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Sports Panthers fourth in GHSA track meet Perry gets fourth for second year in row at all classes event Hr ALUNE KENT THMHWSWfJfcga It was a aisappotnted Coach Dixon who returned to Perry High School Monday morning after a trip with his track team to the state finals in Jefferson. It was a frus tration that was hard to put into words. “We brought home the fourth place tro phy. Many of teams in the state would love to have that trophy. We wanted better. We were disappointed that we didn't finish higher than fourth. But that in itself says something about our kids. That were not satisfied finishing where they did last year. They wanted better." The Panthers finished fourth in AA for the second consecutive year. Preparation for the meet didn’t seem to be a factor. The Panther team spent time during the earlier part of the season travel ing to track meets all over the state where they could compete against the caliber tal ent they would see in the state finals. Perry ran into trouble on the first day of the two day competition after failing to score in any events. Although the team bat tled back on Saturday, it was not enough to overcome the deficit. Although Dixon and his team were dis heartened by their fourth place finish sev eral positive things shone through during the competition. Perry was the only team in the entire state which had a qualifier in every compe tition, a fact that speaks highly of the Panther program. While the Panthers did Eighth grade panthers win baseball crown Team rebounds from early losses to take Houston County championship Bt ALUNE KENT the season, it’s a county championship for Coach John Warlick and the Perry Middle school Bth grade baseball team. The Panthers beat Rumble May 7 for the sec ond time this season and clinched the county cham pionship with a 9-2 record with one game to play. Perry’s two losses this season came earlv on against Feagin Mill and Tabor. Both games ended The good, bad and ugly There’s some good news, some bad news and some ugly news in my col umn this week. The good news comes out of Fort Valley and Peach County, where long time top assistant football coach Alan Rodemaker was named to succeed Rodney Walker as head coach and athletic direc tor. Rodemaker was hesi tant when first confirmed, but took the job after dis cussing it with family members. Rodemaker had the support of the fans and players in Peach County, and hopefully will continue the good pro gram at Peach County. The Trojans have been playoff contenders, even state title contenders, for many years, and that tra dition should continue with Rodemaker. The field of candidates, or at least applicants, for the Job was impressive. Former Peach County coach Neal Rumble was among them, and so was Steve Pennington, who is at Ware County, and who followed former Perry coach John Stephens at Appling County a several years ago. Rumors also had C.B. Cornett of Central Macon in the mix, though informed insiders say the former Macon County coach was never a serious consideration. The other good news out of Peach County is the induction into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame of for mer Fort Valley football and boys basketball coach Norman Faircloth, a move that is way overdue. Faircloth, in his accep tance, said “I’m flattered. When I began coaching, I Page 6A not compete well on Friday, they outscored all of their opponents on Saturday, ending the meet with 33 points behind Westminster. Elbert County. and Carrollton. During the last event on Saturday, a sec ond place finish would have added enough points to push the Panthers into second place in the state but Perry fell short. Highlights for the day included Dontarrious Thomas’s 3rd place finish in the 400 m dash and his 2nd place finish in the 300 m hurdles. Michael Robinson finished Bth in the state in the 1600 m with a 4:44 time, improving his performance by 8 seconds while finishing sth in the state in the 3,200 m with a time of 10:27. Robinson’s time in the 3200 m was his best ever, shaving 24 seconds off of his previous best time. Perry’s 4 x 100 m relay team, Marnezs Taylor, Anthony Lane, Dontarrious Thomas and Donovan Kendrick, placed 4th. Other individuals placing for the Panthers include Donovan Kendrick, 6th place in 100 m dash: Anthony Lane, 3rd place in 200 m dash; and Marnezs Taylor, 3rd in 110 m hurdles. “My goal for this program is to be able to compete at the state level," Dixdn com mented. “We didn’t win state but we were able to achieve our goal." "Even if I didn’t coach the program. I would be in the stands cheering for them. I love this sport as a coach and as a fan." with Perry' on the losing side of a 6-5 score. Perry retaliated against both teams strong in their sec ond meeting destroying Feagin Mill 17-4 and shut ting out Tabor 11-0. Warlick credited the suc cessful season to his play ers, who have made great defensive plays all season and have had consistent hitting all season. The team’s highest average, .571, during the season came in their first meeting with Bonaire. During the rest of the Phil Clark Home Journal Sports never expected this to happen." Fact is, when Faircloth began coaching in Cochran, there was no hall of fame. Faircloth’s induction, fittingly, was part of the