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This Young
Man Will
Be Missed
Sunday, April 12, 1981. It had rained
hard that morning, but had cleared off
by 2 p.m. I propped against the trunk of
my car, holding my baseball glove in
one hand and a bat in the other. Steve
Taylor was tying his red bandana
around his forehead.
Our friend had gone to a nearby store
to call some other players and was
returning. I had noticed his car was
leaking gas. I mentioned it to him.
With his silent laugh he replied, “I
guess I put too much in the tank.” To
say Andy Carnes was a mild-mannered,
easy going guy is a true understate
ment.
Monday, May 22, 1981 Andy Carnes
was killed in an automobile accident at
the intersection of Highway 369 and
Highway 400.
I could write this column and say
Andy Carnes was a friend of mine
through school. I could say that he was
the one person in Sunday School who
spoke to me every Sunday and always
struck up a conversation after church. I
could write about the many campouts
and Boy Scout meetings we attended.
But, the truth is, Andy Carnes had
closer friends than I. I want to write
this column about a different side of
this young man. A side that had been
creeping into my mind for quite awhile.
Last summer some friends of mine
began playing baseball on Sunday af
ternoons at various ballfields around
the county. We weren’t interested in
starting a league, but just to choose
teams and get a little exercise. We soon
had quite a team and were able to have
two full teams by the end of the sum
mer.
One Sunday morning I was afraid we
might not have enough people to play,
so I casually mentioned the afternoon’s
game to a few of the guys. Andy Carnes
was one of them.
From that first Sunday afternoon, at
the closing of last summer, it took a lot
to keep Andy from missing one of our
games. He would show up every Sunday
and he was one of the few who didn’t
need a constant reminder.
When the spring of this year rolled
around, Andy was there, in his Volks
wagon bug. He was a quiet player and
rarely said a word. When his team
came in to bat, he’d sit down on the
bleachers and just watch. When he
came to bat, he’d hit a single or a
double. He’d play anywhere you wanted
him to play, but shortstop was what he
liked.
One particular Sunday, I came to bat
and hit a home run at Bethelview field.
Andy Carnes shook my hand as I passed
him at shortstop. When Steve hit a
homerun he was also congratulated for
the hit. He didn’t say much, but when he
did, he made it count.
I sat in church one Sunday morning
and it was raining heavily outside. I had
abandoned all thoughts of a game.
Andy leaned over during the service
and asked if we were playing. He said
he wanted to play, and he could play in
the mud if I could. He loved to play ball,
and he was one of the more consistent
guys around.
The last two Sundays we played dur
ing this spring we didn’t have enough
for a team, so we had batting and
fielding practice. When everyone was
tired and ready to go, Andy was still out
in the field wanting to play some more.
We aren’t great ballplayers, but we
all loved to play. I think Andy Carnes
loved it most of all. He was dedicated,
he was sincere and he rarely had a
cross word for anyone on the field. He
could hit, he could field and it will be
hard to regroup and play without him
this summer.
The last Sunday we played, I moved
to third base and Andy gave me con
stant instructions on where to play the
different batters. He made errors and I
made errors, but his excitement at just
getting together on Sunday, was an
inspiration to me.
One of our rules is we don’t play
softball. Andy mentioned to me re
cently that he was going to play softball
for the church team, because they
didn’t have enough players. He said
he’d come to our games after they
finished practice. He did, and we had
already gone for the day.
It’s ironic that this sophomore at
Georgia Tech drove all the way home
from Atlanta on that fatal Monday to
play softball for the church. I can’t
think of a finer example of a sports
man’s true dedication.
Andy Carnes is one young man that
Will be missed very much.
O’Kelley Wins Gold
In Freestyle Tourney
Joel O’Kelley, a member of the For
syth County High School wrestling
team, represented the Forsyth County
Freestyle Wrestling Team Saturday in
Dahlonega and won a gold medal in the
107 pound weight class.
O’Kelley entered the tournament as
one of four wrestlers in the 107 pound
class, but his competition included the
1980-81 state AA champion and another
opponent that finished last year with a
12-0 record.
“It was a very small tournament, but
Joel met me at the high school Saturday
morning and we went to it,” coach Bob
Penland said Sunday evening. Penland
assists the freestyle team’s coach Ed
Wright.
In the first round, O’Kelley faced off
with the state AA champion and after
three rounds won by the narrow margin
of 9-7.o’Kelley’s opponent was also the
Atlanta open freestyle champion and
the Peach State open freestyle champ.
In the second round, O’Kelley won the
gold medal by defeating his second
opponent 9-5. Both of O’Kelley’s oppo
nents were from Fellwood.
Chip Starr Receives
Bulldog Award Here
Chip Starr, a graduating senior at
Forsyth County High School and man
ager of the Bulldogs basketball team
for four years, was awarded the Bull
dog Award at a recent athletic honors
ceremony.
Starr received the award from the
coaches at the high school. He is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Starr, Cum
ming, and plans to attend Gardner
Webb College.
