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PAGE 2B - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS - MAY 28, 2008
Sport Shorts And Rec News
Auto Racing
Recreation Swimming
The American Veterans Memorial
Park Aquatics Center will be open
to the public, through Friday, Aug.
1. Weather permitting, the pool
will be open Mondays through
Saturdays from 1 until 5 p.m.
and closed on Sundays. Daily
admission is $1.50 for pre-school
through high school youth and $3
for adults. Season passes for indi
viduals and families are available.
The pool is available for private
rentals on Saturday evenings in
June and July. Call the office at
706-335-3236.
There is no wading pool. Young
children not potty trained must
wear air-tight rubber pants or dia
pers designed especially for swim
ming. All children 8 and under
must be supervised by an indi
vidual 16 or older.
You must wear a swimsuit to
enter the pool.
Swimming Clubs
The Tiger Shark Swim Club is
currently taking registrations.
The club is composed of two
divisions.
The “Minnows” group is designed
for 5 and 6 year olds and functions
as the entry-level activity of the
swim team. To participate, a child
must turn 5 prior to June 1 and
must have successfully completed
swim lessons. Entry into North
Georgia Swim League competi
tion is optional.
The swim team includes youth
ages 7-18 who know how to swim.
Participants must be 7 prior to
June 1. Entry into North Georgia
Swim League competition and
the GRPA District Swim Meet
is optional. Team members also
have the opportunity to qualify for
the GRPA State Swim Meet.
Registration fee for both groups is
$70 for Commerce residents, and
$90 for non-residents. Deadline to
register is May 30.
Additional expense will be
incurred for meet entry fees. The
purchase of team swimsuits is
optional.
Swimming Classes
The swim instruction program
at the Veterans Memorial Park
Aquatic Center this year for 3 and
4 year olds will be June 16-20 with
daily one-hour classes beginning
at 9:45 a.m. Registration is open
on a “first come” basis. The fee is
$40 for Commerce residents, and
$60 for non-residents.
Two separate eight-day sessions
are available for children ages
5-12 who do not know how to
swim. The first session is June
2-11 on weekdays only, and the
second session will follow June
30-July 10 on weekdays only.
Daily starting time is 9:45 a.m.
for a one-hour class. Registration
is open on a “first come” basis.
The registration fee is $50 for
Commerce residents, and $70 for
non-residents.
Water Aerobics
Offered At Rec. Dept.
This Commerce Rec. Department
activity is a water exercise class for
adult men and women in gen
eral, but it is particularly benefi
cial to individuals with arthritis,
muscular disease, osteoporosis,
heart disease and recovery from
joint replacement as well as other
disabling injuries. Water aerobics
strengthens all muscles and joints
without the stress, stiffness and
soreness which accompany land
exercise programs. Workouts will
require participants to use their
arms, legs, hips and neck and will
elevate the heart rate through the
buoyancy of the water.
Experienced water aerobics
instructor Sharon Pruitt will lead
the class on Mondays, Wednesday,
and Fridays at 11 a.m. The class
will continue through early August.
Cost is $3 per class at the gate. No
advance registration is required.
No children will be admitted to or
allowed during class.
Rec Basketball Camp
For the first time, the Commerce
Parks & Recreation Department
is offering a basketball camp for
children who feel like basketball is
“their thing.” This camp will stress
the very basic fundamentals of
the game and thus strengthen any
player’s foundational skills.
Former Commerce Middle
School coach Sam Chaney will
serve as the instructor.
Designed for girls and boys who
are rising fourth graders through
rising eighth graders, the camp
will run 10 a.m. until noon July
21-25 at the Commerce Middle
School gym. Registration will be
$40 for city residents, and $60 for
non-residents. Registration will be
limited.
Tiger Baseball Camp
For youth ages 7-15 this activity
is scheduled for June 16-19 from
9 a.m. until noon daily. Players
will be taught the fundamentals of
fielding, hitting, throwing and base
running. Players will be placed
in groups according to age and
ability. They must bring a glove,
hat, cleats and bat. Everyone will
receive a camp T-shirt.
The staff of instructors will be
Commerce High School base
ball coaches Walt Massey, and
Wes Massey along with Ricky
Woodruff of the Commerce Parks
& Recreation Department.
The registration fee is $60 with
a non-refundable deposit of $30
due by Friday, June 6. The $30
balance is due on June 16.
For more information on any
of these events, call the recre
ation office at 706-335-3236. Any
updated information will be posted
on the Commerce website at www.
commercega.org.
Girls Basketball Camp
For girls in grades 3-8, this camp
will help participants learn the
fundamentals of basketball and
improve their game. The camp
will be directed by 4 time AAA
State Championship and for
mer Gardner-Webb University
Basketball Coach Eddie McCurley.
Girls will learn the fundamentals
of shooting, passing, ballhandling,
and defense. They will learn drills
that can be practiced all year round
to take their game to the next level.
Participants will be grouped by
age and ability levels to maximize
instruction. Camp will be lim
ited to the first 50 girls to sign up.
Camp will run June 9-12 from 9
a.m. - noon. Cost is $50, including
t-shirt and awards for competi
tions. For more information, email
Coach McCurley at emccurley@
commerce-city.k12.ga.us or call
706-716-1800 to have a registra
tion form sent to you.
Soccer Camp
The first annual East Jackson
Soccer camp will be held June
2-6 from 9 a.m. - noon, with Eagle
Advanced Camp to be held from
noon - 3 p.m. for boys and girls
ages 6-14. The camp cost is $60
per player ($40 for each addition
al sibling). The Eagle Advanced
camp will cost $60 per player ($36
if registered for a.m. session). The
camp will be held at the EJCHS
soccer fields and gymnasium.
