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B
Section
May 14, 2020
High schools hopeful for summer sports training
Pickens coaches posting workouts, meeting with players online
With the abrupt nature with which spring sports
came to a halt, everyone’s immediate attention has
been to support those athletes whose seasons came
to an end.
The Dragons baseball, soccer, tennis, and track
teams were all showing promise when their year
was cut short. Now those senior athletes are
preparing to graduate virtually, and the question
turns to when will sports return in Pickens County.
The most recent press release from the GHSA
President Robin Hines shows that maybe there is
some optimism growing for a return to action. The
statement reads as follows:
“I just want to touch base with everyone al
though there is no concrete news that I can pro
vide. I am in the process of gathering as much
information as possible to narrow down a date that
we may be able to begin some type of face to face
work with our student athletes. We will be looking
at local, state and national information to attempt
to make the best decision going forward. I am
hopeful that we can implement a measured return
to training with guidance in June. All of the infor
mation needed to make such a decision is not
available but we are working toward this goal. So
cial distancing, reduced numbers of athletes and
coaches per session, disinfecting facilities as well
as standard hygiene practices will certainly be a
part of any return to sport training. Again, no de
cisions have been made at this time.
“I appreciate your patience, I know you are
ready to get back to normal and providing for your
athletes. Be safe and let me know if I can do any
thing for you,” said Robin Hines.
When asked about his thoughts on the current
status of sports in Pickens County, High School
Athletic Director Chris Williams stated, “Our first
concern will always be the safety and well-being
of our student athletes. We will follow all of the
guidelines set by the GHSA, and hopefully we will
be back in action soon. Our coaches have been
meeting with players digitally, posting online
workouts, and continuing to promote our athletics
programs remotely. I would just ask that every
continue to remain patient and please avoid using
all High School Athletic Facilities until we are
given the green light from the GHSA.”
While the future of athletics remains up in the
air there is one thing that is for certain, the athletes,
parents, and fans of Pickens County Athletics will
be ready for a return to normalcy this fall.
PHS Bands wrap up the year Zoom-style
Submitted by PHS Band
The band held its annual
Band Banquet virtually on
May 8 and had great atten
dance for having to use a
new format due to the pan
demic. Awards given out
at the banquet included band
letters, recognition of All-
State Band, District Honor
Band, and other awards.
The band video was de
signed by Caroline Jordan
and we appreciate her for all
of her hard work on the
video.
The Pickens County
Board of Commissioners
sponsored the class awards
and The Fastest Dog Inc.
awarded a computer to a stu
dent. Individual awards in
cluded:
Band Booster Award
from the National Band
Association:
Cindi Lowe and Mandy
Cantrell
Fastest Dog Scholarship
Winner:
Victor Ibarra
PHS Band Director Michael Oubre, top left, leads the virtual Band Banquet on Zoom.
Most improvement
Symphonic Band
WW (Woodwind): Piper
Duncan and Olivia
Matthews
Brass: David Gossett
Perc: Rebekah Nichols
Family Oriented
Elect Daniel Reeves for
Tax Commissioner
dreevesfortc@gmail.com
Most Outstanding
Symphonic Band
WW: Paige Klein
Brass: Addie Nichols
Perc.: Summer Jones
Most improvement
Concert Band
WW: Ryaen Cantrell
and
Theresa Dinh
Brass: Chase Lowe
Perc: Sophia Wittekind
Most Outstanding Concert
Band
WW: Haiden Bain
Brass: Will Winn
Perc: Nola Chester
Most improvement
marching band:
WW: Emilee Gonzalez
Brass: Troy Twyman
Perc: Seth Gleason
Continued on Page *B
PHS swimmer wins regional
Most Positive Athlete
Congratulations to
Michelle Pickett for winning
Regional Swim and Dive
Most Positive Athlete. She is
AT HOME
LEARNING
ACTIVITY
OUTER GERMS
Directions: Mix some
lotion with glitter in your
bowl. Put some of the
"germs" on your hands
and rub together. Then
shake hands with a
family member or touch
a toy to see how germs
can spread! Now practice
good hand washing with
warm water and soap to
clean all of the germs off!
