser’s page states. “Your donation will help us continue this important work and keep our doors open for the next generation. Please give what you can so we can get back to saving the community and inspiring our youth through the sport of boxing!”
Per NBC Bay Area, the boxing club is temporarily relocating to Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, a local nightclub and event space in Oakland’s Black Arts and Business District, but the Lopezes hope to reopen as soon as possible.
“I just want to keep the boxers going,” Kris Lopez told NBC Bay Area. “We have a nationally ranked amateur boxer, and of course my son and all the other kids who need this place to participate in something positive.”
“I’ve had so many people tell me, your husband changed my life,” Denise Lopez told KTVU. “That makes it worth doing.”
Authorities are still searching for the suspect in the crash.
FARGO — A move to take a youth initiative out of the purview of the city of Fargo is expected to expand student civic engagement, the city said.
The City Commission voted Monday, Dec. 22, to give Fargo Public Schools oversight of the Fargo Youth Initiative, an advisory body made up of local high school students.
Commissioners have been discussing over recent weeks whether certain boards are effective or viable. The city’s Planning Department previously coordinated Fargo Youth Initiative events.
“It really did take a village to find a new home for this, but I think it’s the next iteration of greatness,” Commissioner Denise Kolpack said at the meeting.
Isabella Meyer, chair of FYI and a senior at Fargo North High School, told commissioners many decisions are made for youth without involving them.
“The Fargo Youth Initiative has been a great way for us to be able to share our voice and our opinions on what actually works and what we actually need,” Meyer said.
The youth advisory group will now be housed within Fargo Public Schools and will include liaison representatives from the Fargo City Commission, the FPS Board of Education and the Fargo Park Board, with potential for expansion.
The group will meet at and receive administrative support from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Red River Valley.
Fargo School Board vice president Robin Nelson speaks during a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Robin Nelson, Boys & Girls Clubs CEO and Fargo School Board vice president, became involved in the Fargo Youth Initiative as it was created in 2013.
She said connecting the high school students with School Board, Park Board and city representatives will provide for even better opportunities.
“Now that they’ve got some more direction, it’s really ignited their excitement,” Nelson said.
Liaisons are expected to be Kolpack from the City Commission, Kristin Nelson from the Fargo School Board and Zoë Absey from the Park Board.
Proposed areas of focus for the Fargo Youth Initiative include education relating to North Dakota Century Code, open meeting regulations and local governance and policies.
Advocacy opportunities include raising the profile of youth public health issues and youth homelessness and speaking out on city, parks and school policies and initiatives.
Community impact ideas could include organizing student-led events or service projects, and regularly attending and participating in local government meetings.
“Youth are a big percentage of our population, so the more they can learn about how our city governments work and serve as a conduit and voice for youth so they are heard at those elected levels, is beneficial,” Robin Nelson said.
A goal is to achieve a total of 15 members on the Fargo Youth Initiative, which plans to continue to meet monthly.
Huebner is a 35+ year veteran of broadcast and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead.
LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Young athletes showed they could perform under pressure as they competed in the Elks Hoop Shoot competition.
The Northwest Ohio District brought winners from 10 different Elks lodge Hoop Shoot competitions to Ohio State Lima for the next step in the national contest.
The Elks have hosted the Hoop Shoot program for 52 years. Boys and girls ages 8 through 13 were divided into three age groups to see who could sink the most baskets.
While organizers hope the event is fun for the participants, they also emphasize the importance of developing skills through practice.
“They’re our future, and you don’t know who’s going to be able to benefit from all the practice that they put in, and further their careers in basketball, not only in the high school level, but in college and perhaps the professionals. We want them to increase their skill level and also show the sportsmanship and the camaraderie with the other shooters and enjoy the time that they have with this program,” says Jean Zink, Northwest Ohio District Elks Hoop Shoot Competition.
The top boys and girls from each age group in the Northwest Ohio District will advance to the state competition in February.
Copyright 2025 by Lima Communications Corporation. All rights reserved.