In addition to the award, Starr was
voted Most Friendliest and Most De
pendable in the senior superlatives at
Forsyth County High School.
'Dogs Open Weight
Program At School
Jim Cooper, Forsyth County Bulldog
head varsity football coach, announced
that the football summer weight pro
gram begins this week at the high
school’s fieldhouse.
“We can’t just quit our weight pro
gram because school is out,” Cooper
said. “We’re going to carry this
throughout the summer and it will help
us a lot when fall rolls around “
The weight rooms will be open to
players from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from
5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Fri
day.
Four Bulldog Coaches On The Move
BY SCOTT VAUGHAN
Sports Writer
Forsyth County High School closed
the 1980-81 school year Friday and three
varsity coaches and one assistant coach
announced they will be leaving the high
school athletic program for coaching
jobs elsewhere.
Ron Jackson, of the Bulldog coaching
staff for four years, is making the
shortest move of the coaches. Jackson
has accepted the athletic director’s job
at South Forsyth Junior High School,
when the 1981-82 school year opens.
Jackson, who coached the boys tennis
team and served as a defensive coach
for the Bulldog football team, will be
the head football coach at South For
syth and coordinate the athletic pro
gram there.
“Even though I’m moving,” Jackson
said, “I’ll still be related to the athletic
program at the high school. These
junior high schools will serve as feeder
schools for high school athletics. We’ll
feed the athletes into the high school.”
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“Joel has been a mediocre wrestler.
He’s always full of surpises,” Penland
said. “He’s the kind of wrestler that
never quits and it was only time until
something like this made him a good
wrestler.”
O’Kelley is one of 15 participants in
the Cumming Park and Recreation
Department’s freestyle wrestling pro
gram. The wrestlers meet each Tues
day and Thursday evening to practice
and then travel to tournaments on Sat
urdays.
Hunting Results In
For Spring Season
The Department of Natural Re
sources, Game and Fish division has
released the results of the 1981 spring
turkey hunting season for wildlife man
agement areas in northeast Georgia.
Total turkey harvest (gobblers only)
was 52 on 7 management areas with
open seasons for hunting. Hunter suc
cess was over 13% for all areas com
bined. Both totals are the best ever
recorded for northeast Georgia and will
rank among the best for the entire
state. Top areas include Chattahoochee
WMA in White County with 15 turkeys
and 25% success, Lake Burton WMA in
Rabun County with 11 turkeys and
11.2% success. Warwoman WMA in
Rabun County with 8 turkeys and 26.7%
success, and Blue Ridge WMA in Lump
Successful Fishing May Depend On Silence
The guy who first wrote that “silence
is golden” was probably plagued with
noisy neighbors, but the same motto
applied to fishing is equally as perti
nent.
Fish can hear, both through normal
internal “ears” and by means of a
lateral line nerve system that detects
sound vibrations in the water. And
since water is a great magnifier of
sound, it makes sense that the less noise
you make, the better fishing will be.
Although many fishing boats built
today have sound-deadening features
such as carpet and insulation, many
smaller, less expensive craft don’t.
Some boats have silencing suggestions
for anglers who use boats in this cat
egory.
The first step is to identify things
which can bang against the boat hull
and make noise. Tackle boxes, fuel
“This is a new beginning for Forsyth
County,” Jackson said. “It was one of
the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.
I’ve grown close to these guys here and
to look them in the eye and tell them I’ll
be somewhere else was really hard.”
“I try to coach like I teach in the
classroom. I don’t like to coach through
fear. Caring for the athletic and individ
ual needs of my players is very impor
tant. I’m really excited about the new
junior high schools and the programs
there.”
“We’ll only offer football and basket
ball the first year,” Jackson said. “By
the second year we have to offer every
sport the high school offers. We’ll be
pretty busy. As far as the mascot goes,
we’re going to let the students decide
from a list of choices.”
+ + +
Also leaving the Bulldogs is Lee Mur
ray, boys track coach and defensive
line coach of the Bulldog football squad.
Murray, who has been with the Bull
dogs one year, will be taking the ath
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HIGH SCHOOL COACHING STAFF WILL LOSE THREE VARSITY AND ONE ASSISTANT COACH
...Jackson to Sooth Forsyth; Murray to Dawson Co; Simpson to Berkmar; Pastrick to Central Gwinnett
“We never know when these tourna
ments come up,” Penland said. “Some
times we find out about them on a
Tuesday and then prepare to go on
Saturday.”
“Saturday was a real joy. I could
have traveled 2,000 miles to watch that
kind of wrestling.”
Also, participating from Forsyth
County was Preston Estes. Estes re
ceived a second place award after
losing in the finals of the tournament.
kin, Union, and Fannin Counties with 8
turkeys and 8.4% success. Average
weight for turkeys harvested was 17.5
pounds.
According to wildlife biologist Kent
Kammermcyer, reascns for the suc
cessful season include higher turkey
populations present on most areas,
mild winter weather and good hunting
conditions throughout much of the
spring. Winter trapping and restocking
efforts in which 60 turkeys were stocked
in northeast Georgia is also resulting in
new wild turkey populations where
none have existed in the recent past.
