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PAGE 2B - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS - APRIL 2, 2008
Auto Racing
2007 World Crown winner Paul Kelley gets wet weather, and will be run Saturday, April 5.
in a few practice laps Saturday at Peach State Photo by Brandon Reed
Speedway. The event was postponed due to
Peach State Event Rescheduled
Due to relentless rain, Georgia Asphalt Series
Officials cancelled the March 29 event at Peach
State Speedway. The race has been rescheduled
for Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m. All tickets and pit
passes will be honored.
“We had 30 GAS Series Late Models on
hand and a pit full of local cars and we hated
to reschedule the race, but we really had no
choice," said Vince Whitmire, Peach State
promoter and GAS series director. “We wel
come other Pro Late Model drivers who were
unable to make it this weekend to join us next
Saturday."
Saturday’s event will also include racing in all
the five local classes including the Outlaw Late
Models, Super Trucks, Sportsman, Mini Stocks
and Bandits.
Adult grandstand tickets will be only $12.
— Commerce Looks To Stop Skid
Cont. from Page IB
shut out 11-0.
Ward had a single for
Commerce. Cohen Cooke
recorded the loss, pitching
2 2/3 innings, allowing eight
runs, and striking out two.
Hebron Academy
Commerce rolled into Hebron
Friday looking for redemption,
but fell just short.
The game started with a
two run top of the first for
Commerce, while Hebron
answered with one run in
the bottom of the inning. The
Tigers moved a little further
out in front in the second, put
ting another run on the board
while holding the Lions at bay.
Hebron roared back in the bot
tom of the third, putting two
runs on the board to tie the
game.
The score would stay tied
until the top of the sixth, when
Commerce moved up by one,
but in the bottom, the Lions
again tied the score. Then, after
keeping the Tigers from scor
ing in the top of the seventh,
Hebron pushed a run across
in the bottom of the inning to
win 5-4.
Coming up
► @ Prince
Avenue, April 3,
5:30 p.m.
*- @ Jefferson,
April 8,5:30 p.m.
► @ Social
Circle, April 10,
5:30 p.m.
C o o k ,
Green, and
Allen each
went 2-for-4
at the plate.
Jake Flint,
Haynes Paul
Ford, Chase
Barnett and
Streetman all
contributed
hits.
Green recorded the loss,
pitching a third of an inning,
giving up one run while strik
ing out one batter.
“Last week was tough,"
said coach Walt Massey. “We
played really hard against
Athens Academy and Hebron
Academy and had a great
chance to win both games.
Against Athens Christian, we
looked very disinterested and
did not represent ourselves or
our school very well."
Massey says the team has
some work ahead of it.
“I don’t believe adversity
builds character as much as
it reveals it," he said. “If I’m
right about that, then we are
really going to find out a lot
about ourselves in the next few
weeks because nothing we are
about to do is going to be easy.
We will continue to work hard
in practice. We will put forth
more effort to compete harder
in games, and we will get back
to details as we move into the
meat of our schedule."
Commerce was next sched
uled to face Lakeview Academy
on Tuesday. Results of that
game were unavailable at press
time.
— East Jackson Ready To Face Commerce
Cont. from Page IB
Fields in the 800-meters, Dylan
Kemp in the 300-meter hur
dles and Kyle Wood in the
3200-meters.
Next up for the Eagles was a
trip to Oglethorpe County for
the Gary Matthews Invitational.
The girls finished seventh out
of nine teams, while the boys
finished fifth out of ten teams.
Placers for the girls included
Watkins in the pole vault and
in the 100-meter hurdles, Sherri
Blalock in the 1600-meters, the
800-meters, and the 4x400,
Thomas in the 400-meters and
the 4x400, Deardroff in the
100-meters hurdles, Murphy
in the 300-meter hurdles and
the 4x400, Bridgett Niles in
the 4x400, and Powell in the
3200-meters.
Placers for the boys included
Zach Gilbert in the triple jump,
Kaharie Beasley in the high
jump, the 800-meters, and the
4x400, Damron in the pole
vault, Banks in the 1600-meters
and the 3200-meters, Mize in
the 400-meters and the 4x400,
Hall in the 300-meter hurdles,
Sewell in the 4x400, and
Mahone in the 4x400.
“We are battling a few injuries,
but are still getting better," said
coach Steve Collins. “Times are
still going down, and we are
starting to get the field event to
catch up a little bit."
The Eagles were scheduled to
host Rabun County and Banks
County on Tuesday. Results
from that meet were unavail
able at press time.
Next up for East Jackson
is another home meet, as the
Eagles will host Commerce and
Dawson County on Thursday.
Start time is scheduled for 4:30
p.m.
FOR THE BEST BUYS, READ THE CLASSIFIED ADS
Hersey Tragedy Serves As A Reminder
June 11, 1950 was a day that
should have ended with a win
ner, a happy crowd, and a nice
Georgia summer sunset.
Instead, it ended in horror and
tragedy.
The National Stock Car Racing
Association, or NSCRA for short,
was running a 100-lap event at
Atlanta’s famed Lakewood
Speedway, a track dubbed “The
Indianapolis Of The South."
The NSCRA group raced out of
Atlanta, so the Lakewood event
was a “home game" for the series.
The series actually pre-dated
NASCAR, having crowned cham
pions as far back as 1946.
It was a hot, dusty day, with the
heavy stock cars kicking up a ton
of dust at the one-mile fairgrounds
track. From all reports, it had
been a fairly uneventful event.
But on lap 81, all that changed.
John Edward “Skimp" Hersey
was one of the drivers chasing
Smith around Lakewood that day.
The 37-year-old driver from St.
Augustine, Fla. had been a regu
lar competitor on Bill France’s
NASCAR modified circuit, win
ning at Jacksonville in 1948.
