Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3B
Local Racing
Area tracks have to cancel events due to rain
BY BRANDON REED
While some local tracks had to
postpone events due to wet weather,
several local drivers had good for
tune racing in other areas.
Russell Fleeman of Dacula fin
ished second in the Georgia Asphalt
Series event at the New Senoia
Speedway Saturday night. Nick
Potts of Jefferson finished ninth,
while Joey Senter, also of Jefferson,
finished 11th. Decatur’s Ryan Sieg
took the win.
Meanwhile, Commerce driver
Taylor Satterfield finished third in
the ASA Southeast Asphalt event at
Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon,
S.C. Jay Middleton won the event.
Racing at Lanier National
Speedway was postponed due to
rain.
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.
Summer ... continued from page 1B
Previously, the entire BCHS foot
ball coaching staff has had to work
out of one office which was not an
ideal situation, Armstrong said.
“The new setup will give us some
privacy and allow each coach to
have access to techincal equipment
such as computers and television,”
Armstrong said. “It will also give
us a place for our VCRs and DVD
players.”
A meeting room for parents and
college coaches will also be con
structed.
The Pride of Summer program con
tinues through June 26. The players
and coaches will be off from June
30 through July 7 before returning
to work July 8 with a weight training
session. The first day of fall practice
is Monday, Aug. 4.
First and Ten ... continued from page 1B
So here’s some advice for these
“coaches in the stands” or “coaching
experts” if you will:
•just because you have a child
who is competing on a high school
team does not make you a coaching
expert. It does not give you the right
to go behind the coach’s back and
try to get him or her removed from
their job.
•just because you played a high
school sport 30 years ago does not
qualify you as a coaching expert.
Thousands of people played sports
but not everyone is qualified to be
a coach. If you were such a good
coach why isn’t it your profession?
•even if you have coached a rec
reation level team, it definitely
does not mean you are qualified to
give advice to the high school head
coach. This is really a misconcep
tion today as recreation coaches and
coaches of travel league teams seem
to think they are the end all when it
comes to their sport.
Finally, some unsolicited advice
for all school officials:
•don’t listen to these would be
coaches. Instead, make a stand and
support the people you have hired.
Don’t let the threat of someone vot
ing you out of office influence you
in removing a coach. Remember,
coaches have families as well and
decisions of this nature have a last
ing impact on many people includ
ing the student-athletes, who are
often overlooked.
I know it’s wheel in the sky think-
ing, but wouldn’t it be nice if all
coaches in the stands make a mid
year resolution to support the local
coaches instead of stabbing them in
the back.
The unfortunate thing is there
are so many parents who are not
this way and do everything in their
power to support the local coach and
what he or she is doing. But as they
say, it only takes one bad apple to
spoil the entire bunch.
Right now we still have a few bad
apples in the cart.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of
The Banks County News. Contact
him at 706-367-2745 or e-mail com
ments to chris@mainstreetnews.
com.
Got a news tip? Report it to
The Banks County News at 706-367-2490
How the Wound Center saved
Mr. Inoko's great smile
What seemed like relatively ordinary surqery for an impacted tooth, could have been quite dangerous
for Ideal restaurant owner, Yosuke tnako. Because of intensive radiation treatment that he received in 1987
for a lymphoma near his jaw, he would now be at a high risk for necrosis of the jaw land the possibility ol
losing it completely) if surgery was performed in the area of the previous radiation treatment.
The solution was the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy - a medical treatment available at Athens
Regional's Comprehensive Wound Center (CWC) in which the patient is placed in a chamber and
breathes 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressures,
"This treatment greatly increases the amount of oxygen levels In the affected or Injured body tissue,
which promotes healing," says Dexter Joyner of the CWC. "With a dedicated program of Hyperbaric
Oxygen Therapy both before and after surgery, Mr. fnoko was able to handle his oral surgery with qreat
success,"
"I was quite nervous on my first visit because f was unfamiliar with the process,” adds Mr Inoko. "But
everyone at AFMC was very warm and comforting. I could not have asked for better care."
As the leader in the treatment of chronic wounds, our staff of highly trained and dedicated wound
care specialists combines state nf the art technology, compassionate expertise and excellent clinical
care to promote wound healing.
