Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, January 20,2021 /Page 2B
Sflie Aiiuancg
Malcolm
Photo by Mike Branch
Konner Owens puts the first points of the game on the baord for VHS as they host the
Bulldogs of Wheeler County.
Wins For VHS
Photo by Mike Branch
Ty Dailey goes in for the slam on a fast break at home
against Wheeler County.
Region
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 1 advance@gmaii.com
The Indians basket
ball teams of Vidalia High
School took on Wheeler
County at home on Fri
day and picked up two
wins, and then split with
Swainsboro at home on
Saturday
Girls vs. Wheeler
The Lady Indians had
no problems with the
Lady Bulldogs of Wheeler
County last week as they
jumped out to a big 25-5
lead by the end of the first
period and were never
challenged. VHS ex
tended that lead to 37-5
by halftime as they didn't
allow Wheeler to score in
the second period.
In the third VHS led
57-8, and they took the
win, 64-14. VHS was led
by Carleigh Wardlaw with
20 points, Jaynia Bobbit
added 10 points, and
De'Asia Thomas scored 8
in the win.
Boys vs. Wheeler
In the boys game
Konner Owens scored
the first basket, with Ty
Dailey following with a
runner in the lane, and
then Dailey got a steal
and a slam dunk as VHS
quickly pushed their lead
to 6-0. Bryson Whited
made it 8-0 before
Wheeler scored their first
basket. At the end of the
first period the score was
11- 4.
Early in the second
Dailey made it 15-4, and
VHS was in the lead 28-9
before the end of the first
half. In the third period
VHS had extended that
lead to 43-23, and VHS
took the win 56-42.
Girls vs. Swainsboro
The Lady Indians
came out with the win
over the Lady Tigers.
VHS led 12-7 at the end
of the first period, but
with 4:46 left in the first
half the Tigers had made a
run and tied the game at
12- 12. Wardlaw hit a
three-pointer for a 15-12
lead, and then Treyunna
Roundtree and Kyleigh
Johnson pushed that lead
back out to 17-12. By the
end of the first half the
Indians led 19-14 after a
basket by Diamond Mc
Cray.
In the third period it
was 21-16 with VHS out
in front. Johnson added a
basket, and with 1:15 left
it was 25-21 after a three
by Swainsboro. Thomas
hit a shot just before the
end of the period to give
the Lady Indians a 27-21
lead heading to the fourth.
VHS held on and got
a pair of late free-throws
by Johnson to secure the
win, 36-30. VHS was led
by Johnson and McCray
with 7 points each.
Boys vs. Swainsboro
The boys had to face
the defending State
Champions on Saturday,
and it was a tough task for
the Indians. Whited had a
huge first half with 18
points to keep the Indians
in the game, but he was
not able to keep up that
pace in the second half as
VHS fell to the Tigers.
Whited got things go
ing with a basket and a
three, but Swainsboro
tied the game at 5-5. Dai
ley gave the Indians the
lead back, but Swainsboro
took an 8-7 lead with 4:30
left in the opening period.
The lead went back
and forth before Whited
hit another three for a
12-8 lead. Matt Hill ex
tended that lead, but a
run by the Tigers put
them back in front, 15-14,
by the end of the first pe
riod.
In the second Whited
added another three, and
then a steal by Konner
Owens and another three
by Whited made it 22-15
with VHS in front. With
3:40 left it was 24-20, but
baskets by Hill and Jacobi
Washington made it 31-
25 with VHS in front at
halftime.
In the third period
the Tigers were hit with a
technical foul as things
were getting a bit out of
hand as the Tigers made a
run and cut the lead for
VHS to just one. The Ti
gers came back over the
third period as they went
on a late run and out-
scored VHS 24-11 to take
a 49-42 lead.
In the final period
VHS stayed in the game,
but the Tigers held on to
get the win, 64-53. VHS
was led by Whited with
25 points, Dailey added
13 and Hill scored 8 in
the loss.
The Lady Indians are
6-7 on the year and are
2-3 in Region 2AA, while
the boys are 8-5 and 2-3
in Region play. This week
VHS will play Jeff Davis
on the road on Friday at
6:00 p.m.
by
Loran Smith
The following would
be a fit for the sports pag
es, but it doesn’t have any
thing to do with Malcolm
Mitchell’s ability to catch a
football, which he did well
enough in 2017 to win a
Super Bowl ring with the
New England Patriots.
His adroit skills on
the football field have been
well documented, at least
in Georgia circles. What
many do not know about
this native of Valdosta is
that he woke up one morn
ing and confronted a de
bilitating deficiency in his
life. He said aloud, “I can’t
read.” Actually, he could
read words, but not at the
level he aspired. There was
a meaningful caveat in that
there was a burning ambi
tion to be well read.
The good news is that
he faced his shortcoming
with the resolve to ren
der the inadequacy in his
life invalid; null and void.
From that pivotal mo
ment, he set out to change
his life, which would be
come a defining and signa
ture moment.
