Sports

Team Bullseye and the National Archery in the School Program (NASP) will be hosting free archery mini camps for all upcoming sixth, seventh and eighth graders interested in trying out for the Middle School Archery team.
Camp one will begin on June 26, 2017, through June 27, 2017, from 6:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. each day. Camp two will begin on July 31, 2017, through August 1, 2017, from 6:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. each day. Both camps will be held at the old Middle School Cafeteria at 1400 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Eastman, behind the DAC building.
For more information, call Elaine Pittman at 478-231-6509.

The Dodge County Kids Fishing Rodeo took place on Saturday, June 3, 2017, at Stuckey’s Pavilion. 87 children participated, with approximately 140 people in attendance.
In the ages three through ten category, Tyler McClendon took home the first place prize with 4.32 pounds. Second place went to J.T. Lenderman with 3.78 pounds. Third place went to Parker Nobles with 3.69 pounds and The Big Fish winner was Tyler McClendon, with a fish weighing 1.08 pounds.
In the ages 11 though 16 category, first place went to Tayquan Austin with 3.55 pounds. Second place went to Javan Smith, with 3.42 pounds. Third place was awarded to Dairick Bryant with 3.01 pounds and the Big Fish prize was awarded to Cameron Mullis with a fish weighing .75 pounds.
Special thanks to Wade Hall, Janice Cadwell, Kennon Graham, Jason Braden and Citizens Bank of Eastman and Stuckey Timberland!

Dodge County 12 and under All-Stars finished second among eight teams in the Soperton/Treutlen Co. Invitational Tournament. The boys were one and one in pool play, defeating Montgomery County 10-0 with a loss to Telfair County 8-9. In the elimination bracket, the team defeated Swainsboro 11-5 and Soperton 16-4, to make it to the championship game, where they lost to a very tough team from Lyons. Pictured (l-r) are front row, Landon Fordham, De’arris Coney, Riley Williams, Shane Tripp and Aren Barden; second row, William Stringer, Zamiyan McDuffie, Brady Moore, Gavn Fordham and Jonah Collins and third row, coaches Erik Collins, Chip Stringer, Tab Moore and Cecil Barden.

By Russ Ragan
It will be a very busy summer at the Dodge Recreation Department. June will be especially busy. A total of 25 teams are expected to invade the department for the first part of the Dodge Invitational Tournament. It will be for the seven and eight year old and the nine and ten year old all-star teams from the area. The event will be played on June 9 and 10. “It should be a very busy weekend for our community as 300 players will be here from out of town and they will bring a big crowd with them,” said director Travis Niblett. The second half of the Invitational will be played on June 16 and 17, as the 12 and under boys and 14 and under boys event will be played.
The tourney on June 9 and 10 will be for both boys and girls all-star teams.
Those aren’t the only events in June for the department. The Boys Seven and Eight District One Class C All-Star Tournament will be held here from June 23 through the 27. “GRPA got rid of sub-districts this year so all the district tournaments will be bigger, and we feel like we got a real good event,” said director Niblett. There will be a total of ten teams coming to our town and they will bring a big crowd. It should be a very busy time for our town. There will be a $5.00 admission charge for adults in these tournaments.
Starting on July 17, the department will begin their first annual Sports Camp. There is no charge for the camp, and it is open for kids ages six to 12. Even though the camp is free, all the kids must be pre-registered by July 1, either at the department office or going online at www.Dodge-Recreation.com. A free lunch will be provided. The camp will be from July 17 through August 4. It will run Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Spots for the camp are limited.
The camp will be centered around rebuilding basketball, but other team sports, including soccer, track events, frisbee and kickball will be done.
It has been a very busy last 12 months at the department. “Money had been saved up to make improvements and everything is shaping up good,” said Niblett. Last year, the department added goal posts to the field. That allowed them to host the District 12 and under football tournament. It was Dodge’s first district hosting for football and the goal posts were required in order to host the event.
It has also been a very busy year for the department, as they have been doing a lot of improvements to the facility. The department has got a new field mower and utility vehicle. They also have a new irrigation well. The fields are in great shape now due to a lot of work from Niblett and staff. Also, the department’s biggest field saw a new sodding to the infield last winter, and it played very well in the 2017 season. There were other upgrades during the baseball season. The department got all new nets for the backstops on all the fields. Most recently, all new roofs have been added to the dugouts and spectator stands. New security cameras and public address systems have been upgraded. “We have made of bunch of upgrades to our fields and facility, and we have not increased any of our fees for our sports,” said Niblett. The department has also revamped their sponsorship system. All the action at the department will begin on June 9, so go take a look see!

Clayton Scarborough of Milan, has been selected to receive an Alfred Shorter/Provost Scholarship to attend Shorter University in Rome. 
This scholarship provides three-quarters of the cost of tuition for incoming freshmen for eight semesters. To qualify for this scholarship, a student must hold at least a 3.5 grade point average and an 1100 SAT score in critical reading and math or 24 ACT score. Scholarship recipients must then maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at Shorter University. 
Scarborough, the son of Clay and Joy Scarborough, graduated this year from Dodge County High School.