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Wednesday, May 18,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B
Richs husband: Ronda kills me
"'Baby," I said to Ronda, "I'm a little worried
about my CT scan." But if I was looking for sym
pathy, let alone a shoulder to cry on, I wasn't
going to find it in my wife — and her grin belied
her words, "Don't worry, Tink. If something's
wrong, I'm sure they'll be able to fix it.'"
FROM 1B
Hughes
and the team improved by 28 strokes.
But for all of the highlights of this season,
the road to get where Hughes and the team
is now has not been linear.
During the course of this season, Hughes
fell into a slump just weeks before the Area
Tournament and knew he needed to get out
of it quickly. By working with his father on
the range, he was able to improve rapidly
and get back into his usual form.
“My biggest improvement has been my
ball-striking,” Hughes said. “I’ve had rounds
where I hit 15 out of 18 greens...and its
hard to mess up that round [by doing that].”
Another influence on his growth as a
golfer has been head coach Will Anglin.
Hughes credited his coach’s positivity as
helping him individually as well as the team
in its journey to the State Tournament.
Even during the challenging parts of the
season when Hughes and the team were in a
slump, Anglin remained steady at the helm.
“He’s one of the most positive people I’ve
ever met,” Hughes said. “It’s very rare that
I’ve seen him negative. Outside of golf, he
has helped me a ton with teacher recom
mendations and he is always quick to
answer anything that I ask.”
Heading into the State Tournament,
Hughes is looking to continue his low scor
ing he has had throughout the season.
Earlier in the season, his lowest 9-hole score
was 35 and 18-hole score was 76.
But at the Area Toumment, Hughes hit his
peak form and finished the 18 holes under
par. With both him and the team hitting their
stride, Hughes will looking to lead the team
to another top-3 finish at the State Finals.
Outside of golf, Hughes enjoys playing
piano, writing music and learning Korean.
He is considering becoming a business
owner as a career path.
The DCHS golf team will play at the
State Finals on Monday, May 16 and
Tuesday, May 17, at Bartram Trail Golf
Club in Augusta.
By John Tinker
(This is the first of a two-part He
Said/She Said series.)
“You kill me,” I’ll often say to
Ronda. Whether it’s her wit, her
insight, her fashion or decorating
style, or the stories she tells, I am end
lessly entertained. In the best way, of
course. I don’t know anyone like my
wife — and God blessed me with her
companionship.
But every now and again, though
quite rarely, she surprises me in the
worst way. Recently, something
almost quite literally caused me to say
not just, “You kill me” but “You want
to kill me.”
This is my side of the story.
Given the rather sedentary life I lead
(informed particularly by a job, as a
writer, which has me sitting for hours
on end), now and again, I have given
thought to my cardiac condition. I
have neglected winding the old ticker,
and in the past, have had a minor car
diac irregularity or two.
And recently, after one of my broth
ers had quite a cardiac scare of his
own, I thought it wise to undergo
some tests to see just how much dam
age, if any, I may’ve done due to
neglect. So, I was off to see the cardi
ologist.
Included in the battery of tests was a
routine exam, an echocardiogram, and
an EKG. In addition, my doctor
thought it a good idea to undergo
either a cardiac stress test or cardiac
CT scan, as well. That was an easy
choice on my part since a stress test
involves exercise. Instead, I lazily
opted for the CT scan.
By now, you may’ve picked up on
some anxiety I was realizing. I was
whistling past the graveyard — for
fear that I might, sooner than later, be
the one whistling in the graveyard. Or
rather, not whistling at all.
“Baby,” I said to Ronda, “I’m a little
worried about my CT scan.” But if I
was looking for sympathy, let alone a
shoulder to cry on, I wasn’t going to
find it in my wife — and her grin
belied her words, “Don’t worry, Tink.
If something’s wrong, I’m sure they’ll
be able to fix it.”
And with that, Ronda went back to
whatever it was she was doing that
was more important.
