Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3B
Youth Camps
Recreation Dept. offers several camps
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Summer is at hand and the Banks
County Parks and Recreation
Department, in conjuncton with
local coaches, is offering a slew
of youth athletic camps in coming
weeks.
The following camps will be
offered through the Banks County
Parks and Recreation Department.
For additional information on any
of these upcoming events, call
706-677-4407 or visit the recreation
department office at 607 Thompson
Street, Homer.
•Tennis camp, July 21-25, 9 a.m.
until noon, at Banks County Parks
and Recreation tennis courts. This
camp is geared toward those who
are seeking to improve their game.
The cost for the camp is $45 and
will include a t-shirt. Lisa Hulsey
will also be the instructor.
•Softball camp, June 9-12, 9 a.m.
until noon, Banks County Parks
and Recreation Department Field 5,
ages 7-14. Camp objectives include
improvement of fundamental skills,
good sportsmanship, teamwork
and having fun. The cost for each
participant is $50 with families
with more one child attending cost
ing $40 per child. All participants
should come dressed appropriately
and bring a glove each day. A camp
T-shirt is included in the price of
registration. Participants will be
grouped based on age and ability
level. Checks should be made pay
able to Josh Lord.
•Banks County Baseball Camp,
June 16-20, 9 a.m. until noon. Cost
for the camp is $50 per child. For
families with more than one child
attending the cost is $40 per child.
Checks should be made payable to
Joe Lord. For additional informa
tion contact Lord at jlord@banks.
k12.ga.us.
•Junior Leopards Football Camp,
July 29-31, 6-9 p.m., BCHS prac
tice football field. This camp will be
instructed by Leopard head coach
Blair Armstrong and members of
the varsity coaching staff. The cost
is $50 per child. If a family has
two children the total cost will be
$80. Athletes should wear shorts,
T-shirts, socks and cleats or tennis
shoes. A camp T-shirt is included
in the price of registration. Forms
should be turned in by July 21 and
checks made payable to BCHS.
Recreation Dept. registration continues through July 1
The Banks County Parks and Recreation Department
is currently holding registration for tackle football, flag
football, cheerleading and soccer. Registration will con
tinue through July 1.
Fees for registration will be as follows:
•Tackle football, $55
•Cheerleading, $60 for uniform or $30 if you already
have one from last year.
•flag football and soccer, $40 each.
Call 706-677-4407 for more information.
Local Racing
Area drivers perform well during recent events
Jefferson’s Joey Senter took sec
ond in the ASA Southeast Tour event
in Senoia Saturday night, while
Commerce’s Taylor Satterfield fin
ished fifth.
Dacula’s Russell Fleeman had a
scary crash in the event, flipping
over on his roof as he challenged for
position with 11 laps to go. Fleeman
was uninjured in the accident.
In other news, Kevin Barrett took
top honors in late model action at
Lanier National Speedway Saturday
night.
Braselton’s Shane Sawyer took
second.
— compiled by
Brandon Reed
Summer ... continued from page 1B
Football-wise, Armstrong also doesn’t have his play
ers go to passing camps. He knows of incidents where
some schools go to numerous 7-on-7 camps during the
summer which place a financial burden on players as
well as a premium on time.
“The kids do have to have some kind of summer,” the
coach said. “You have to be careful. You have to work
but you don’t want to over due it.”
Perhaps Armstrong’s outlook on summer can best be
described with this quote:
“I tell my players if they are going to see Grandma
then have a good time seeing Grandma. However, if they
are in town they then need to come see me and work.”
BCHS football players will continue weight, speed
and agility training throughout the summer leading to
preseason practice.
Down the Stretch
Marty Robbins: The Singing Racer
I was listening this past week
end to the classic “Prairie
Home Companion” radio
program on my local NPR affili
ate Saturday evening as I drove
home from Atlanta. At one point
during the show, Garrison Keillor
introduced a group that was going
to perform the classic Marty
Robbins song “El Paso.”
