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Sports
Whatley plans
baseball camp
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
Perry High baseball
coach Lee Whatley has
scheduled a one-day base
ball camp for aspiring base
ball players ages 7 through
13. The camp will take
place June 14 from 9 a.m.
till 3 p.m. at the Perry High
baseball field.
Whatley will be assisted
by some of the members of
the Perry coaching staff, as
well as a couple of players
from his 1996 Perry High
team.
For more information on
the camp, cal! Whatley at
953-4529. The cost of the
one-day camp is S3O.
Whatley is a graduate cf
Northside High School,
played at Middle Georgia
College, the University of
South Carolina, and in the
Los Angeles Dodgers minor
league system.
County to
restrict water use
From Staff Reports
Due to the extended period
with little or no rain, the Houston
County water system is experi
encing low water pressure in cer
tain areas.
County water customers in
these areas are asked to voluntar
ily restrict the watering of lawns.
The areas affected are Statham’s
Landing, Waterford South,
Southfield Plantation, and the
Thompson Mill Road area.
County Commission
Chairman J. Sherrill Stafford
requests that homeowners water
their lawns only from 11 p.m.-4
a.m. and no more than every
other day.
Residents who have house
numbers ending in an even num
ber should water on even days
and those with odd numbers
should water on odd number
days. For example, house number
103 could water on May 29 and
house number 104 could water on
May 30.
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Special Photo
SUNDAY SCHOOL WITH THE PRESIDENT A large group of Perryans stand with former
President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter in front of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. The group
completed a tour of the city and listened as Carter taught Sunday school at the church.
Carter, a member of the church now pastored by former Perry First Baptist Church pastor the
Rev. Dr. Dan Ariail, frequently teaches a Sunday school class at the church. Ariail recently
completed a book about Carter’s spiritual life and was in Perry recently to autograph copies
of the book.
All Houston County Voters
Are Cordially Invited To Attend
A Campaign Rally
For
Shirley Pharr Raynor
Candidate For Superior Court Judge
Ramada Inn Of Warner Robins
May 30th At 7:00 p.m.
Jason Sikes impressive in Macon appearance
Former Warner Robins High pitcher makes professional debut against Macon Braves
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
MACON He was “pumped sky high at
the start of the game”, but after a rocky first
inning, against the Macon Braves May 25,
Perryan Jason Sikes settled down and pitched
an impressive game for the Piedmont, North
Carolina 801 l Weevils, who are based in
Kannapolis. They are Philadelphia Phillies
farmhands.
Sikes said “I should have stayed with the
game plan, to throw more sliders. They could
n’t hit the slider. But I was so pumped up, I
thought I could throw the fastball by them."
Two of Sikes' fastballs left the park in the
Sidelined by Leukemia
PHS baseball player, family look to community for help
From Staff Reports
Linda Bradley’s 18-year-old
son, Jamie Walker, worked hard
to be a baseball player this season
and he made it.
He was the best hitter on the
Perry High School team and the
team’s number two pitcher, his
coach, Lee Whatley, said.
In February of this year, he
broke his leg playing baseball and
that was the beginning of his trou
bles.
He was tutored at home while
his leg mended, but at the end of
a month he suddenly had a fever
and blurred vision. A trip to the
Perry Hospital and a blood test
brought bad news to him and his
family. He was diagnosed as hav
ing leukemia.
Chemotherapy caused his
blond hair to come out in clumps
but his friend’s mother cut the rest
of it short so that his baldness
doesn’t bother him.
He continues to be tutored at
home but he can’t do very much
else because he tires so easily.
His leukemia is in remission
now, but he will have to continue
his chemotherapy treatments for
two years. Friends of the family
have been helping with the fre
quent trips Jamie must make to
Macon for the treatments.
Jamie’s mom, Linda, who
works at a local sandwich shop,
says that the cost has exceeded
$50,000 already and insurance
doesn’t cover it all.
There has been a fund-raising
barbecue and another fund-raiser
is scheduled for Jamie on June 8,
Page 6A
-Wednesday, May 29, 1996
Braves’ half of the first inning, one by George
Lombard, the other by Roosevelt Brown, the
Braves' two top home run hitters.
Once he settled down, Sikes was touched for
just two more runs before he left the game after
six innings, trailing 4-3.
In the Braves’ third Joe Trippy led off with a
double and was sacrificed to third by Lombard.
Marc Lewis hit a sacrifice fly to score the tying
run. Sikes then settled down and retired seven
in a row before the Braves touched him for a
run in the sixth inning, helped along by a balk.
With Lewis on first after a single, Sikes was
called for a balk, and Brown singled to center
to score the go-ahead run. Brown was thrown
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Special Photo
LOOKING FOR HELP Perry High School baseball team member Jamie Walker (left), his
mother, Linda Bradley, and his sister are looking to the community for help in overcoming
leukemia which attacked Walker earlier this year.
sponsored by a community organi
zation, the Modem Woodmen of
America, Camp #16,388, which
has promised to match funds up to
$2,500.
This upcoming fund-raiser is a
combination auction, yard sale,
bake sale and car wash, to be held
in front of Stanley Furniture and
the National Guard Armory
grounds, Macon Street, in Perry,
June 8, 8 a.m. - until. Community
help is needed to make this fund
raiser successful.
Donations of baked goods, con
cession stand drinks, an good used
Davis on deans list
A total of 169 students were
named to the Brewton-Parker
College Dan’s List for Winter
Quarter. Among those was Buster
Enoch Davis of Perry.
To be eligible for inclusion, a
student must be enrolled in 14 or
more quarter hours and have
earned a grade point average of
3.6 or higher out of a possible 4.0.
