The Fayette Citizen-Weekend Page
Wednesday, October 21, 1998
Tyrone resident gets
Spike Lee's attention

By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

Sandy Creek High School sophomore Doug Niggley submitted an English project and came out a $2,500 scholarship winner in a contest sponsored by Home Box Office. His entry, a Monopoly-type game, renamed "Negropoly," took second place in a nationwide creative expression competition held in conjunction with Spike Lee's documentary "Four Little Girls." The movie aired on HBO this past spring and recalled the Alabama church bombing in 1963 which took the lives of four young girls.

Niggley said he was surprised that he won, but got a hint that he was in the running for a top prize when he was contacted by an HBO representative and asked for his Social Security number. He later received a book, a certificate signed by Lee and a check which he has deposited into a mutual fund account.

Niggley said he anticipates a civil engineering career: "I like to create things and solve problems," which is exactly what he did with his prize winning game.

"I made the board and the money and community chest cards," Niggley said. "I wanted to do more, but I just ran out of time."

The Negropoly game incorporates various challenges and obstacles encountered during the fight for civil rights during the turbulent '60s. Niggley admitted he didn't know much about the period until he got involved in the project.

Niggley is the son of Richard and Joyce Niggley of Tyrone.

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