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PAGE 2C PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 13. 2004
Continued from 1C
PHS Baseball
Racing Views
Driver “Fountain of Youth”
on the Horizon?
were achieved, the game was not
critical except for pride and these
guys deserved it. Parents, siblings
and fans had gathered to shout and
hurrah this senior class as each
player was escorted onto the field
by their families. It was a Kodak
and Kleenex moment for sure. To
see these guys come to this point in
their lives was special. But then
they had to play a ball game. The
Rebels must have been intimidated
either by the number of seniors we
have or home field advantage or
maybe it was the surprise starting
pitcher’s stuff. Seldom used senior,
Chris Padgett, showed some real
savvy for four complete innings
allowing only two base hits and one
home run. This quiet young man
struck out three Fannin batters,
pitched out of a second inning jam
and looked ready for anything. Hur
ray for the good guys. Next, the
coaching staff went with Tim Red-
din to work the middle of the game
and he responded with four strike
outs. Fannin did manage two runs
another high school in Pickens
County as well? Before long, the
portable classrooms will spring up
all over the campus of PHS, and
you can imagine the traffic night
mare that will take place along
Dragon Drive if another 300 stu
dent increase in enrollment takes
place.
Will Pickens be able to compete
at the AAAA level if they are
forced to move up? I don’t know,
but right now there are already 45
Class AAAA teams competing in
the four northern regions of the
state, with a couple having 12 and
13 team regions with some real
powerhouses. While we’ve had
some good athletes, I can’t say that
the ratio of students who compete
in athletics in Pickens County com
pares favorably to other areas.
While I’m talking about big
regions, the GHSA seriously needs
to address the inequity of regions
with five or six teams still sending
four schools to the state playoffs,
the same number that regions with
12 and 13 teams get to send. That is
not right! They have to balance out
the regions better, or allow those
with more schools to send more
teams and those with less to send
less. I also think they need to add
one more classification. There will
be 391 high schools in the state,
and if there were six classifications
divided equally, that would make
roughly 65 teams in each classifica
tion, or an average of eight per
4-year-old T-Ball
Mountainside Pediatrics Braves - 4-
0
James C. Boling & Assoc. Cardi
nals - 4-0
Pickens County Progress Marlins -
4- 0
Burnt Mtn. Auto Wash Rangers - 4-
0
Woodhaven Realty Angels - 4-0
5- 6 Girls T-Ball
Moore Furniture Co. Inc. Marlins -
4- 0
Dairy Queen Diamondbacks - 4-0
Jasper Banking Co. Angels - 4-0
Roland Tire Braves - 4-0
Jr. Mite Girls
Sharp Mtn. Graphic Diamondbacks
- 1-1
ETC Cubs - 4-0
Pueblo Grill Angels - 2-2
Garner Ace Hardware Athletics - 2-
3
Jones Oil Cardinals - 0-4
Mite Girls
Regions Bank Indians -4-1
Eric S. Pryor, DMD Tigers - 2-2
M&M Meats Diamondbacks - 0-5
Buhl Orthodontics Rangers - 0-4
Midget Girls
Woodhaven Realty Twins - 3-1
Crescent Bank Angels - 2-2
Turner Tire Mets - 1-3
Jr. Girls
Jasper Forestry & Chipping Angels
-5-1
Collins/Cotton States Ins. Marlins -
0-6
5- 6 Boys T-Ball
in the sixth to tie up the game, but
this guy pitched well also. The final
pitcher of the game for the home
team was the before-mentioned
Stanfield. This diminutive hurler,
who looks like he just stepped off a
California beach, calmly struck out
the only batter he faced to end the
seventh after the Rebels had added
one to their total. Fannin took a 4-3
lead into the bottom of the final
frame where the Dragons simply
ran out of gas. The emotions of the
day, the unusual line-up and the
relief of the playoffs drained the life
out of the green and black bats on
this day. Hence, the reason I didn’t
mention them much. But who
cares? The seniors got their day, the
season was completed at an above
500 level and we are going to
Franklin County next Friday for the
state playoffs. Thanks for your
attention all season long. I’ll talk to
you at least one more time and
hopefully more than that. See ya
around town.
region for each of the eight regions
in each classification, with one hav
ing 9. That, however, makes too
much sense so it will never get con
sidered by the politicos that run the
GHSA.