Malcolm familiarized
himself with the gripping
statistics. He bordered
on being one of 32 mil
lion Americans who can
not read, a mind boggling
14 percent of our popula
tion. He became pain
fully aware that more than
a “third of Hispanic and
African American twelfth
graders read below the ba
sic level and that many stu
dents who struggle to read
and write well make up a
substantial portion of the
1.2 million students who
leave high school each year
without a diploma.”
Not only did he rem
edy the problem for him
self personally, he has an
enduring commitment to
help reduce the debilitat
ing aforementioned statis
tics by encouraging kids
that reading makes you a
better person. Reading
enables you to make better
decisions in life. That is a
sermon he preaches every
day.
Along the way, he had
the good fortune of be
coming friends with one of
NOTICE
The County Commissioners of Montgomery
County, Georgia, pursuant to Article IX, Sec
tion 2, Paragraph 1, of the Constitution of the
State of Georgia, hereby give notice of their
intention to amend Article II, Timber Opera
tions Ordinance, of Chapter 8, Business and
Business Regulations of the Code of Montgom
ery County, Georgia. A copy of the proposed
amendment is on file in the Office of the
Clerk, Montgomery County Superior Court,
for the purpose of examination and inspection
by the public. The Clerk of Court shall furnish
anyone, upon written request, a copy of the
proposed amendment. For the public’s conve
nience, a copy of the proposed amendment can
be found on the County’s website: www.mont-
gomerycountyga.gov.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, GEORGIA,
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Leland Adams, Chairman
the most altruistic families
in Athens, John and Kay
Parker, who became sur
rogate parents. The guest
room was always avail
able when Malcolm was in
town and needed a place
to lay his head. From the
beginning, he was always
welcomed to pull up a
chair when it was meal
time; dinner, organized by
Kay Parker, is always a ful
filling treat.
When Malcolm was
recuperating from knee
surgery, the Parkers re
treated upstairs from their
master bedroom on the
first floor, which allowed
for the ultimate conve
nience for their rehabbing
young friend to get back
on his feet.
With that residency
fringe benefit came a pro
pitious bonus. John Park
er, a retired Coca-Cola
executive, is also a law
yer, which came in handy
when Malcolm formed his
“Share the Magic Founda
tion.” The term “in house
lawyer” has never been
more apropos.
Malcolm’s first goal
after the Patriots Super
Bowl victory was to con
tinue playing football, but
knee surgeries forced him
into retirement. However,
he had something to fall
back on. He had earned a
degree in communications
by the time of the NFL
draff in the spring of 2016.
Not only had his read
ing skills risen to an excit
ing level, he had become
an author. Before his se
nior year he wrote, “The
Magician’s Hat.”
Something magical soon
happened, a story that has
been widely circulated but
one that will never lose
its serendipitous cogency
with Malcolm.
While browsing
through the bookshelves
at Barnes & Noble one af
ternoon, he spotted a lady
searching for a book. Mal
colm approached Kathy
Rackley and asked if she
could recommend a book
to him.
They became ac
quainted and before he
could say “Old North
Church,” Malcolm was in
vited to become a member
of “Silverleaf Book Club,”
which he told the Boston
Globe helped him “grow
into a better person, a per
son who learns and grows
throughout life in general.”
Malcolm has written
another children’s book,
“My Favorite Book in
the Whole Wide World.”
You’ll have to buy the
book to learn about its poi
gnant message. Malcolm’s
ongoing preachment to
kids is that there is pure
joy in reading. “Reading,”
he says, “made me a bet
ter person. By reading, I
learned that I could make
better decisions.’
He is into the works
of Ernest Hemmingway,
Robert Frost and James
Baldwin among other cel
ebrated authors. He has
begun to write poetry,
which is why he was at
tracted to the musings of
Frost and was taken aback
when he learned that the
New England poet often
visited the Georgia cam
pus in the late fifties as the
guest of Hugh Hodgson,
head of the UGA music
department.
While his mother
Pratina Woods always har
bored dreams of earning a
degree, she redoubled her
efforts when Malcolm was
graduated from UGA and
began pursuing his inter
est in reading and subse
quently writing. She has
completed requirements
for an undergraduate de
gree at Valdosta State and
is on the way to earning a
Master’s in psychology.
When the Patriots
were winding their way
to the Lombardi Trophy
in 2017, Malcolm’s team
mates often found him at
his locker reading the New
York Times on his iPhone
with a couple of Hem
mingway and Baldwin
novels stashed nearby. He
became the Patriot’s “sore
thumb.”
In a recent conversa
tion with Malcolm, I was
able to share with him
the lines written by a little
known poet, Strickland
Gilliam—which reflects
the kind of parent Mal
colm expects to be.
“You may have tangi
ble wealth untold, caskets
of jewels and coffers of
gold; richer than I you can
never be, I had a mother
who read to me.”
DERRICK’S
AUTOMOTIVE
New Location
139 Ben Wilson Rd Vidalia
912-380-4110