The Comprehensive Wound Center at Athens Regional
... a place of healing,
A Passion For Medical Excellence
1199 Prince Avenue ■ Athens, Georgia 30606 * 706-475-7000 ■ www.armc.org
Down the Stretch
2008 Hall of Fame Class a strong one
T he votes are in, and the
Georgia Racing Hall
of Fame class of 2008
has been chosen, and this year’s
inductees amount to one of the
best groups yet. The Georgia
Racing Hall of Fame voted
this past Saturday on the eight
inductees at the Hall of Fame in
Dawsonville.
The 2008 class features racing
pioneers, as well as those who
helped elevate the sport to where it
is today.
First on the list, which is in no
particular order, is Bill Gazaway,
of Newnan, who joined NASCAR
in 1960 as a team owner, with
his cars making seven starts. But
Gazaway is best remembered for
being NASCAR’s vice president of
competition, a position he would
hold from 1984 to his retirement
in 1987. Gazaway started as a
tech inspector for NASCAR in
1963, and was known throughout
the racing world for his commit
ment to the sport.
He passed away on June 29,
2006.
Next is Atlanta native Jack
Jackson, who started racing in
the early 50s in the jalopy divi
sion at the legendary Peach Bowl
Speedway in Atlanta, moving
quickly up to the sportsman divi
sion, where he became a multi
year champion at the speedway.
Jackson is the founder of the
annual Peach Bowl Speedway
reunion. Jackson and fellow
Hall of Famer Jimmy Mosteller
were the founders of the Georgia
Automobile Racing Hall of Fame
Association.
Next on the list is Columbus
native Sam McQuagg. McQuagg
was a constant winner at Valdosta,
and at Auburn-Opelika, in
Alabama. In 1965, McQuagg
made 14 starts in NASCAR’s
Grand National (now Sprint Cup)
division,
recording two
top fives and
five top tens
en route to
being named
the rookie of
the year.
McQuagg
won his only
Cup event
the following
year in the
Firecracker
400 at Daytona Beach, Fla., pilot
ing a Ray Nichels owned Dodge
that was equipped with the first
spoiler in NASCAR history.
Charlie Padgett, of Jasper, start
ed his career at a track in Dalton.
He was the Southern Racing
Enterprises Modified Champion
in 1956, racing at Canton, Dallas,
the Peach Bowl, Banks County
Speedway, Gainesville Speedway
and Toccoa Speedway. Padgett
came into his own at the legend
ary Athens Speedway in Athens,
Ga., where he won the July 4
Mid-Season Championship event
in 1964 and 1966, and the Labor
Day Championship event in 1964
and 1965.
Randy Payne, of Rome Ga.,
picked up the nickname “Mr. Big
Stuff” after piloting his famed
Ford Torino Cobra to several vic
tories in the late 60s, including
Canada’s first sanctioned drag
race. He was nominated driver of
the year by Car Craft magazine
four years in a row, and is a mem
ber of East Coast Drag Times Hall
of Fame.
Some credit Payne, along with
fellow Hall of Famer Hubert
Platt and Atlanta’s “Dyno Don”
Nicholson for inventing match
drag racing in the south in the
mid-60s. Payne and Platt were
teammates, taking on all comers in
their hot rod Fords.
Up next is Wilbur Rakestraw,
from Dallas, who raced across the
south with the Southern Racing
Enterprises. Rakestraw com
peted in 30 NASCAR Cup events
between 1956 and 1961, picking
up one top five finish at Columbia,
S.C., and recording six top ten fin
ishes. Rakestraw also competed in
the first three Daytona 500s.
Next is car owner Walter Dewey
“Dub” Smith. With Atlanta
mechanic Harvey Jones turning the
wrenches, Smith’s cars won many
races at the Peach Bowl in the
early 1960s with John Sudderth
behind the wheel.
In the late 1960s, Smith was part
of the efforts to revive Lakewood
Speedway, along with Ernie
Moore and former Atlanta Mayor
William B. Hartsfield.
Smith passed away in the late
1980s.
Finally, we reach race promoter
Mike Swims of Woodstock.
Swims may have been one of
the most important promoters in
dirt track racing. Swims served
as Vice President and General
Manager of both Dixie Speedway
and Rome Speedway, and was
one of the founders of the Hav-
A-Tampa dirt late model series in
1990.
Under his guidance, the tracks
flourished, drawing competitors
from all over the country for their
annual “Shootout” dirt late model
events.
Swims died in September of
2007 following a seven-year long
battle with cancer.
The Hall of Fame induction cere
mony and banquet will be held on
October 24 at the Georgia Racing
Hall of Fame in Dawsonville.
Brandon Reed is a reporter for
Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail
comments about this column to
brandon@mainstreetnews.com.
brandon
reed
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