Due to these efforts, within the next 3
years it is expected that 3 more man
agement areas will be open to turkey
hunting.
tanks and ice chests are prime candi
dates. They can be silenced by placing
them on pieces of carpet, or you can cut
small sections of carpet and glue them
to the bottom of the noisemakers.
An anchor tossed into a boat is always
underfoot and making unnecessary
noise. You can end this by building a
small, foam rubber-lined box in which
the weight and line will rest when not in
use. Design the box to slide under a seat
or dock.
The next time you’re on the water,
remember that silence in addition to
being golden also enhances your
fishing success.
Even after the noise problem is con
quered, many anglers are often frus
trated when they try to fish a new body
of water. It takes a while to find the
fish, and sometimes it can never be
done.
letic director job and head football
coach position at Dawson County High
School.
Dawson County, Forsyth’s neighbor
to the north, is a class A school and
Murray said Friday he is enthusiastic
about the move. “I want to go up there
and help them develop a really good
program. I’m very enthusiastic about
the move arjd I’ve met some super
people up there.”
Murray said his football team would
have approximately 30 on varsity and
25 on the junior varsity team.
“Randall Townley, the superinten
dent of schools, has been very cooper
ative with me. He has made some great
efforts to improve their facility and
their equipment and these are essential
for a first class program,” Murray
said.
“As athletic director, I’ll be con
cerned with their overall athletic pro
gram,” Murray said. “I’ve met with
some of the kids and they are very
enthusiastic. You just can’t find better
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THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, IMI
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Summer’s Here
As temperatures jumped over 90 de
grees in Cumming Saturday afternoon,
this young diver decided to stay cool as
he plunges into the water of the Cum
ming City Park’s swimming pool. The
local park and recreation department
opened the pool for the 1981 season
Saturday at 1 p.m. The park’s acquatic
director Dave Horton said approxi
Locating fish in unfamiliar waters
can be a formidable challenge. It’s like
finding the proverbial needle in the
haystack ... impossible without some
help. Fortunately, there’s plenty of help
available from local anglers.
Judging from the experiences of most
anglers, many point to tips when fishing
Cougars To Begin Practice
The North Georgia Cougars, a men’s
football team in Alpharetta, has an
nounced that practices will begin soon
in preparation for the July 11, 1981
opener against the Atlanta Cowboys.
The Cougars, who have featured up to
15 players from the Forsyth County
area, are members of the six-team
Georgia Football League. Practices
will be held on Sunday and Wednesdays
kids than the ones in this area of the
state.”
“I’m also interested in forming a
Tiger Booster Club to support the total
athletic program: football, basketball,
everything.”
+++
Ron Simpson, also with the Bulldog
coaching staff for one year, will be
leaving to coach football at Berkmar
High School in Lilbum.
Simpson coached the Bulldog golf
team to the 8-AAAA region
championship this year and also
coached the Bulldog offensive backs in
the 5-5 football season last year. Simp
son is the third football coach from last
year’s team to move, leaving head
coach Jim Cooper with only two return
ing assistants.
Berkmar High School is in 8-AAAA
( south sub-region, the one opposite the
Bulldog sub-region.
“I’ll be coaching another sport there,
but I don’t know what that will be yet,”
Simpson said. “I will be coaching foot
mately 250 people visited the pool Sat
urday. The pool will be open this
summer Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and from 7
to 9 p.m. On Thursday, Saturday and
Sunday the pool will be open from 1 to 5
p.m. only. (Sports photo by Scott Vaug
han)
unknown waters.
Your first stop in a new area should
be at a tackle store or a boat dock.
Afterall, their business depends upon
you being successful, and they are
places where local fishermen gather
each day.
at 7 p.m.
The Cougars will once again be led by
Ronnie Jackson at quarterback. Jack
son was the league’s top quarterback in
1980 passing for 21 touchdowns and
leading the team to a playoff bid.
Those interested in playing for the
Cougars should contact the league of
fice at 475-9606. The team plays a 10-
game schedule ending on Sept. 12,1981.
ball, and Berkmar has always had a
strong athletic program. One big deci
sion for the move is that I live about
three miles from the school, so I’ll be
much closer.”
+++
Raleigh Pastrick, who has served
under head basketball coach Phil
Meadows for two years as boys b-team
coach, has accepted the boys head
basketball coaching job at Central
Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville.
Pastrick coached the B-team at For
syth County to records of 7-9 and 8-5 in
1980 and 1981.
“I went in over there and they have a
lot of potential and a lot of good talent,”
Pastrick said. “They are in the 8-AAA
region and that is a very tough region
for basketball. Gainesville, Norcross,
Madison County, Hart County and a
bunch others are in that region.”
“I’ve already started spring basket
ball practice there and I’m impressed,”
Pastrick said. “They have what it takes
to be one of the top teams in the state. ”
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