Hersey had stepped away from
NASCAR to run this NSCRA
event, driving a car for Mack
Richardson, as a teammate to Bill
Snowden.
Hersey slid his car off into
Lakewood’s treacherous first turn
when disaster struck. For whatev
er reason, Hersey’s car got away
from him, tumbling side over side
into the turn.
Many drivers in those days
would keep an army gas can in
their cars when they raced at
Lakewood. This was so if they
ran out of gas on the backstretch,
they could pull off and put enough
in to get back around to refuel.
With the lake in the center of the
track, anybody who stopped on
Down
The
Stretch
BY BRANDON REED
the far side of the track was pretty
much stranded until the end of
the day.
When Hersey’s car became air
borne, the lid came off of the gas
can, coating the inside of his car
with fuel.
As the car came to rest, some
thing sparked, igniting the fuel,
and turning Hersey’s car into an
inferno.
The accident occurred right in
front of the grandstands, which
were situated at the entrance of
the turn. An estimated crowd of
15,000 people watched in horror,
as flames roared from Hersey’s
car.
Suddenly, disoriented and in
flames, Hersey emerged from the
burning car. He stumbled from
the wreck, and sat down on the
track, still burning as the crowd
screamed for someone to help.
The closest person to Hersey
was a photographer for an
Atlanta newspaper (which is still
being published today). The pho
tographer moved out onto the
track, and had been taking pho
tos of the accident when Hersey
emerged from the flames.
He never went to help. He just
continued taking photos. They
would run in gruesome sequence
on the front page of the next day’s
paper.
Finally, someone reached
Hersey and managed to get the
fire on him put out. But it was too
late. He would be transported to
Grady Hospital, where he died
one day later.
The race was not restarted. Jack
Smith was declared the winner.
The photographer, according to
witness reports, had to be per
sonally escorted by police from
the track. That was because the
15,000 in attendance had watched
him standing on the track, shoot
ing photos of Hersey burning to
death, and doing nothing to help
the ailing driver.
Had the crowd gotten their
hands on the photographer, they
likely would have torn him to
pieces.
In hindsight, there probably was
little he could have done to save
Hersey. With a fire that intense,
and with the lack of fire protec
tion drivers had in those days,
Hersey’s fate was probably sealed
the moment the fire sparked.
But damn, it would have been
nice if the photographer had at
least made the effort.
It makes one wonder what could
have been different if, instead of
focusing on the photos, he would
have done what many of us would
like to think we would do in a
similar situation, and rushed to
the aid of his fellow man.
Fortunately today, things are dif
ferent. Photographers seeking
“thrill shots" are not the norm.
There is a human side to every
story.
There was one to Skimp Hersey
as well. He left behind a wife and a
child in St. Augustine. Somehow,
that side got lost on that hot June
day in Atlanta.
Let’s hope we never lose sight
of that again.
•Brandon Reed is a reporter
for MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Contact him at brandon@main-
streetnews.com.
Park and Rec Swimming
Swim Team Registration Set for Theirs.
Registration for the Tiger Shark Swim Team and
the Tiger Shark “Minnows" will be taken at the
Commerce Civic Center on Thursday, April 3, 2008.
Parent meeting at 6:00 p.m. with registration to fol
low. Children ages 5 and up, who already know how
to swim are eligible for this activity.
The Tiger Shark “Minnows" is the entry level of
the competitive swim program and is designed for
5 and 6 year olds. Team members will train most
weekdays with competition in local, dual swim
meets being optional. Participants must be five
years old by May 31.
Cost to register is $70 for Commerce City resi
dents and $90 for non-residents. Birth certificates
are required at registration if not already on file from
a previous activity at the Recreation Department.
Additional cost may be incurred for meet entry
fees and team swim suits.
Outdoors
Public Hearings For Hunting Regs. Scheduled
The Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, Wildlife
Resources Division (WRD) will
hold four public hearings to
receive input on proposed chang
es to the hunting regulations for
the 2008-2009 season.
The purpose of the proposed
regulationchanges is to manage
Georgia’s game birds and game
animals according to sound prin
ciples of wildlife management
and to meet public objectives for
use of these renewable natural
resources. Those interested are
encouraged to bring these hear
ings to the attention of others
who also may wish to participate.
Proposed changes that WRD
will address include regulations
related to dove hunting season
and hunting opportunities on
new Wildlife Management Areas
and on State Parks.
Members of the general public
will have an opportunity to pro
vide input at four WRD-sponsored
public hearings, including one on
Monday, Apriil 21 at the Georgia
Mountain Center in Gainesville.
Any participant at the hearing
may present data, make a state
ment or comment or offer a view
point or argument, either orally or
in writing.
Statements should be concise
to permit everyone an opportu
nity to speak.
Participants are required to reg
ister upon arrival and notify the
registering official of their intent
to give a statement. Those unable
to attend the hearings may submit
statements electronically through
the WRD website at www.gohunt-
georgia.com or by mail prior to
close of business May 2. Written
statements should be mailed to the
Georgia Department of Natural
Resources Wildlife Resources
Division, Game Management
Section, Attn: John Bowers, 2070
U.S. Highway 278, S.E., Social
Circle, Georgia 30025.
These meetings are accessible
to people with physical disabili
ties.
Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary
aids should be directed to John
Bowers at the above address by
April 9.
The Board of Natural Resources
will consider the proposed chang
es and any comments received
during the public hearing process
May 28 at 9 a.m. at the DNR
Boardroom at 2 Martin Luther
King, Jr. Drive, SE, Suite 1252,
Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information on the
scheduled public hearings or to
view the proposed regulation
changes, visit www.gohuntgeor-
gia.com.
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