Would we be better off having
two schools? I don’t know that
either. It would give twice as many
kids in the community a chance to
continue to participate on a team or
squad, and I do know that’s a good
thing. Would the schools be equally
divided to be in the same classifica
tion? It might be a better thing if
they weren’t.
It sure would be nice to get back
to the mountain school league, but I
don’t know if that will ever happen
again. If Pickens did have two
schools, they’d be considerably
smaller than both Gilmer and Fan
nin if divided equally. Dawson,
Lumpkin and Union may grow big
ger soon, especially Dawson and
Lumpkin, but I don’t see them
catching up with Pickens if it
remains a one school district any
time soon in enrollment.
Maybe the Georgia High School
Association will skew the numbers
around and create another classifi
cation level, and it will work out
advantageously for PHS. We’ll just
have to wait and see, but in the
meantime, the question of a new
high school in Pickens County will
be one that has to be addressed
before long. What will your choice
be? Mine is for another school.
Mullinax Building Syst. Dodgers -
5-0
Nightingale Sitting Service Tigers -
4-0
Jasper Tire Co. Yankees - 4-0
Williams Hardwood Floors Cardi
nals - 5-0
Animal Medical Clinic Cubs - 5-0
Ralph Fitts Const. Braves - 5-0
Quizno’s Subs Royals - 4-0
Jr. Mite Boys
N. Ga. Cell/Cingular Wire Braves -
2-1
Collins/Cotton States Ins. Cardinals
- 3-0
Lawson Chevrolet Marlins - 1-1-1
Alfa Ins. Pirates - 1-1-1
ETE Enterprises Indians - 2-2
M&M Meats Athletics - 0-4
Mite Boys
Carl McCurdy, MD Braves - 4-0
M. Kown & Century 21 Rangers -
2-2
Watkins & Carver Memorials Red
Sox-3-0-1
Jasper Family Steakhouse Yankees
- 1-2-1
Jasper Computer Services Cubs - 1-
3
Bank of North Ga. Reds - 0-4
Midget Boys
Community Bank Twins - 1-5
Mtn. City Auto Parts Rangers - 3-2-
1
Jr. Boys
Coca-Cola Bottling Yankees - 2-2
Stephens Grading & Hauling - 1-2-
1
By Jumper Cable Man
On Saturday night May 8th
the United Sprint Car Series visited
Senoia Speedway in Senoia, GA for
the first time this season. During
the program an autograph session
was held and most of the Sprint Car
drivers came into the crowd and
signed anything the fans, and espe
cially young fans, would put in
front of them to be signed. While
this was going on I had a chance to
take the wireless microphone and
interview these drivers while they
continued signing.
With most of the older drivers I
have interviewed them enough to
know what they are going to say
and what they are going to talk
about but lately we have had a new
crop of drivers racing with the
series which we are calling the
“Florida Fountain of Youth’’. These
veteran (they are only rookies in
our series) drivers have been racing
for years in quarter-midgets, mini
sprints, and stock cars. They range
in age from 16 years old to 22 years
old.
When asked what he would be
doing if he wasn't racing on this
(Saturday) night, Troy DeCaire of
Tampa, FL replied, “I'd be going to
my senior prom. My high school is
having the senior prom tonight.”
When I asked R.J. Johnson how old
he is and what his goals in racing
were for this year his answer was,
“I just turned 16 and I want to win
the Rookie of the Year with the
USCS this year.”
Former Rookie of the Year win
ner Ben Bassinger when asked
about a girlfriend said, “My girl
friend is in that trailer (referring to
his Sprint Car). I don't have time
for anything but racing at this
point.”
Have you ever wonder why you
don't read about racers having trou
ble with the law like you do some
of the players of the stick-and-ball
sports? They don't have time to get
into trouble. They are either driv
ing the race car, towing it to and
from the race track, or they are
working on the car. They isn't
enough time in the day for getting
into trouble. They are committed to
racing and don't veer off course.
Many of these young drivers can
see themselves in future Nextel
Cup, Busch Grand National, or
Craftsman Truck rides. They know
that if the don't keep their reputa
tions clean they don't stand a
chance of winning one of these
rides. The corporate dollars aren't
spent for drivers who will not give a
good accounting of themselves at
all times. Sometimes they let a
less-than-spotless candidate though
but not often. They check the back
grounds of these drivers before they
ever offer them a contract.