I can’t say that I was incredulous or
even hurt by her nonchalance. After
all, she’d warned me for years, that
someday, my lousy diet and lack of
exercise would catch up with me.
Now, don’t misunderstand, (and any
regular reader of this column knows),
Ronda is not insensitive or uncaring.
To the contrary, she is terrifically
empathic and tender. But she is also a
great believer that one reaps what they
sow. They get what they deserve. That
a hoist on one’s own petard is usually
a comeuppance deserved. And while
Ronda would always certainly be there
for me, it just wasn’t how I might
expect.
“You WANT there to be something
wrong,” I said accusatorially.
“Oh, Tink, don’t be ridiculous.” And
again, her slight grin spoke volumes as
to how she was really feeling.
Regardless, before heading off for my
CT scan early the next morning,
Ronda and I prayed about whatever
might lie ahead. I prayed particularly
hard.
A while later, I returned to my cardi
ologist so that he might deliver the
results, good or bad. “Everything
looks great,” he said, sitting down.
“There’s not the slightest indication of
any arterial blockage or other trouble.”
I was thrilled, of course — and
immediately thanked God for His
goodness and mercy; not only for my
health but for sustaining me through
my dietary and calisthenic shortcom
ings.
Immediately, I called Ronda. And
while I was relieved and thankful for
the news — vowing to regard it as a
reprieve that might lead me to devel
oping better habits — I can’t say I
didn’t have some glee when I told
Ronda my results.
“Dang,” she said.
And that’s where I’ll leave Ronda to
tell her side of this story next week.
John Tinker is writing for Ronda Rich this
week. She will be back next week to tell
her side of this story.
FROM 1B
Track
“[I’m] proud as can be of
them... they’re a great group of
hardworking girls,” Haynes said.
“We were 10th last year, so if we
move up four spots every year,
we’ll be right as rain at that
point.”
Next up were the preliminary
races on Friday, where the region
champion girls 4x400 team
broke the school record by post
ing a time of 4:10.86. That time
broke the record by two seconds
and was three seconds faster than
their region-winning time.
While LeCave and Ethan
Smith were also able to progress
through the prelims for the 800-
meter race, the region champion
boys 4x400 team was not able to
qualify for the final race on
Saturday.
The final day of action saw
LeCave and Smith up first, both
facing some of the hottest tem
peratures all day.
Both fought through the condi
tions, with LeCave able to push
past a chasing pair and finishing
sixth. Her time of 2:27.62 was
just two seconds off from her
school-record time set at the
region championships.
Smith came even closer to his
own school record at the State
Finals, finishing fifth with a time
of 1:58.40 to close out his Tigers
career. That time was less than
one second behind the record
time he also set at the region
championships.
“Ethan is a true champion and
has had a remarkable career at
Dawson County,” Haynes said.
“I am better as a coach for hav
ing had the blessing of coaching
him. Now I look forward to see
ing what he can do at the next
level.”
The final group to go was the
girls 4x400 team, who would fin
ish fourth after a dramatic final
two legs.
Lauren Kurtz and LeCave both
had strong legs, pacing the Tigers
well within a tightly-packed back
half of eight teams.
But it was Gloeckner who shot
out of the cannon again in the
third leg, much as she had done
the previous week at State
Sectionals in the 4x800 relay.
She turned the corner at the
200-meter mark and passed two
runners to put the Tigers in the
front of the chasing pack.
Emily Kurtz would sustain that
momentum and fend off an
approaching runner to solidify
the 4x400 team as the top finish
er of the night for DCHS.
“They all have put a lot of time
and work into this race, not just
physically but mentally,” Haynes
said. “Katie really came up big
both days...she found that extra
gear this weekend and was fun to
watch.”
Looking ahead to next season,
Haynes is hopeful that the team
can improve on this season’s
results. In addition to the girls
relay teams returning nearly all
runners next year, other facets of
the track and field team will ben
efit from a large group of under
classmen and incoming fresh
men.
While Smith’s leadership will
be missed next year, many rising
seniors and juniors will have the
chance to step into that role.