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS
OF NORTH GEORGIA
PICKENS COUNTY
MATERIALS:
Small amount of glitter
Small amount of hand lotion
Small bowl
PHS swimmer Michelle Pickett is the Regional Swim and
Dive Most Positive Athlete.
/
\M/
9
^ Nearly 80 percent of
illness-causing
Z germs are spread by
3 your hands.
.* QUOTE:
"The most common \
mistake when
washing your hands
is forgetting to do it
in the first place"
- Dr. Venkatesh
the second swimmer from
PHS to win this prestigious
award.
Michelle encompasses
what an outstanding positive
athlete is. She has traversed
her own adversities with
grace and a positive outlook.
She also inspires the people
around her to be more, work
harder, and stay positive. She
is a joy to be around and an
excellent athlete who never
gives up. She is also a
straight A student at PHS and
in the top 10 of her class.
Positive Athlete Georgia
is a movement by high-char
acter professional athletes
tied to Georgia professional
and collegiate sports teams to
promote the benefits of “pos
itivity” to young athletes.
Hines Ward is one of the
main founders and
spokesman for Positive Ath
lete Georgia.
Michelle will now move
on to the state level competi
tion. She will have the oppor
tunity to be awarded one of
several scholarships and re
ceive a prime internship at
many of this award’s spon
sors.
“On behalf of Pickens
High School I wish to con
gratulate you on winning the
2019-2020 NW GA Positive
Athlete Award for Girls
swimming and Diving,” said
PHS Principal Chris Wallace.
“We all recognize and appre
ciate your hard work in and
out of the classroom. You
truly represent what it means
to be a Dragon. Thank you
for all that you do to repre
sent our school in a positive
way.”
Sports
Fanatic
By
Tommy
Gartrell
Columnist
Falcons
schedule looks
painful
As if watching the At
lanta Falcons have not
been painful enough over
the past two or three years,
the NFL released sched
ules for the 2020 football
season during this past
week, and by the look of
the sixteen game slate, At
lanta fans could continue
to suffer.
In addition to the NFC
South rivals including the
always competitive Saints
and resurgent Buccaneers,
the Falcons must navigate
the “black and blue divi
sion” (NFC North), the
AFC West and a trip to Big
D. By the look of this
schedule, you would think
that Atlanta had won the
conference last year in
stead of a horribly disap
pointing 8-8 record.
Any optimization about
the team could easily be
dashed during the first four
weeks of the season and
before the Dirty Birds play
a single conference game.
The season and home
opener on September 13th
pits Atlanta versus Seattle,
and that game is followed
by the Cowboys, Bears
and Packers.
If the Falcons can man
age a 2-2 or better record
by the start of conference
play against Carolina in
Atlanta on October 11th, a
playoff berth would not be
such a far fetched notion,
but they still must play
Tampa Bay and New Or
leans twice with trips to
Minnesota, LA (Chargers),
and defending Super Bowl
champion Kansas City
sprinkled into the mix.
If Atlanta posts a win
ning record with this
schedule, I would expect a
high seeding and home
field in the playoffs be
cause of head to head
tiebreakers with several di
visional favorites like the
Cowboys (NFC East) Sea-
hawks (NFC West), and
Packers (NFC North).
On the other hand, we
are talking about the Fal
cons. How many times
have fans been seduced by
hype only to be disillu
sioned after kickoff? From
the schedule, it looks like
another painful season for
the ATL.
•Seahawks @ Falcons
9/13/20
•Falcons @ Cowboys
9/20/20
•Bears @ Falcons
9/27/20
•Falcons @ Packers
10/5/20
•Panthers @ Falcons
10/11/20
•Falcons @ Vikings
10/18/20
•Lions @ Falcons
10/25/20
•Falcons @ Panthers
10/29/20
•Broncos @ Falcons
11/8/20
•Bye 11/15/20
•Falcons @ Saints
11/22/20
•Raiders @ Falcons
11/29/20
•Saints @ Falcons
12/6/20
•Falcons @ Chargers
12/13/20
•Buccaneers @ Falcons
12/20/20
•Falcons @ Chiefs
12/27/20
•Falcons @ Buccaneers
1/3/21