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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