Job Corps students donate $1,080 to Red Cross

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

A group of very active Job Corps students donated a $540 collection with a matching $540 DESI Corporation to the Bamberg Chapter of the American Red Cross last week.

“This is very significant,” said Red Cross chapter executive director Harvey Kling. These young men and women represent the essence of community caring and giving. I know that Bamberg Job Corps students have traditionally given their physical support and skills to the Bamberg Community over the years, but to collect this much money to help a community that is essentially only a temporary home to the majority of Job Corps students is remarkable.”

Typically Job Corps students reside at the Bamberg Job Corps center for only a few months, up to twelve or eighteen months while they complete their training and education, and then they’re off to new endeavors in their home town or a new community. “These young men and women are truly remarkable,” Kling commented.

What is equally important, the corporate offices of DESI, the current operator of the Bamberg Job Corps Center, pledged to match the students’ donation. “This total donation of $1,000 will go a long way in helping Bamberg families who’ve been put in harms way because of some disaster or another,” Kling explained. The students began collecting the donations soon after the Japanese mainland was hit with the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left thousands homeless and thousands dead.

The Bamberg Chapter of the Red Cross has assisted hundreds of local families over the years from disastrous events such as burn-outs from home fires coordinated with Bamberg’s family assistance program the Cheese and Cracker Box, assistance to military families, first aid and CPR training and blood drives, disasters nationally and internationally.

Relay for Life raises $54,000

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

The Bamberg County Relay for Life was held on Friday, May 20 on the soccer field at the Ness Sports Complex in Bamberg. On a humid, early summer evening, cancer survivors, many of whom dressed in purple t-shirts, their caregivers, family members and friends came together to celebrate those who have fought the battle against the dreaded disease and lived to tell their stories as well as those who lost the battle.

When the evening’s events were over $54,000 had been raised for the fight against cancer. At the start of the evening’s activities, Bamberg County Relay for Life Co-Chair Mollie Brandemuehl thanked everyone for attending the event and for their work and support in the Bamberg County Relay for Life Campaign this year.

At the start of the event, in an iconic moment that has come to symbolize Relay for Life events around the country, those that have beaten and who are still fighting the disease that claims thousands of lives each year joined together in the survivors walk around the make shift track on the soccer field lined with hundreds luminaries, to the applause of those friends and loved one surrounding the track. On the second lap around the track the survivors were joined by their caregivers.

From the start of the event, to the lighting of the luminaries, participants spent several hours with Relay for Life team members walking the track, listening to music, playing games, dancing, meeting old friends, many of which had not seen each other since high school and enjoying every type of food one could want.

At approximately 10 p.m.” the moment that brings it all together” was held with the lighting of the luminaries in remembrance of those who lost their lives to cancer and for those who have survived to fight another day.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt Garnet and White Spring Game

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

The 2011 edition of the Bamberg-Ehrhardt Red Raider football team culminated spring training with its annual Garnet and White Spring Game, Saturday morning at Leon Maxwell Stadium. With temperatures in the 80’s that seemed like the 90’s the (White Team offense) came away with a hard fought approximately two-hour win over the (Garnet Team Defense).

The B-E quarterback duel of Sumner Cooler and Player Long directed the White Team offense to five touchdowns with four coming via the pass and one on the ground. Freshman Aggadoria Bowers led the offense with three touchdown receptions. The Garnet Team Defense was led by junior Ivan Cann, who recorded three sacks from his defensive end position.

After losing 22-seniors from last year’s team that went (13-1) and was the State Class 1- A Runner-up to Abbeville in the state finals, B-E Head Coach Kevin “Butch” Crosby said the 2011 team still has a “good core” of players returning this year and the main thing he and his staff wanted to accomplish this spring was having his younger players “get out there and learn some things.” He acknowledged that the team was “blessed” to have made it through the spring injury free, which he attributed to the program’s winter and spring conditioning program.

“We’re kind of green in some positions, but I think this spring we’ve kind of solidified who can play where and what they can do,” Coach Crosby said.

Crosby noted that after losing a large group of seniors from last year’s state runner-up team, this year’s team may not be able to do some things as well in some areas and maybe even better in other areas. He noted the B-E football program’s philosophy has always been to put players in the best position they can be to be successful. “It’s a matter of finding the right fit and being successful on the field,” he said.

One change on offense that was apparent in Saturday’s game was the venerable wishbone offense that was such a big part of the B-E offense last year was relegated to one or two series. Coach Crosby noted this year’s team will make an effort to be more balanced.

“We try to be balance, it’s hard, I’ve learned, a lot of people are going to pack the box, our defense does that ourselves,” he said. “We try to stay balanced as much as we can, I’m not sure how much we will be in the wishbone, but when we do get in the wishbone, we have three backs that can run it.”

Another important goal for the B-E football team going into this spring was finding a replacement for three-year starting quarterback Randon Sandifer, who Coach Crosby called “seasoned” Crosby said he was pleased with the play of quarterbacks Sumner Cooler and Player Long, who captured a state wrestling championship this year. And he was looking forward to the summer when the two quarterbacks could participate in some 7-on-7’s to start learning some things. “Sumner and Player did a good job of managing what we wanted to do today. They’re young and we have to keep that in mind. These guys are 10th grade and we have to take things slow and not throw too much at them.”

Crosby said another key to this year’s team in the early season will be the play of the BE defense, which he called “fast.” “If we can get them to hold us in some games early, by the end of the season hopefully we will be able to make some noise.”