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Swinging for Jesus Baseball4Christ combines game with gospel By DOUG GORMAN dgorman@newnan.com If Baseball4Christ leaders Mike Winslett and Brian Morgan have learned one thing during the past five years, it’s that the annual mission trip is about a whole lot more tha n base hits, strikeouts and home runs. T h at ’s why even ra i n couldn’t spoil this year’s jou r ney to Vero B e ach , Florida. Baseball4Christ has grown ever y year since friends Winslett, a local businessman, and Newnan First Baptist Church youth pastor Morgan began the project. It selects through a strict nominating process high school players who have a passion for both baseball and the gospel. This year, Baseball4Christ stayed at the Dodgertown
facility where they walked the same streets as former legends Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Steve Garvey once strolled during spring training. “I guess I am showing my age,” Winslett said. “I asked our kids some trivia, and they didn’t know what I was talking about.” T h i s ye a r ’s B a s e ba l l4Christ team included East Coweta’s Austin Bellamy, Cameron Smith, and Cary Holloway, Heritage’s Brad Macke, Northgate’s Chad and Buddy Green, Jonathan Ha m ilton, Bla ke Helton, Avery Whitney, and Connor Wilson. Newnan’s Connor Dunn, Walker Sandlin, Will Meyer and Sam Sowerbrower and home-schoolers Casey Lennoch and Kel Johnson. Norcross’s Griffin Helmes also was selected for the trip.
Baseball4Christ members pose for a photo before eating dinner at a steakhouse during their recent mission trip to Vero Beach in Florida. The team spent a week at Dodgertown where they helped do work in the community.
A lt houg h ra i n wa shed out all but two of the scheduled games and clinics, the wet weather couldn’t spoil the purpose of the trip - to give back to others and show their love for Christ. “I g uess one t h i ng we did learn is the weather in Florida is always going to
be unpredictable this time of year,” Morgan said. “We didn’t get to play a lot of baseball, but that was okay. We still had a great trip.” The first four Baseball4Christ trips went to Mexico. This year, they stayed closer to home, traveling to Florida where mission work was set
up through Epic Ministries. “The difference between this trip and the past trips in Mexico is we were working with mainly young kids, but this time we also worked with teenagers closer to the guys’ own age,” Winslett said. Holloway has been named
captain for next year along with Will Meyer. “I can’t wait to go back,” Holloway said. “It was such a great experience. I thought I would go down there and really help more with the baseball, but we got so much
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Photos by Jeffrey Leo
Some 450 paddlers landed at Chattahoochee Bend State Park Thursday for Paddle Georgia. They headed out from the park Friday on the trip’s final leg to Franklin.
Cleaner Chattahoochee ‘not the same river’ it used to be By Sarah Fay Campbell sarah@newnan.com Grape, Feta and Mint Quinoa Salad
Family Features Always the convenient go-to option for snack time, grapes from California also bring great taste, texture and added flair to your favorite dishes. From the juicy burst of flavor to the vibrant array of beautiful reds, greens and blacks — fresh grapes are a top choice for home cooks and health-conscious eaters alike. While shoppers often choose this tasty fruit for in-between meal snacking, grapes can also boost the “healthy” factor in recipes, while adding bright, beautiful color to salads, entrees and desserts. They can make any of your favorite dishes healthier, and can make already healthy ones taste even better. California grapes are available May through January. For flavorful, unique ways to add grapes to your meals, visit grapesfromcalifornia.com or facebook. com/grapesfromcalifornia.
Smart snacking Whether it’s midafternoon or midmorning, reach for grapes when in need of a quick snack you can feel good about. They are ready-toeat with no peeling or coring. Plus, grapes go where you go — they’re easy to pack along to the office, the game, in a lunch or in the car. Here are more reasons to feel great about choosing grapes: n One serving (3/4 cup) has just 90 calories. n Grapes have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. n They are a natural source of beneficial antioxidants and other polyphenols.
The 450 participants in this year’s Paddle Georgia event got to see a river that has taken on new life in the past several years. The sections of the Chattahoochee River that flowed through Atlanta’s industrial areas were once considered “dead” from pollution, and the ill effects stretched far downstream. But as Atlanta has worked to clea n up its outdated sewer systems, the river has recovered. Much of the work Atlanta has done has been the result of lawsuits filed by the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. This year’s trip was the 10th one for Paddle Georgia. The first one, in 2005, was a lso held a long t he metro-Atlanta section of the Chattahoochee. “This is not the same river
we paddled in 2005,” said Paddle Georgia Coordinator Joe Cook in the Paddle Georgia blog. In late April and early May, Cook spent time scouting out the route. “My travels have taken me through the heart of the river’s “industrial park” – that section downstream of Atlanta that until the last two decades had all but been written off as a polluted cesspool. “With improved water quality in this stretch of river, the river corridor is also undergoing change.” That change was the most evident at Riverview Landing in Cobb County, where the paddlers camped for two nights. The property used to be a riverside junkyard. Now it is a park, and there are plans for a mixed-use development on the property. “Ten years ago, such plans were virtually unheard of on the river’s industrial side,”
Cook said. “I like to think Paddle Georgia was a small catalyst for some of these changes, but I know for certain that when 400-plus paddlers venture on the river – including its rugged industrial side … the communities surrounding it will take notice. The thought might occur to them – hey, maybe that river is worth exploring again. And, in that small way, our Paddle Georgia participants are slowly changing our rivers.” Newnan residents Jim and Jacob Wiglesworth were among the participants. The father and 10-year-old son made the trip in a canoe. They were home by late Friday, choosing to skip the fish fry, the closing celebration and the final night of camping in Franklin. Jim read about the trip in
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