Since the Vegas Golden Knights arrived in 2017, youth hockey participation in Southern Nevada has more than doubled, according to USA Hockey and local youth programs. While that growth has created new opportunities, it has also strained existing facilities.
Usufzy said programs like learn-to-skate and youth leagues are reaching capacity, and without additional infrastructure, families may be forced to look elsewhere for competitive opportunities.
“We’ve seen incredible growth, but without places to support it, that growth can stall,” she said. “We want kids to be able to play and develop right here in Las Vegas.”
To meet that demand, the foundation has launched a capital campaign to build the Las Vegas Community Sports Complex, the first nonprofit community ice rink and multi-sport facility of its kind in Southern Nevada.
The proposed complex would feature two NHL-sized ice rinks and a versatile indoor turf field designed for sports like soccer and lacrosse, . The goal is to create affordable programming and expand scholarship opportunities for families across the valley.
The Jake Kielb Hockey Foundation’s capital campaign is entirely community-driven. Those interested in learning more or supporting the project can find additional information at HelpVegasPlay.com.
Usufzy hopes the project will ultimately give every child — regardless of background a place to play, grow, and belong.
The organization that governs Nordic ski events in New England said it is seeing considerable growth in interest in the sport. The executive director of NENSA, the New England Nordic Ski Association, was a guest on this week’s episode of NBC5 In Depth.”The sport of cross-country skiing is much younger than alpine skiing in America, I think it’s fair to say,” said Heidi Lange of NENSA. “But we are seeing incredible growth and success at all levels.”On the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth, Lange said the fame and success of Jessie Diggins, who won three Olympic medals in cross-country skiing and an array of other championships, has helped attract young athletes to the sport.”We see a lot of glitter at our races,” Lange said, referring to how Diggins popularized wearing glitter on her face during competitions. “We see kids embracing that joy and the sportsmanship that she emulates. And it goes deeper than that, of course. Jessie is an incredible mentor and role model in so many ways. She’s so willing to be open and vulnerable and very transparent about her journey, not just celebrating the successes, but sharing what she’s experiencing through challenges and struggles. And I think that has had a very powerful influence on skiers as they’re developing and navigating what are hopefully long journeys in the sport.”Lange told NBC5 In Depth that over the past two Olympic cycles, 50% of U.S. Olympic team members in Nordic skiing had an affiliation with a New England program. She went on to say that a closer examination of the numbers revealed that 30% of that population grew up in NENSA’s youth and junior programming in New England. “We’re incredibly proud of that,” Lange said. “It’s early to say yet for this year, but trends are tracking in a similar fashion.”Lange provided other encouraging signs for the future of the sport in the NBC5 In Depth interview. She also discussed advancements in snowmaking technology for Nordic ski areas, and offered recommendations of what fans of the Olympics should watch for in the Nordic competitions at the upcoming Winter Games.The video atop this article has the full interview with NENSA’s Heidi Lange that aired on the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth.Previous coverage: Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins discusses climate activism
LYME, N.H. —
The organization that governs Nordic ski events in New England said it is seeing considerable growth in interest in the sport. The executive director of NENSA, the New England Nordic Ski Association, was a guest on this week’s episode of NBC5 In Depth.
“The sport of cross-country skiing is much younger than alpine skiing in America, I think it’s fair to say,” said Heidi Lange of NENSA. “But we are seeing incredible growth and success at all levels.”
On the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth, Lange said the fame and success of Jessie Diggins, who won three Olympic medals in cross-country skiing and an array of other championships, has helped attract young athletes to the sport.
“We see a lot of glitter at our races,” Lange said, referring to how Diggins popularized wearing glitter on her face during competitions. “We see kids embracing that joy and the sportsmanship that she emulates. And it goes deeper than that, of course. Jessie is an incredible mentor and role model in so many ways. She’s so willing to be open and vulnerable and very transparent about her journey, not just celebrating the successes, but sharing what she’s experiencing through challenges and struggles. And I think that has had a very powerful influence on skiers as they’re developing and navigating what are hopefully long journeys in the sport.”
