Jamestown News - July 19, 2017

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YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m

WeeKLY eDITION july 19-25, 2017

Vol 39 No 31 | 1 Section | 12 Pages

RECORD SETTING

Cedarwood Swim Club Sets Records BY CAROL BROOKS NEWS FREELANCER cab1hp@gmail.com

Photo by Norma B. Dennis

Coach Johnny Boykin draws a mock play on the white board in his office.

Johnny Boykin named head football coach at Ragsdale BY NORMA B. DeNNIS FREELANCE WRITER Norma@normabdennis.com Coach Johnny Boykin has been named the new head football coach at Ragsdale High School. Ò It is more like passing the baton instead of a new race,Ó said Boykin, who has served as defensive coordinator in RagsdaleÕ s football program for a total of seven years. Ò This late in the season, I think it will benefit the team to have a coach they are familiar with. I know the program, what we have done and where we are going.Ó Boykin admits, however, that his coaching style may differ from that of former head coach Tommy Norwood. Norwood left Ragsdale after 19 years as head coach to take a position as defensive coordinator at St. James High School at Murrells Inlet, S.C. Ò How we do things from day to day may change just because we are two different people, but the guys will see little change in how we both love them and serve them,Ó Boykin said. Boykin is a native of Clinton, N.C. He was an outstanding player at Clinton High School, where he played as a linebacker. In 1990 the team won a state championship in the 2A division, the first in the history of the school. Following graduation in 1992, Boykin attended North Carolina A&T University. He planned See COACH, PAgE 3

In an era when more and more community swim clubs have fallen by the wayside due to closings or mergers, the Cedarwood Swim Team is not only thriving, itÕ s breaking records. Last year, the Cedarwood Stingrays broke a 28-year-old record in the medley relay and on July 11 the longstanding freestyle record was broken. On July 17, the team vied for their fifth consecutive High Point City Meet Championship at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. (See results in the July 26 Jamestown News.) Swimmers start early at the Cedarwood pool, with older participants helping teach and mentor the younger ones. There are currently around 150 members. Derrick Rubalcava, a parent of current swimmer Dillon Rubalcava, credits long-time Coach Brian Thoma for the strong showing at swim meets.

Ò This group of boys are older swimmers,Ó Rubalcava said. Ò ItÕ s just been amazing and (having) the older group of boys is unheard-of throughout the league. ItÕ s rare to find older swimmers who stay this long and swim until they canÕ t swim any more. (Note: Swimmers who turn 18 by June 1 are no longer eligible.) It says a lot about the coach and the program. (Coach Thoma) is just phenomenal. All the kids love him. This group of boys is the best theyÕ ve ever had at that pool. Ò HeÕ s not only teaching them how to swim, but life lessons also. HeÕ s molded our kids and taught them winningÕ s not important. ItÕ s great to win, but itÕ s all about effort and trying your hardest and having fun. Ò HeÕ s always kept it fun. ItÕ s exactly what parents hope to have. He does it very humbly.Ó All the coaching staff at Cedarwood are former swimmers, most growing up at the pool where they now work. Many of the members swim for Southwest Guilford High School and

that schoolÕ s boys and girls teams won conference championships in recent years. One previous swimmer went to the Olympic trials. The Cedarwood swim team participates in the High Point Community Swim Association, a league that is in dire straights with pools closing and combining to the point that there are no more pools left in High Point to save it, according to Rubalcava. Many pools have left to join the Greensboro Community Swim Association and others have combined to form teams. CedarwoodÕ s success could be attributed by their large membership, compared to that of other pools in the HPSC. Ò If youÕ re tired of keeping up with the Jones, look no further,Ó Rubalcava posted on Facebook. Ò Best group of people you will ever meet and family and community oriented. Which is why you find over three generations of families still here.Ó Perhaps that community feeling is why records are being broken.

Newcomer & council member file for Mayor BY CAROL BROOKS NEWS FREELANCER cab1hp@gmail.com By the time this newspaper arrives in your mailbox, candidates for Jamestown mayor and Town Council will only have a few days to submit their application and $10 with the Guilford County Board of Elections. Filing ends at noon July 21. But if early filing is any indication, this should prove to be a very interesting election season. The mayorÕ s race will see more candidates than it has in recent memory. Current Councilmember Lynn Montgomery announced her candidacy for mayor July 7, the first day filing was open. Newcomer Rob-

ert Frederick filed July 12. Incumbent Mayor Keith Volz has indicated he will run for his sixth term but had not filed as of last Friday. Volz won his first term as mayor in 2007, the last time there was a contested race for mayor. The term of service is two years. In 2011, 11 candidates filed for the four Town Council seats, forcing a primary election. One of those defeated in the primary was later defeated as a write-in candidate for mayor. As of last Friday, only two candidates had filed for Town Council, incumbent Lawrence Straughn, seeking his second term, and newcomer Rebecca Mann Rayborn. Incumbent Georgia Nixon-Roney has indi-

cated she would consider a sixth two-year term on the Council. Current Councilmember Billy Ragsdale has not indicated his intentions. If fewer than the minimum candidates file for the four Town Council seats, N.C. General Statute 163328 reads, in part, Ò If when the filing period expires, candidates have not filed for an office to be filled under this Article, the State Board of Elections shall extend the filing period for five days for any such offices.Ó A full rundown of candidates will appear in next weekÕ s Jamestown News. Election day 2017 is Nov. 7. If a primary is needed, it will be Oct. 10.

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Photo Courtesy of Alan Palmer

The 2017 Cedarwood Stingrays Swim Team

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