About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2008)
PAGE 2B THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2008 Outdoors With Skipper Father, son and friend each enjoy success High School Football Leopards to lose offensive coordinator T hough we are several months away from our fall deer hunting sea son, I thought I might get you thinking about it early with this story. It all took place on Friday, Nov. 30, of last year. It was a cool morning as Tyler Sims, and his dad, Jerry Sims, entered the power line in Banks County to hunt on opposite ends. As Tyler walked to his ladder stand, he jumped a deer that had been bedded down. As day light appeared, he heard a deer crossing the power line about midway. Legal shooting time had arrived, and in the foggy morning mist, it looked to him like a buck. Getting it lined up in his scope, he saw that it was a nice buck. When it turned broadside to him, he squeezed the trigger and the deer ran off. Waiting an hour or so he went look ing for it, but couldn’t find blood or any sign that he had hit the deer. Walking back to his tree stand, he discovered the buck. Tyler then hollered to his dad to get down and come see it. They got it loaded in the truck, and Tyler quickly began calling friends to let them know about his deer. This was the biggest one he has ever shot. He called his best friend Russell Sparks, who replied that he also shot a nice one. Then they got to teasing about whose deer was the big gest. “How big is yours?” Back and forth on the phone they would go. Turned out that Tyler’s had a 15 % inch spread for his eight- pointer and Russell’ s deer had a 15’1/2 inch spread. But to be fair about it all, Russell’s deer weighed more. I guess we will call them even, a tie. Tyler is going to mount his deer himself and also his friend’s. Not to leave dad out, Jerry went the next day, and shot an eight pointer with a 13 inch- spread the from same power line. Three nice deer all from Banks County. Call me with any outdoor stories. Skipper Smith is an outdoors columnist for The Banks County News. His column appears weekly. Let him know about your hunting or fishing adven ture at 706-677-1520. skipper smith DEER HARVEST ONE MORE Russell Sparks (left) and Tyler Sims show off their deer from a Jerry Sims added to the suc- hunt last fall. cess hunting outing. Paid for by Clyde A. McArthur, Chairman, Banks County Republican Party 132 Lakeview Drive, Baldwin, GA 30511 The Banks County Republican Party will be holding a fund raising barbecue on April 26, 2008 at the American Legion Hall in Homer, Georgia from 10:00 a. m. to 2:00 p.m. Barbecue plates will be available for $6.00, and will include barbecue pork, bread, baked beans and cole slaw. The Banks County Republican Party will also hold its regular monthly meeting that morning at 9:00 a.m. All interested persons are invited to attend the meeting prior to the barbecue event. The American Legion building is located on Historic Homer Highway in Homer, Georgia. There will be a Health Fair at | Peachtree Village Assisted Living Community Friday, April 25, 2008 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. V OPEN TO ALL! J There will be vendors there with a lot of health related information to offer you. We are also please to welcome Mr. Corey Rieck, the President, Founder and Partner of LTCcompass, and National Director of Long Term Care Operations for World Insurance Association, Inc. Mr. Rieck will be giving a seminar concerning Long Term Care benefits and important updates at 11:00 a.m. Come in and join us! We will be serving refreshments to all our guests! •Golden Care of Commerce • Hospice Advantage-Blood Sugar Checks • CareSouth Home Health-Blood Pressure Checks • AARP • Odyssey Healthcare • New Age Hearing Aid Center-Hearing Tests • Compassionate Hospice-Living Will Information • Audibel Hearing Aids • Commerce Drug • Omni Care Pharmacy • Med Ex Transport • Royston Diagnostic-Sleep Study, MRI, CT Scan Information • Northeast Georgia Bank-Brad Johnson • And Much, Much More! 5 Day FREE Respite Stay Are you a caregiver for a family member or friend and planning a vacation? Well, let Peachtree Village care for your loved one with a 5 DAY FREE Respite Stay in our community...During the Health Fair we will be giving away 5 DAY - WORRY FREE Stays for our Assisted Living and Our Memory Care Communities. Let us take the worry off of your shoulders while you enjoy your vacation. Let us show you why we are