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PAGE 2B - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS - TUNE 11, 2008
Sport Shorts And Rec News
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.
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
Outdoors
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
was due by Friday, June 6. The
$30 balance is due on June 16.
Mom And Tot Swim
Beginning June 17, Commerce
Park and Rec will host a struc
tured swim activity for children
ages six months through two
years.
The activity is scheduled for each
Tuesday from 11 a.m. - 11:30
a.m. through the end of July.
Mothers or fathers will handle
their child in the water. The sole
purpose of this activity is to accli
mate the child to the water, pro
ducing a greater comfort level.
Pam Minish will lead the activity,
which will require no advance
registration. The fee is $3 per
visit. Children should wear air
tight rubber pants or a special
swimming diaper.
Fall Activity Sign-Ups
The Commerce Park and Rec
Department will be accepting reg
istration for its youth programs
begining July 14 through August
1.
Programs include Flag Football/
Flag Cheer for ages 6-8, Tackle
Football/Tackle Cheer for ages
9-12, and soccer ages 4 and up.
Age control dates for football/
cheerleading prior to Sept. 1,
2008. Age control date for soccer
prior to August 1,2008.
Registration will be accepted
weekdays from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. at
the Park & Recreation office at
American Veterans Memorial Park
on Carson Street.
Participants must be present at
the time of registration to be sized
for uniforms.
Birth certificates are required for
all participants. Parents of post
players may call 706-335-3236 to
verify a birth certificate is on file.
No registration will be accepted
without a birth certificate.
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.
Application Period For Quota Hunts Open
The Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, Wildlife
Resources Division (WRD)
reminds hunters that June 1 was
opening day of the 2008-2009
quota hunt application period.
Successful quota hunt applica
tions are selected solely from
the online applicant pool (paper
applications are no longer
accepted), so interested hunters
must apply online through their
personal accounts on the WRD
Web site, www.gohuntgeorgia.
com .
To be eligible for quota hunt
drawings applicants must ensure
that they have a valid online
account and must apply prior to
midnight as follows:
July 31 for alligator quota
hunts; September 1 for deer
quota hunts; September 1 for
State Park quota hunts; October
15 for waterfowl quota hunts;
and February 15, 2009 for turkey
quota hunts.
Hunters who have applied in
years past or those who have
recently completed a hunter edu
cation course or purchased a
Georgia hunting license via the
WRD Web site (www.gohuntgeor-
gia.com), may have pre-existing
accounts with which to apply
and must login to their accounts
to begin the application process.
Interested persons without pre
existing accounts should visit
www.gohuntgeorgia.com and
select “Quota Hunts,” from the
Home page under the “Permits &
Services” menu to create a new
account and submit applications
online.
Upon completion of the selec
tion process, applicants will
receive a status notification
e-mail and also will be able to
login to their accounts to view
their updated status. In addition,
complete lists of chosen par
ticipants will be available at www.
gohuntgeorgia.com.
For more information on
hunting seasons or the quota
hunt application process, visit
www.gohuntgeorgia.com, con
tact Hunter Services at (770)
761-3045 or call a WRD Game
Management Office.
Auto Racing
Atlanta Was The Scene Of Indy Tragedy
It was planned to be a race to
celebrate Labor Day. It ended up
as one of the darkest moments
in Atlanta racing history.
It occurred on September 2,
1946. Racing promoter Sam
Nunis put together a 100-lap
Indy car race at Atlanta’s famed
Lakewood Speedway a treach
erous one-mile dirt track located
on the grounds of the Lakewood
Fairgrounds. The event was
sanctioned by the AAA, who
also sanctioned the famed
Indianapolis 500, which had run
its first event since the ending of
World War II only a few months
prior.
The winner of that first return
Indy 500, an Englishman named
George Robson, was set to run
at Lakewood in the same car
that Floyd Roberts had piloted
to a win in the 1938 Indy 500.
It was also the car Roberts
died in at Indy in 1939.
Also slated to start was
Texas racer George Barringer.
Barringer (who was billed as
“Tex” Barringer by Nunis in pre
race publicity items) had also
raced at Indy a few months
earlier, piloting the famed rear
engine “Tucker Torpedo Special.”