• ••
Geraldine Marsh of Perry is
listed on the President’s Honor
Roll for the fall quarter at Texas
State Technical College in Waco.
She is a student in the golf/turf
grass management program.
The President’s Honor Roll
recognizes the scholastic achieve-
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Tlmas-Journal Photo by Eric Zellars
REMEMBERING Norma Mayo (left) and Penny Ingram
of the American Legion Auxiliary, place a wreath on a grave
during the Memorial Day ceremonies at Perry Memorial
Gardens May 27.
Houston nmes-Journal
out trying to advance on the throw-in.
The 801 l Weevils had only four hits in the
first seven innings against Macon pitching in
support of Sikes. But Macon’s John Rocker,
bumped from his start the night before because
he was late getting to the game, was rocked for
five runs in his two innings of relief work to
absorb the loss and get Sikes off the hook.
The 801 l Weevils pulled out an 8-6 win,
their second in a row over the Braves, and gave
the teams a split in the four game series. Sikes
was supported by over a hundred family and
friends, many of them former teammates at
Warner Robins High School, where he graduat
ed in 1994.
items to sell or auction are needed.
A pick-up service for donated
items is also offered.
For more information on help
ing with this fund-raiser, call
Carrie Calhoun, 987-2524 or
Frances Fuller, 987-3508.
ment of students with a perfect
grade point average of 4.0.
•••
A total of 1,172 University of
Georgia students completed
requirements for their degrees at
the end of Winter Quarter, 1996.
Among those are: John
Franklin Bullington of Kathleen,
bachelor of science in Education;
Bryan Wade Conner of Perry,
bachelor of Arts; Carl B. Pearl of
Bonaire, bachelor of science;
Amanda Suzanne Posey of Perry,
bachelor of science in Education;
William Spencer Ray Jr. of Perry,
bachelor of science in Education.
• ••
Chris Boss of Perry received a
bachelor of arts degree from
Piedmont College May 4.
Phil
Clark
Times-Journal
Sports
Blauser bashing at
an all-time high
During a rain delay in a recent
Atlanta Braves game, I was the
operator on duty at WPGA, a
Braves network station. During
such delays, the Braves network
switches to the studios of WSB,
the flagship station, and fills the
time by broadcasting WSB’s
afternoon sports talk show.
I found out a couple of things
during the broadcast. First, for the
most part, callers were anti-Jeff
Blauser. That seems to be the
going thing, especially in the
Atlanta area, these days. See how
badly you can bash Blauser.
About two thirds of the callers
during my one-hour-plus stint on
duty were on the ‘Bash-Blauser’
bandwagon.
Whether you are a Blauser fan
or not, there seems to be a stop
ping point to all of the anti-
Blauser call-ins. Thing is, those
who sit around with nothing to do
and listen to those things to begin
with, are folks who can’t come up
with something of their own, so
the jump on something started by
someone else. Over and over, it’s
virtually the same thing, the
wording changed just slightly, it
actually got to be comical, and
certainly predictable.
Secondly, there couldn’t be too
many of the callers to begin with,
since I was able to get a call
through, from down here in Perry.
No, I didn’t bash Blauser, didn’t
even mention him. An earlier
caller had made some sort of
inquiry about a Hal Newhouser
glove, and whether it would be
worth something.
Both the caller and the host
had questions about when Hal
Newhouser played, and for
whom. My call was to shed a lit
tle light on that question.
Jeff Blauser was drafted by the
Braves in the secondary phase of
the June, 1984 draft. He was the
Braves first selection. He had
been selected in the January, 1984
draft by St. Louis, but did not
sign. He finished 1984 at Pulaski,
where he hit .249 in 62 games.
His best minor league season was
1986, where he hit .286 with 13
home runs and 52 runs batted in
at Durham.
Jeff spend parts of 1987 and
1988 in Atlanta, playing 51
games in ‘B7 and 18 at the tail end
of the ‘BB season. He came up for
good in 1989. He settled in as the
regular shortstop in 1993, after
shuffling between short, second,
third and even a try in the out
field.
Blauser is admittedly error
prone. His major league fielding
average is around .960. He does
have some pop in his bat, though,
something most shortstops don’t
possess. There are exceptions,
true, like Barry Larkin, Cal
Ripkin, Jr and a few others.
Perhaps the biggest beef
against Blauser is the big salary
he’s paid. In the second year of a
three-year, $ 10-million deal,
Blauser is often criticized for
being overpaid. Perhaps it’s true.
But then, so’s everybody else in
baseball, and other sports.
Whether you’re a Blauser fan
or Blauser basher, you ought to
stop for a while and consider
what tl.*' Braves had playing
shortstop be ""ire Blauser came on
the scene.
Want me to help you? Rafael
Belliard was the starter in ‘9l and
‘92, at least at the beginning of
the season. Before that, there was
Andres Thomas, Rafael Ramirez,
Louis Gomez and Pepe Frias,
Darrell Chaney, Pat Rockett and
Sugar Bear Blanks.
Now, Blauser might not be a
world-beater at shortstop, but
when you compare him to those
before him, he looks pretty good,
doesn’t he?
By the way, Blauser hit .305 in
1993, the first Braves shortstop to
reach that plateau since Alvin
Dark hit ,322 in 1948.
I guess when you’re the
defending world’s champions,
you’re in first place in your divi
sion and heading toward the play
offs again, and you have such a
solid team overall, those who
want to be negative, and there are
lost of them, look for anything to
complain about. Blauser bashing?
Enough, already!