For more information, call Rich
Friedman at (706) 336-7913.
RECYCLE THIS
NEWSPAPER
Newspapers and magazines
can be recycled at Keep
Jackson County Beautiful's
recycling bins behind First
GA Banking Company — in
the Lanier Tech parking lot,
South Elm Street, Commerce.
Jackson County Needs A Change!
JIM KEINARD
for Sheriff of
Jackson County
My goal is to provide professional law enforcement management practices into the Jackson
County Sheriffs Department. In order to accomplish this task, I will address the following
issues.
• I will serve as your full-time sheriff and not as a part-time sheriff.
• No longer will the “good ole boy politics” of the past be tolerated in the management and
operation of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
• As your new sheriff, I will address and correct current departmental policy issues:
• No longer will there be selective enforcement of the laws of Georgia within the
department, all laws of Georgia will be enforced fairly and uniformly by all
deputies within the department.
• No longer will special services be provided to selected individuals. If special
services are provided, they will be available to all the citizens of the county.
• As your new sheriff, I will address and correct current personnel issues within the
department.
• As your new sheriff, I will seek to improve the image of the Jackson County Sheriff’s
Department.
• As your new sheriff, I will increase departmental accountability to the citizens of Jackson
County.
• As your new sheriff, I will seek to improve inter-agency cooperation with other state and
local law enforcement agencies.
Please Vote July 15th.
Your Vote Does Count!
CMS Known For Surprises
These days, Tony Stewart has
got to be wondering where the
bad luck will end.
He was within reach of his
fist win of the season Sunday
night at Charlotte when a cut
tire took him out with just a
couple of laps to go.
While it was a heartbreaker
for Stewart, it was good for
tune for Kasey Kahne, as he
piloted his Dodge Charger to
his first win since 2006.
As I watched Kahne pull into
victory lane, I couldn’t help
but think of the history of
heartbreak and luck that has
occurred at this track since its
first event back on Memorial
Day of 1960.
The first World 600 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
was a grueling event that broke
several cars, and several hearts
before the checkered flag fell.
Track builders Curtis Turner
and Bruton Smith had run into
a lot of trouble in getting the
track done in time for the
first NASCAR event on the
big track
The asphalt had not had
enough time to set before the
race, and as more and more
cars took to the track, the rac
ing surface began to come up.
That led NASCAR officials to
allow drivers to add special
screens to protect portions of
the windshields, as well as tire
flaps to try to deflect rocks
and chunks of the racing sur
face from being kicked up.
Fireball Roberts sat on the
pole for that first race in a
lightning fast Pontiac. From
the drop of the green flag,
Roberts ran away from the
field. As other drivers had
issues, Roberts bombed his
way around the track.
But the hard charging
Floridian cut a tire, forcing his
fast Pontiac into the guardrail,
Down
The
Stretch
BY BRANDON REED
and ending his day after 191
laps.
Of those, Roberts had led
114.
The next driver to fall vic
tim was Jack Smith. The
Atlanta driver would lead 198
of the race’s 400 laps, pilot
ing Bud Moore’s 1960 Pontiac.
As other contenders such as
Turner, “Tiger Tom” Pistone,
and Junior Johnson fell by the
wayside, Smith held a com
manding lead.
But that crumbling racing
surface struck again. As Smith
continued to lead, it became
obvious that there was a prob
lem. He roared down pit road,
with fluid trailing his number
47 Pontiac.
A chunk of asphalt had kicked
up from the racing surface,
and punched a hole in Smith’s
gas tank.
Crew members tried desper
ately to plug the hole, but noth
ing worked. Each time, Smith
would return to the track only
to have to return with fuel
pouring from the back end.
Smith was finally forced to
retire from the race, credited
with having run 352 laps.
That handed the lead over
to Chattanooga’s Joe Lee
Johnson, piloting a 1960 Chevy
that had been wrenched by
legendary Georgia mechan
ic Paul McDuffie. Johnson
held a four-lap lead over the
second place car of Johnny
Beauchamp. Johnson held on
to win the first World 600,
pocketing a cool $27,000 for
the win.
But the controversy of the
race wasn’t over. Three Petty
Enterprises entries, piloted by
Lee Petty, Richard Petty, and
Bobby Johns, had all pulled off
top ten finishes in the gruel
ing grind. But when Lee and
Richard went to the pay off
window to pick up their win
nings, they were told NASCAR
officials had disqualified them,
robbing them of all winnings
and points for the event.
Before the race, officials
had warned drivers not to cut
through the grass between the
front stretch and pit road. If
they did, officials said, they
would be disqualified.
During the course of the
event, both Lee and Richard
were caught up in separate
incidents that sent them spin
ning through the grass. Rather
than cut back on the track and
into traffic, both had made the
decision to cut to pit road to
get back up to speed.
The Pettys said it was com
mon sense to make such a
move. NASCAR didn’t see it
as such, and pulled both driv
ers’ scoring cards. However,
no officials ever told the Pettys
this had been done, effectively
giving them a free show from
the two drivers.
So, as you can see, con
troversy and heartbreak are
nothing new to the Charlotte
track. It started right from the
time the first shovel full of dirt
was turned. But it’s also what
makes it such a grand track
that everybody wants to beat.
Brandon Reed is a reporter
for MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Contact him at brandon@main-
streetnews.com.
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