Barringer had driven the Gulf
Oil funded, Harry Miller built
racer to 33 speed records at the
Bonneville Salt Flats in 1940.
But the Special’s luck at Indy
in 1946 wasn’t that great, as
Barringer suffered mechanical
failure early on in the 500.
For the Lakewood event,
Barringer didn’t drive the Special.
Instead, he piloted a car built
by the legendary Wilbur Shaw.
Shaw had won at Indianapolis
with the car in 1937, followed
by a second place finish at Indy
in 1938.
All in all, three cars that had
won the famed Indy 500 were
Down
The
Stretch
BY BRANDON REED
in the field at Lakewood. It was
only fitting, since Lakewood
was long referred to as “The
Indianapolis of the South.”
But, unlike Indy Lakewood
had some characteristics that
made it treacherous and danger
ous.
One of the chief problems at
Lakewood was the dust. By
1946, the clay on the old speed
way was worn out, and after
a few miles had been run, the
entire place turned into a dust
bowl. Even the fans would have
trouble seeing the competitors
towards the end of an event.
It was this problem that led
directly to the tragedy that
occurred on Labor Day 1946.
Late in the going of the 100-lap
event, Kansas native Billy
DeVore developed engine prob
lems. DeVore moved his car
down to the inside line of the
track, and tried to salvage a fin
ish for the best prize money he
could muster.
As DeVore nursed his car
along down the backstretch,
the faster car of Robson came
charging up behind him. With
the cars kicking up dust around
the speedway Robson apparent
ly couldn’t see DeVore’s slower
moving vehicle as he went to
enter the third turn.
Robson’s car plowed into
DeVore’s, apparently sending
Robson’s racer into the air. With
more dust now being kicked up
by the accident, Barringer’s car,
along with that of Indiana native
Bud Bardowski, slammed into
the accident scene.
DeVore’s car was thrown over
the fence. He would survive with
a broken collarbone. Bardowski
would suffer facial cuts, but no
other serious injuries.
Robson and Barringer, how
ever, were not so fortunate.
Robson’s car lay upside down
at the entrance to the third
turn, with Barringer’s car sitting
upright near by. After being
removed from their cars, both
were transported to Grady
Hospital, where they died short
ly thereafter.
Ted Horn, who would go on to
win the 1946 AAA champion
ship, saw the accident occur,
and actually struck something
on the track, according to later
reports. He stopped, and tried
to flag down the other competi
tors to keep them from becom
ing involved in the accident.
After returning to the cockpit,
Horn managed to get his car
going again. Horn was later
declared the winner by race offi
cials, but would lose that win
under protest to George Conner
weeks later.
Lakewood Speedway held it’s
final automobile race in 1979.
Only small portions of the famed
track still exist today. A parking
lot for an amphitheater now
covers the spot where George
Robson and George Barringer
lost their lives. But their memo
ries and the memory of that
terrible Labor Day in 1946 con
tinues to live on.
Brandon Reed is a reporter
for MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Contact him at brandon@main-
streetnews.com.
Local Racers Compete At Cordele
Several local drivers com
peted in the Georgia Asphalt
Series race held at Watermelon
Capital Speedway in Cordele,
Ga. on Saturday.
Among them was Jefferson
driver Joey Center, who fin
ished third, Dacula racer
Russell Fleeman, who fin
ished in fifth, Jefferson’s Nick
Potts in 10th, Commerce racer
Taylor Satterfield in 16th, and
Travis Hearn of Jefferson, who
finished 19th.
Senoia racer Bubba Pollard
won the event.
In other area racing news,
Shawn Simpson won the Pro
Late Model feature at Lanier
National Speedway Saturday.
Paul Antley took top honors
in the Truck division, while
Joey Love was the winner in
the Open Wheel Modified cat
egory.
Richard King was the top
winner in the Sportsman divi
sion, while Bryan Beckner won
in Street Stocks. Other win
ners were Austin Hill in Semi
Pro Legends, Zac Kittle in Pro
Legends, Lamar Adams in
Master Legends, Cody Garland
in Young Gun Bandeleros
and Kason Plott in Bandits
Bandeleros.
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“TODAY* is getting closer!
Watch The Commerce News for upcoming details!
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