“Those girls relay teams are
only going to get better. The next
two years are going to be fun to
watch,” Haynes said. “We are
fortunate to have young ones step
up each year so our program
does not have to rebuild, only
replace.”
FROM 1B
Athletes
next season to try and
return to the state play
offs.
The largest group of
athletes to be recognized
was the middle school
wrestling team, coached
by Andrew Grigsby. His
vast group of athletes is
building a foundation for
long-term wrestling suc
cess both at the middle
school and high school
levels in Dawson County.
For high school wres
tling, the team faced a
spate of injuries during
the season but still had
several individual athletes
play well, led by Will
Whalen.
Each tennis team suc
ceeded in the Region
Tournament by winning
in the first round. The
boys would clinch a No. 3
seed and the girls a No 4
seed in the state playoffs.
The girls basketball
team returned to the state
playoffs with a relatively
young roster, led by lone
senior Ella Siuta. The
Lady Tigers defeated
North Hall in the region
tournament to advance
and play Westminster in
the state playoffs.
The baseball team
recently wrapped up their
season with a three-game
sweep of Lumpkin
County to end the regular
season to clinch the No. 3
spot in Region 7-AAA.
The Tigers would then
lose to Redan in the state
playoffs.
The golf and track and
field teams are still play
ing. While golf will wait
until early next week to
play, the track and field
team played at the State
Sectionals last week and
are sending three relay
teams and two individuals
to the State Finals this
weekend.
Rio White Dawson County News
The BOE recognized the Dawson County teams that made it to the state playoffs in the winter and spring
seasons. Pictured here is the middle school wrestling team, which was the largest group to be recognized.
Rio White Dawson County News
The saxophone section plays during last week's Spring
Concert.
FROM 1B
Band
Ukrainian national anthem
“Ukraine has not Perished” fol
lowed up by the Star-Spangled
Banner.
The first full-length piece
played was one composed in
the immediate wake of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.
According to Gattis, many
symphonic bands across the
United States have made the
decision this spring to perform
“Kyiv, 2022”, a composition
that reconfigured “Moscow,
1941.”
“We learned about the
Ukraine National Anthem and
Ukrainian composers while
having discussions about what
was going on in the world and
gaining the ability to communi
cate a current idea through
music,” Gattis said. “What
made the piece more important
is knowing that hundreds of
other bands performed this
piece this spring, allowing us to
take part in something much
larger than our auditorium.”
While the original piece told
the story of the Soviet Union’s
resistance against Nazi
Germany, the updated piece
tells a tale of Ukraine’s perse
verance in the face of Russian
invasion.
Kyiv, 2022 included similar
features and melodies as
Moscow, 1941, but added new
layers and emotions that
evoked a sense of immediacy
relevant to the current situation.
After a brief set of announce
ments, the band would play
their transitionary song of the
night, the iconic “In the Hall of
the Mountain King” by Edvard
Grieg.
This piece highlighted the
strengths of each section as the
repetition of the main idea was
displayed by brass and wood
winds alike. The change of
pace also tested the cohesion of
the band as a whole.
Following that, the band
would go through its recogni
tions before wrapping up the
program with more modern
compositions.
The recognitions included the
naming of next marching band
season’s drum major, Ace Park,
as well as the winner of the
John Phillip Sousa Awards,
Palmer Hartley.
To finish the program, the
band played popular composi
tions including “The Pink
Panther Theme”, selections
from The Rolling Stones, and
an encore that included two
“Star Wars” pieces.
“This was the first time I
have performed ‘pops’ music
with this ensemble, and it was a
refreshing way to end the year,”
Gattis said. “When performing
songs that the audience knows
you have to play it with the
right about of style to make
them believe they are at the
movies or a rock concert. I cer
tainly enjoyed it and the stu
dents did, too.”
While this school year’s band
schedule has finished, the
marching band will commence
summer band camp beginning
the week of Monday, July 18,
with color guard and percus
sion pre-camp held the previ
ous week.
