Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008
Outdoors With Skipper
Recent rain brings out turkeys in mass
Middle School Wrestling
BCMS finishes second at New Year’s Classic
It was the last Sunday of 2007,
as my wife and I, along with two
of our grandchildren from Macon,
Scott and Joy, headed to church.
As we traveled along the country
road from Homer towards Toccoa,
the rain was continually falling.
Rounding a curve in the road, we
saw that the road was filled with
birds. Big black birds. Turkeys to
be exact. There must have been 20
of them or more.
I slowed down to a crawl to
avoid hitting them, and enjoyed
watching as several flew up in
front of the car, and those behind,
hurriedly crossed the road or took
to the skies also. With deer season
coming to an end, it made me get
a little excited about the beginning
of turkey season coming up, which
will be on March 22.
With church over, we headed
back home and saw the same
bunch of turkeys out in a field. A
bit closer to home, I pointed out
to the grandchildren another flock
Successful hunting trip
The
Great
Outdoors
By Skipper Smith
706-677-1520
in a different field.
As we settled down at the dinner
table for lunch, I was looking out
into the back yard. I thought I saw
something moving. It was black
and shiny. You guessed it.
Soon, there were eight or so
young gobblers hunting for some
thing to eat in our own field. It
seemed like there were turkeys
everywhere in that rain. Well, I
just hope the acorn crop on our
property doesn’t get frozen like it
did last spring. Not a turkey did I
see this year while deer hunting.
The year before, I enjoyed
watching some 30 sail across the
creek during deer season right
toward my deer stand. Then, I
had to chase away the deer while
turkey hunting, all due to an abun
dance of acorns. All those turkeys
make my mouth water for some
wild turkey breast, cut in strips,
marinated in Italian dressing and
fried up.
Why, those turkey strips are even
good the next day or two, cold,
right out of the refrigerator. Trust
it will be a good spring gobbler
season for those of you turkey
hunters. By the way, with deer
season over, it’s a good time to do
a little coyote hunting. Give me a
call, if you got a nice deer to close
out the year with. Hope 2008 is a
great year for all you that love the
outdoors.
Skipper Smith is an outdoors
columnist for The Banks County
News. Let him know about your
hunting or fishing adventure at
706-677-1520.
AVID
HUNTER
Drew Peck, who
was profiled in
Skipper Smith's
Jan. 2 column, dis
plays the 8-point
er he harvested
during a recent
hunting trip.
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Banks County Middle School
wrestling team earned a second-
place finish during the recent New
Year’s Classic in Jefferson.
BCMS, coached by Sam Baxter
and Adam Nicholson, finished just
six points behind first-place Jefferson
Middle School. Fifteen wrestlers for
the middle school Leopards earned
medals including:
•Tuan Pham, Mason Patton,
Hayden Dilbeck, Andy Baker, Austin
Whitfield and Dakoda McDuffie,
second place.
•Taylor Wood, Dachary McDufie,
Phillip Dean, Trenton Davis and
Blake Cotton, third place.
•Cody Beezley, Eli Smallwood,
Miguel Medina and Abner McCright,
fourth place.
BCMS finished second during the
afternoon session of the New Year’s
Classic.
Banks County Wrestling Club registers fourth place
First-place medals by Austin
Venable and Matthew Dilbeck
helped the Banks County Wrestling
Club take fourth place in the morn
ing session of the New Year’s Classic
held in Jefferson recently.
The Banks County Wrestling Club
had 14 grapplers compete at the
event, including six first-year wres
tlers. The team finished three points
behind third place winner Union
Grove, a Class AAAAA school.
Also earning medals for the Banks
County Club were Dylan Gouine
(second,) Michael Patton (sec
ond), Brandon Boling (third) and
Ryan Dilbeck (fourth). The team is
coached by Chris Sayne.
Recreation dept. hosting baseball, softball registration
The Banks County Parks and Recreation Department
will host baseball and softball registration beginning
Monday and continuing through Friday, Feb. 15.
Registration fee for both sports is $40. Age control is
May 1 for baseball and Jan. 1 for softball.
For additonal information, contact the recreation
department office on Thompson Street in Homer at
706-677-4407.
Wrestling... continued from page 1B
Paul Newell (152) is also wrestling well for BCHS.
Newell earned four pins and a forfeit win this past
weekend.
Wesley Angel (145) also drew the praise of Hanley
for his recent efforts on the mat.
BCHS opened the Georgia-Carolina Classic with a
convincing 66-16 win against Cross Creek. Earning
pins for the Mat Leopards were Justin Fincannon
(112) Viet Pham (119), Pham (130), Nathan Holloway
(135), Avery Tench (140), Newell (152), Dempson
(160) and Jared Gregory (189). Angel (145), Bobby
Hewell (215) and Tremaine Mayfield (heavyweight)
each won by forfeit.
The Mat Leopards next battled Jackson County.
Hanley said two matches could have made a differ
ence in the outcome of the event if they had gone in
Banks County’s favor.
Holloway, Dempson and Hewell each earned pins
while Pham and Newell won by forfeit.
BCHS rebounded to defeat Oconee County 48-35
as Pham, Holloway, Angle, Newell, Dempston and
Gregory each recorded pins. Jordan Waters (103) and
Mayfield won by forfeit.
The Mat Leopards had little trouble with Franklin,
North Carolina in a 73-6 victory. The team benefited
from six forfeits. Hewell wrestled one of his best
matches against Franklin winning a 5-4 overtime
decision when he was awarded a point after his oppo
nent was penalized for stalling.
Holloway, Hewell, Dempson and Matthew Patton
(171) recorded pins while Gregory won by major
decision at 11-3.
In the match for third place, BCHS held off Crescent,
South Carolina 48-32. Two years ago, Crescent won
the event and was second last season.
Newell, Dempson, Gregory, Hewell, Pham and
Holloway each recorded pins while Waters and
Mayfield won by forfeit.
The victory against the South Carolina school was
so impressive that Hanley called several former BCHS
wrestlers to inform them of the accomplishment.
“Everyone was impressed with what our team did
at the tournament this year,” Hanley said of the third-
place showing.
Community Health Screen
Hosted by Athens Regional Medical Center's
Health education and Outpatient Rehab departments
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Jefferson Medical Center
2nd floor
Screenings Offered:
Blood pressure
Bone density
Cholesterol and Blood sugar (non-fasting)
$15 charge for Cholesterol and Blood Sugar screen
Mobility in Your 50s and Beyond:
Rehab screenings will include
Vision - the impact of changes in contrast sensitivity
Vestibular and Balance - the impact on mobility and function
Musculoskeletal - the impact of general orthopedic and muscular
issues as we age
Car fit:
Information about helping mature drivers find their perfect fit.
This program is designed to give you a quick but
comprehensive check by a trained professional on
how well you and your vehicle work together.
Appointments for a future Carfit screening
can be made at the Community Health Screen.
Other members of the Athens Regional team will also be available to provide
information on Diabetes Prevention and Management, Breast Health and
Rehabilitation services including low vision, balance, orthopedics and hands.
Registration is not required.
! Athens Regional
MEDICAL CENTER
A Passion for Medical Excellence
For more information
call Health Education at (706) 475-5620.