opening cere monies of the new Hall of Fame in Macon. Faircloth coached in Cochran until 1947, with time out for military ser vice, and came to Fort Valley in 1949. He coached state champi onship basketball teams in both places, 1943 in Cochran, then led the Green Wave to titles in 1952 with the likes of Ed Beck, Pat Swan and Eddie Merritt, then repeated in 1954 after Swan had graduated. His team also won in 1962, and his 1961 football team was state champion. Norman Faircloth deserves to be in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Why did it take so long? Perhaps for the same reason that coaches like Bill Martin, who won two state titles at Montezuma High School, Norman Carter of Taylor County and Carl Peaster of Macon County, two of the best girls coaches ever to grace the sidelines, and Macon County's pioneer football coach Jimmy Maffett, who was the school's football coach for itis first 23 football play Wed., May 12, 1999, Hauston Home Journal year, the Panthers as a team, typically hit in the high 300 s and mid 400 s. Pitching has also been a strength for the team including Russ Crum’s 11 - 0, no hitter against Tabor. Warlick said at the start of the season, that he thought this team would be able to win the champi onship. “I would have been disap pointed if we hadn’t won the championship. I knew that as a team we were stronger than we were last year," he said. ing years! There’s bad news, too, this week. Long time Boston and Milwaukee Braves first baseman Joe Adcock passed away at age 71. Adcock made headlines when he broke up the longest no-hitter in major league history. Harvey Haddix, the pint-sized Pittsburgh left hander, had gone 12 innings without giving up a hit until Adcock home red in the 13th inning. Haddix had retired the first 36 Braves to face him, but a Pittsburgh error and a walk had put two runners on in the 13th before Adcock’s home run. Adcock is also one of a handful of major leaguers to hit four home runs in a game. He also had a dou ble in that game for a major league record 18 total bases in a game. Adcock died of Alzheimer’s disease. More good news was the terrific performance of Westfield’s 400 meter relay team in the Georgia Independent School Association state track meet Saturday in Albany. The team, Jared Shell, Gary Virden, Jacob Walker and Tate Parker, blew away a talented field in running a school-best 43.93, taking first over Tattnall's 44.19. The ugly news is Darryl Strawberry’s arrest in Florida on solicitation and cocaine possession charges. Baseball has leaned over backwards fqr the likes of Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and Steve Howe, among others. At some point, there has to be an end to this tolera tion. rrrTmraMOTiiy a 8 Baft H 8 jrfjifc,- 8 SBSHk ft I : * t * .»*£* / Jm Home Journal photo by Charlotte Perkins BOOK LOVERS found, countless bargains at the recent old book sale held by the Perry Friends of the Library. The sale netted over $2500. Shown browsing for bar gains are the Rev. Pete Aroyo, Wallace Harbutt and Anna Pritchett. Honors Continued from page 1A A Miss Westfield college scholarship was presented to Brandi Bazemore. She also received one of four Brannen Ford of Byron scholarships. Other Brannen winners were Rick Coogle, Jared Shell and Selena Sampson. Bazemore also claimed the Perry Business Women’s Club scholarship while Rick Coogle and Jones received the Perry Kiwanis Club scholarships worth $6,000 total. The Perry Rotary Club scholarship went to Chad Bailey while the Susan Lee Memorial went to Rick Coogle. School leaders presented academic awards as part of the evening. In the literary area, girls solo went to Stephanie Burdeshaw\ Burdeshaw joined Anne Peake and alternates Hanna Barrett and Caroline Maddox for the girls trio. Boys solo was Walt Brannen. Anne Peake won the piano award while Brad Barfield received the spelling award. Lina Arnold won Girls Oral Interpretation while James Farmer won Boys Oral Interpretation. Bo Hart was the Boys Oral Interpretation alternate. Selena Sampson received the Girls Extemporaneous Speaking award while Bryn Pipes received the Boys Extemporaneous Speaking award. Sampson won the Girls Argumentative Essay while Jones won the boys. Airport from the sky. Prom that per spective it really comes to life. For starters, there’s a rotating beacon that pilots can see 15 to 20 miles away. Flashing white and green lights on the field communicate the message to all pilots that this is a local airport. Still other lights, border ing the runway, can be turned on by the pilot by radio from the air. White lights provide a guide to the location of the runway, amber lights indicate the last thousand feet and red lights show that the run way has come to an end. According to David Morgan, frequently updated government publications give all pilots a directory of the airports around the country, including what navigational options and facilities are available. One navigation device available to pilots coming into the local airport is a radio controlled directional guide. On the ground trans mitters send two thin radio beams down the runway. From the air, the pilot can set his equipment to the required radio frequency and watch a thin needle posititioning and reposition ing Itself to indicate that the Daniel Davis was