Commerce’s #1 choice for Senior Living and loving care. 5 DAY FREE Retreat We will also be giving away a 5 DAY FREE all expense paid retreat in our beautiful, furnished, peaceful cottages. We will cater to you during your stay with us. All meals prepared and delivered right to your door. Well take care of your laundry; provide housekeeping services, and more. Why not treat yourself to some time away from the hassles of everyday living, and what better way to do that than to win a stay at Peachtree Village. l PEACHTKEE VILLAGE 199 W. W. Gary Road Commerce, Georgia 706-336-5848 BY CHRIS BRIDGES While the Banks County High School football program is losing an offensive coordinator, coach Blair Armstrong is losing a long-time coaching colleague and friend. Carl Cole, who came to BCHS with Armstrong from Peachtree Ridge High School a year ago, is leaving the Leopard program to take a similar position at Jackson County High School in Jefferson. The move became official last week. “Carl is an outstanding young coach and he feels this will be the best route for him to be a head coach again,” Armstrong said Sunday. Cole has been a head coach before although he has worked with Armstrong at three schools includ ing BCHS, Peachtree Ridge and Johnson High School. “I have really enjoyed my time at Banks County,” Cole said Tuesday. “The school has some great positive direction and will continue to get better. I was given the opportunity at Jackson County to continue to work as an offensive coordinator and teach a weight training class.” MOVING ON Carl Cole will be the offensive coordinator at Jackson County in 2008. Photo by Chris Bridges Cole noted each school has only one or two teachers in weight train ing classes. “This is a job hard to get,” he said. “This opportunity was something that I was looking for and because of the limited opportunity, I need to take this one. I want to thank all the parents, players, administration at Banks County for their support.” Armstrong acted quickly in filling the assistant coaching slot created by Cole’s departure. The hiring of Paul Hoch, an assistant at Peachtree Ridge, was approved by the Banks County Board of Education Monday night. Hoch, who was part of the 2006 state champion team at Peachtree Ridge with Armstrong, will be the defensive coordinator for the Leopards. Armstrong, who oversaw the defense last season, will move to the offensive side of football for 2008. “Coach Hoch and I know each other very well,” Armstrong said. “It was always my plan to being him to Banks County but it didn’t work out until now.” In other coaching news, Armstrong said Chuck Hudson, who was the offensive line coach last season, will be the offensive coordinator. Hudson also worked with Armstrong at Peachtree Ridge. Gridiron Leopards to begin spring practice May 1 BY CHRIS BRIDGES The Banks County High School football team will return to the prac tice field May 1 for the beginning of spring drills. Second-year head coach Blair Armstrong said the team will have 10 days of work although they will not be on consecutive weekdays because of end-of-the-year testing at the school. The Leopards are set to practice May 1 and May 2 before taking the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. The players will return to work May 8 and May 9 and then resume a regular schedule. The spring scrimmage is set for Saturday, May 17, at 7 p.m. “The offseason program has gone well,” Armstrong said. “We have seen a lot of improvement since last last year. We still have the entire summer to go.” The head coach said there will be plenty of new faces on the practice field this spring. “We are hoping to start out at a higher level of intensity,” Armstrong said. “The positive tone of the off season and our strong coaching staff is helping give the players a chance to believe they can be sucessful.” Peach State Freightliner • New and Used Trucks • Parts & Service 1755 Dry Pond Road • Jefferson, GA 30549 706-367-8998 Come into Cellular Center today and get the Motorola W385 phone for Just $19,99. We're your neighborhood Verizon Wireless premium retailer. We offer faster, friendlier service with storewide deals on phones and accessories that are sure to pul more spring in your day all year long. hr 8130 * Short wait time * Personal service * Great deals * * Incredible selection of phones & accessories # Cellular Center Your neighborhood wireless store Commerce 305 Steves B. 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