The youth movement has been
gathering steam for several years
now as the current Cup and Grand
National drivers start retiring and
moving away from the every week
end racing grind that they have
been living. The new drivers will
be moving up and filling their
shoes. This is know as the A, B, C's
of racing. ARC A is the first step,
then they move to the NASCAR
Busch series and then on to
NASCAR Cup racing.
One of the latest to start his A, B,
C's will be Ray Cook of Brasstown,
NC who started his racing career at
Sugar Creek Raceway in Blue
Ridge, GA. Cook will be getting a
test in an ARCA car the middle of
this week and, if everything goes
well, he will be okayed to race in
the ARCA series and will get to
start some races in a Ray Evernham
car under the watchful eyes of his
mentor, Bill Elliott. Cook, who has
been a top finisher in the Extreme
Dirtcar Series (formerly Hav-A-
Tampa Racing Series) for a number
of years. Look for Cook to move
quickly though the ARCA Series
and into Busch and Cup Series. His
only uphill road is learning how to
race an asphalt race car and not a
dirt race car.
In a conversation with Cook's
former car owner, “Brownie”
Brown of Young Harris, GA it was
evident in his voice how proud he
was of his young driver getting the
opportunity to show his skills and
get the fame and fortune Brown
knows he can attain. The Cook and
Brown team has been one on the
top teams in dirt racing for a num
ber of years now and as Cook
moves on to bigger series maybe
we will see Brown imparting his
knowledge, wisdom, and help on
another young driver from this area
of the country. Let's hope that we
will see this happen.
These “young guns” in racing
will be the drivers we will be
watching for years to come on the
television and at the tracks. Most
of the drivers who will be coming
up will need the knowledge that
comes from being there before and
knowing how to develop these driv
ers into winners both on the track
and off of it. Owners like Brown
know how to obtain the sponsor
ships that are so needed in order to
make a living from racing and most
young drivers don't have the con
nections to obtain these most need
dollars to make their traveling pro
grams work.
This week the racing will start
on Friday night with a full racing
program at Sugar Creek Raceway in
Blue Ridge, GA. Saturday night
the dirt racers will make their way
to North Geogia Raceway in
Chatsworth, GA and to Dixie
Speedway in Woodstock, GA. The
asphalt races will have Lanier
National Speedway in Gainesville,
GA and Senoia Speedway in
Senoia, GA to fulfill their need for
speed. The United Sprint Car
Series will be racing at Lancaster
Speedway in Lancaster, SC on Sat
urday night.
If you have a question or com
ment you can reach us P.O. Box
1522, Woodstock, GA 30188 or by
e-mail at Jcableman@aol.com.
Russell Thomas Breaks Through At
Sugar Creek Raceway
by Larry Sams
(Blue Ridge, GA, May 09, 2004)
Fast time of 14.47 seconds was not
enough for David Payne of Murphy,
NC to hold the hungry-for-a-win
Russell Thomas of Morganton, GA
at bay for long. Thomas broke from
the drop of the green flag and raced
side-by-side with Payne down the
front straight and through turns one
and two before grabbing the lead
and holding on for 30 caution-free
laps. Payne, who has handed
Thomas a couple of close second
place finishes this year at Sugar
Creek Raceway in Blue Ridge, GA,
was unable to pull any tricks out
which could move him to the front
during this race.
Most of the racing for position was
between the Chastain brothers,
Shawn and Johnny of Murphy, NC
as they battled with Doug English
of Clayton, GA for the entire race.
Shawn took third, behind Thomas
and Payne, followed by English and
then brother Johnny in fifth.
Fourteen cars in the Sportsman
(Limited Late Model) class all
chased fast qualifier Bobby Painter
of Morganton, GA but to no avail as
used his 15.87 second qualifying
time to shoot from the pole position
to the front and held everyone off
to the end. The end almost didn't
come fast enough for Painter as he
broke both a front and rear wheel
several laps before the end of the
race. The race was slowed five
times with caution flags. The first
occurred when Kevin Bradshaw of
Hiawassee, GA stalled in turn one
on lap two. On lap 10 Johnathan
Davenport of Blairsville, GA blew
the engine coming off of turn two.
On lap 12 Johnny Parris of
Chatsworth, GA hit the inside wall
coming off turn four and then on
the restart Trig Parris of Epworth,
GA hit the outside wall coming off
turn two and slammed into Devan
Dilbeck and Jason Early both of
Copperhill, TN. The final caution
came out on lap 15 as Dilbeck
rolled to a stop off turn four.