Lange told NBC5 In Depth that over the past two Olympic cycles, 50% of U.S. Olympic team members in Nordic skiing had an affiliation with a New England program. She went on to say that a closer examination of the numbers revealed that 30% of that population grew up in NENSA’s youth and junior programming in New England.
“We’re incredibly proud of that,” Lange said. “It’s early to say yet for this year, but trends are tracking in a similar fashion.”
Lange provided other encouraging signs for the future of the sport in the NBC5 In Depth interview. She also discussed advancements in snowmaking technology for Nordic ski areas, and offered recommendations of what fans of the Olympics should watch for in the Nordic competitions at the upcoming Winter Games.
The video atop this article has the full interview with NENSA’s Heidi Lange that aired on the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth.
Burbank defeated Upland 73-33 in a nonleague game. (Photo by Rick Assad)
By Rick Assad
Employing a smothering defense and a smoldering shooting display proved a perfect recipe for the Burbank High boys’ basketball team on Saturday night.
Facing a good Upland team that had height and length but was short on shooting played into the hosts’ favor as the Bulldogs routed the Highlanders 73-33 in a nonleague game.
Burbank scored 20 points or more in the second and third periods and nailed 19 of 28 shots for 67.8 percent in those two frames.
Burbank drained 10 three-pointers with six treys coming in the second half.
Three players scored in double figures and were paced by junior shooting guard Avo Papikyan with a game-high 20 points and was followed by senior point guard Cris Ong with 13 points and junior point guard Jon Ong with 12.
Burbank sank 29 of 52 from the field for 55.2 percent during the game while holding Upland to 11 of 61 for 18 percent.
The Bulldogs made 14 of 28 for 50 percent in the first half and led 36-17 and the Highlanders shot 25 percent after converting six of 24.
Burbank dashed in front 16-9 after the first period and then were off to the races.
Steve Eshleman is Burbank’s head coach and believes this was his team’s finest hour to date.
“That might be our best offensive game that we have had all year and we shot the ball really well, but really what spurred us was our defensive strength that we had throughout the game,” he said.
Eshleman also liked another important aspect of the game.
“We rebounded and got the ball out and when we ran, and then created offense to our defense and getting the ball out and going tonight was probably our best 32 minutes that we put together and that’s great for the kids,” he stated.
The Bulldogs (10-4) outrebounded Upland (8-9) 44-33 including 19-13 in the second half.
Imani Smith-Young, a junior small forward, scored all of his seven points in the opening period.
Papikyan tallied 12 points in the second quarter and that included three of his four from three-point range.
Cris Ong, after scoring five points that included a trey in the opening frame, added six points in the second period as the Bulldogs converted eight of 14 for 57.1 percent from the floor.
Ong’s basket with 5:15 remaining in the second period made it 22-9, Papikyan’s three-pointer increased the cushion to 25-9 with 4:52 on the clock and Ong’s bucket saw the Bulldogs pull ahead 29-9 with 3:25 left.
Senior small forward Anthony Jawiche found his range in the third quarter with nine points and also drilled a three-pointer as Burbank dashed ahead 62-29 heading to the fourth period.
Jon Ong dropped eight points in the same quarter, Papikyan added five points and Ong’s hoop with 6:35 left saw the Bulldogs march ahead 43-17.
In the fourth period, Blake Finnigan, a senior wing, scored five of his seven points and added a three-pointer.
Junior wing Jason Campos canned a three-pointer in the fourth quarter and senior small forward Giordan Lewis dropped two points in the second period for the Bulldogs.
Senior wing Collin Heard paced the Highlanders with nine points and they all came on three-pointers and Cooper Omness, a senior wing for Upland scored five points.
Assistant coach Tighe Eshelman is in agreement with his father’s assessment of the team.
“We’ve been lacking a full 32-minute effort so far this year. We’ve had good wins by getting ahead of people and holding on for dear life,” he said. “Tonight, we really executed the game plan throughout four quarters, which is a great step for us leading back into [Pacific] League play.”