As part of the introduction,
Keillor mentioned that along with
being a performer on the Grand
Old Opry, Robbins was a racecar
driver to boot. Keillor made a
reference to an incident where
Robbins had experienced a par
ticularly hard crash, and sang his
way through “El Paso” to make
sure he hadn’t suffered any mem
ory loss afterward.
That got me to thinking about
how many folks know that along
with being one of the greatest
singers of all time, Robbins was a
pretty darned good race driver.
Robbins started out racing as
a hobby in the late 50s, racing
micro midges. In the early six
ties, he moved up to full-bodied
cars, piloting a purple and yellow
1962 Plymouth dubbed the “Devil
Woman” at the old Nashville
Fairgrounds. Robbins would
often have to rush away from the
track after finishing the feature to
make it to the Grand Old Opry in
time for his Saturday night show.
It was at Nashville that Robbins
made his NASCAR Grand
National (now Sprint Cup) debut
in 1966, finishing 25th after fall
ing out due to an oil leak.
While continuing to compete at
Nashville (and, of course, doing
that singing thing on the side),
Robbins would compete in 35
NASCAR
Cup events
between
1966 and
1982.
His best
finish came
at Talladega
in 1974, as
he piloted
his number
42 purple
and yellow Dodge to a ninth place
finish.
It was also at Talladega that
Robbins “confessed” to being a
“sinner” in May of 1972.
As the story goes, Robbins
started in ninth position. After
running with the lead pack all
day, Robbins eventually finished
18th, and was to be named rookie
of the race.
But after the event, Robbins
drove right to the impound area,
and asked the officials to check
the carburetor.
Sure enough, the carburetor
restrictor plate had been removed
from the Dodge. Robbins had
turned himself in. He was rel
egated to a 50th place finish, and
fined $250.
Robbins would later say in
interviews that he wanted every
body to see him pass the leaders
just once.
Despite being only an occa
sional competitor, Robbins was
always a driver to watch. He
recorded six top ten finishes over
his career, including a seventh
in the 1971 Southern 500 at
Darlington, a 10th at Texas World
Speedway in 1972, and an eighth
at Daytona in the Firecracker 400
in 1973.
Robbins suffered a particularly
hard crash at Charlotte in 1974
that left him injured. As a crash
unfolded in front of Marty on
the front stretch, he chose to turn
into the wall at around 160 miles
an hour rather than to t-bone the
stalled car of Richard Childress.
Robbins came away with a
broken tailbone, broken ribs, 37
stitches to the face, and two black
eyes.
While racing had dealt him a
tough blow on that day, it may
well have saved his life on anoth
er. Six months after suffering a
heart attack while performing on
stage in Ohio, Robbins went to
his personal doctor for a routine
checkup to be cleared for racing.
As it turned out, the checkup
showed he had two arteries com
pletely blocked, with another
75-percent clogged.
But Robbins would return to
racing. He loved racing, and it
would continue to be his hobby
for the rest of his life. Robbins’
last race came at Atlanta in
November of 1982. He died of
heart failure one month later.
Robbins was one of a few
high profile celebrity racers who
excelled in the sport, along with
the likes of Paul Newman, Steve
McQueen and James Garner. But
his unique personality and sense
of humor won him friends who
didn’t think of him as a singer
turned sometimes racecar driver.
To them, he was a racer through
and through.
Brandon Reed is a reporter
and columnist for MainStreet
Newspapers. Contact him at bran-
don@mainstreetnews.com.
brandon
reed
Got a news tip? Report it to
The Banks County News at 706-367-2490
23 r d Annual Homecoming Celebration
Friday, June 27*h • 7:00 p.m.
Fireworks at Dusk • Cornelia Office Front Lawn
Featuring
Little River Band
best known for hits like...
Lady," "Lonesome Loser," "Reminiscing,
Cool Change.
Opening for Little River Band
King Daddy Polecats
Join us for a night of
fun and fireworks!
For more information visit
www.habershamhomecoming.com
OPEN HOW.
Jam 7th / fmm
Ms. Cycle World
Model Search
Performing three fun paok shows
Live Music
4225 Atlanta Highway
Bogart, Ga. 30622
(706) 548-3300
www.CYCLEWORLDATHENS.com