The Ecomony Hobby division saw
Brian Loudermilk of Turtletown,
TN take the win. Second place
went to Ken Godfrey followed in
third by Kenneth Burns both of
Woodstock, GA.
The Modified Hobby class saw
Randy McConnell of Talking Rock,
GA take the checkered flag but was
protested and he refused to tear
down. The refused protest then
moved Arlan Ledford of
Hayesville, NC to the top spot fol
lowed by Tim Cochran of Sugar
Creek, GA in second.
The Crusier feature was won by
the team of Travis and Kimberly
Shirley of Dawsonville, GA fol
lowed in second by the team of
Johnathan Bohannon and Kyle
Everett of Blairsville, GA and the
team of Bobby Norris and Jack
Kendrix of Morganton, GA in third.
Another exciting action-packed
full racing program will be held
this Friday night, May 14th at the
3/8 mile dirt oval located just West
of Highway 515 on Boardtown
Road in Blue Ridge, GA.
Ed Busby
Sales Associate
ESTES REAL ESTATE CO.
81 South Main St. • Jasper, GA
Office: 706-692-2845
Fax: 770-735-2908
#1018 - 13 Gorgeous
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13.0 ACRES
Nettes’ Basketball Camp
Date: June 7 - June 11
Time: Session 1: 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. — upcoming 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th graders.
Session 2: 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. — upcoming 5 th , 6 th , 7 th , 8 th graders.
Place: Pickens High School Gym
Cost: A fee of $75 will be charged. Included in the cost will be a basketball,
Camp T-shirt.
Staff: Pickens High School Coaching Staff and High School Varsity Players.
Purpose
The purpose of the Nettes Basketball Camp is to teach and develop basketball skills in
every phase of the game. The daily program will consist of fundamental sessions, free
throw, one on one, three on three, super shooter contest, lectures and games.
Additionally, but just as important, the purpose of our basketball camp is to help develop
attitudes, and we hope a burning desire to become a top player. We are trying to better
basketball players for Pickens County. This will be a complete week of basketball and
fun for all.
Health Information
I hereby state that my child is physically fit and has my permission to participate in all
camp activities. I also grant permission to have my child treated by a physician if
necessary.
Insurance Company
Policy #
Parent’s signature
Nettes Basketball Camp Application
Name
Address
City
State Zip_
Name of parent
Home phone
Work phone
Age Date of Birth_
Grade next year
T-shirt size
(Youth or Adult)
send to:
Nettes Basketball Camp
c/o Donnie Byrom
Pickens High School
500 Dragon Drive
Jasper, Ga. 30143
For more information Call:
706-253-1810 Office or
770-893-1277 Home
Dragons Basketball Camp
Date: June 14 - June 18
Time: Session 1: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. - upcoming 5 th , 6 th , 7 th , 8 th graders.
Session 2: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. — upcoming 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th graders.
Place: Pickens High School Gym
Cost: A fee of $75 will be charged. Included in the cost will be a basketball, and
Camp T-shirt.
Staff: Pickens High School Coaching Staff and High School Varsity Players.
Purpose
The purpose of the Dragons Basketball Camn is to teach and develop basketball skills
in every phase of the game. The daily program will consist of fundamental sessions, free
throw, one on one, three on three, super shooter contest, lectures and games.
Additionally, but just as important, the purpose of our basketball camp is to help develop
attitudes, and we hope a burning desire to become a top player. We are trying to better
basketball players for Pickens County. This will be a complete week of basketball and
fun for all.
Health Information
I hereby state that my child is physically fit and has my permission to participate in all
camp activities. I also grant permission to have my child treated by a physician if
necessary.
Insurance Company
Policy #
Parent’s signature_
Dragons Basketball Camp Application
Name
Address
City_
State Zip_
Name of parent
Home phone
Work phone
Age Date of Birth_
Grade next year
T-shirt size
_(Youth or Adult)
send to:
Dragons Basketball Camp
c/o Harold Culbreth
Pickens High School
500 Dragon Drive
Jasper, Ga. 30143
For more information Call:
706-253-1810 Office
770-893-8282 Cell
706-253-8282 Home
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Continued from 1C
Which Way To Go
Rec. Dept. Update