recQg nized for his competition in personal essay. Members of the Debate Team included Davis, David Horne, Bryn Pipes, Selena Sampson and Jason Wade. Members of the One-Act Play cast included Brad Barfield, Brandi Bazemore, Elizabeth Berry, Kelly Bryant, Cindy Carson, Amanda Coogle, Amanda Driver, james Farmer, John Curtiss Gibbs, Courtney Gregory, Mayt Hardy, Patrick Harris, Brian hart ley, Lauri Jacobs, Megan Joiner, R.G. lamar, Terry Mosteller, Laura Posey, Brent Roper, Selena Sampson, Brandi Jo Tharpe and Lauren Young. Participating in the Winter Play and honored were Elizabeth Berry, Amanda Coogle, Rick Coogle, Amanda Driver, Courtney Gregory, Matt ! hardy, Robby Heaton, Selena Sampson, Brandi Jo Tharpe and Jason Wade. Nominated for Governor’s Honors in math was Brad Barfield. Receiving the Certificate of Merit from the University of Georgia were Brad Barfield and Daniel Davis. Wofford Scholars were Lina Arnold, Brad Barfield. Daniel Davis and Matthew Hulbert. Academic Bowl contes tants recognized included Brad Barfield, Daniel Davis, Daniel Horne, Brittany Hutto. Bryn Pipes, Selena Sampson, Jason Wade and Cainan Welchel. Continued from page 1A plane is lined up with the runway for a safe landing. This is a particularly help ful guide in bad weather, Morgan notes, because the pilot can come down through a cloud cover to the right location for landing safely. Another navigation aid - a relay radio system - is about to be added at the airport to will enable pilots to use their radios while on the ground, in order to receive flight instructions before starting a flight. Because of insurance company requirements, good navigational equip ment is one factor in build ing business at a local air port. Another, according to Morgan, is the availability of fuel and repair services. The airport can refuel planes and is offering round-the-clock mainte nance and repair services through Willis Aviation. According to Stacy Willis, the Fixed Base Operator for the airport, the airport staff also provides hangar space and frequently arranges transportation for those arriving at the airport. “We offer free courtesy .transportation to those who buy fuel," Willis said, “and we also arrange transporta tion by rental car." Northrop Grumman ‘chefs’ to host restaurant at Relay for Life Bt charlotte PERKINS B?% WWW The Northrop Grumman Relay for Life team will don tuxedos and chefs hats from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., on the evening of May 14, and serve a variety of dinner items to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. According to Julie Moore, team captain, the “Cafe’ La Cure" will feature white lace tablecloths and china plates, with waiters dressed in tuxedos. A menu, featuring ribs, barbecued pork, hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken breast, will be featured. Desserts will be carrot cake, chocolate cake, New York cheese cake and German chocolate cake. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society* and dona tions will be welcome. Moore said that mem bers of the team, all volun teers, will take turns serv ing and cooking at the tent covered "restaurant" and walking around the track as part of the relay and The Northrop Grumman team won the honor of top fund raiser for the event in 1998. The Relay for Life will take place at the Perry High School football field. Scores From Page 1A centile ranking also showed a slight drop from 52nd percentile in 1998 to 50th in 1999. Information on 1999 test scores in this story is from the Houston County Board of Education. Information on 1998 test scores is from the Georgia Public Education Report Card for 1998. Board From page 1A • Heard a request from Matt Stone, Senior Class Presi-dent at Houston County High School, to bury a hundred year time capsule on the school grounds. Stone said that capsule, actually an air proof funer al vault, would include items and writings depict ing the life of this year’s graduating class and would be scheduled to be opened in 2099. After discussion of the location of the vault, the Board voted to approve the request. Tolleson Supply takes first half win - tured first pla m in the Perry Junior League major league with a 5-3 record. Alltel also had a 5-3 record hut split the head-to-head games with Toelleoon. ToUesohn outscored Alltel in the two games. Pitchers with the best records are Josh Davidson of Tolleson and Josh O’Neal of Ailtell. Both are 3-1. Kiwanis pitcher Shane Ashley has 49 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. Jordy Strokes of Alltel and Shane ASshley of Kiwanis lead the home run race with 4 each. Tap hitters are Stephen I James, .500: Dusty Denton. .500: Jordy Stokes. .500; -455: and Daniel Peake. .450. Baxter CPA 7. Tolleson 4. Bruce Vance of Tolleson. 2-run home run, Brandon Doles of Baxter, 3-run game-winning home run. Kiwanis 5. AHttl 4. Shane Ashley of Kiwanis was winning pitcher, was 3-4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Alltel 11, Baxter CPA 4. Brandon Doles of Baxter had a 2-run home run. Jordy Stokes. Stephen James arid Bran Crum had home runs for Alltel Tolleson 4. MMM CPA 3. Grand Brantley of Tolleson had a double. RBi and run scored. Mitchell Patterson of MMM had a single, RBI and run scored. Mfcflyf 5, Kiwanis 5. Jefl Bargd oFwwmMa dou^e^n^*'