June 30, 2017 - Center High School hosted their first inaugural Summer Tennis Tournament at the Leon Dykes Tennis Center Friday, June 30. Center is the newest stop for the Northeast Texas Tennis circuit which also includes stops in Longview, Tyler, Kilgore, Mesquite, and Forney.

The following are the results of the tournament:

Boys Singles 7th - 9th Grade
1st Place - Alex Hassell (jacksonville)
2nd Place - Ian Williams (center)
3rd Place - Jack Callen Watlington (center)
4th Place - Zac Denby (center)
Consolation - Lance Holloway (center)

Girls Singles 7th - 9th Grade
1st Place - Sarah Teves (whitehouse)
2nd Place - Lanie Hooks (center)
3rd Place - Sarah Scull (center)
4th Place - Emilee Elliott (center)
Consolation - Alyssa White (center)

Boys Singles 10th-12th Grade
1st Place - Kavin Patel (spring Hill)
2nd Place - Mauricio Rojas-solis (center)
3rd Place - Keaton Watlington (center)
4th Place - Alec Dykes (center)
Consolation - Joel Martinez (center)

Girls Singles 10th-12th Grade
1st Place - Megan Dunn (center)
2nd Place - Keelan Williams (center)
3rd Place - Mackenzie Dykes (center)
4th Place - Caroline Scull (center)
Consolation - Maddie Russell (center)

Great day under steamy conditions. A big thank you to all who participated and played through the heat of the day!

June 26, 2017 - Center HS will be hosting a summer singles tournament this Friday, June 30th. The tournament is part of the East Texas Summer Circuit and it will be Center HS first opportunity to host an event on the circuit.

Events held:

Boys singles 7th-9th grade
Boys singles 10th-12th grade
Girls singles 7th-9th grade
Girls singles 10th-12th grade

For more information on how to enter, please contact Leon Dykes at leon.dykes@centerisd.org

Top row left to right: Alyssa Mireles - Diboll, Victoria Byrd - Joaquin, McKenize Murry - Shelbyville, Ashlee Gurley - Logansport, Kennedy Stanley - Joaquin, Mia Mireles - Diboll, Chrislyn Pena - Joaquin, Kianna Coutee - Lufkin. Bottom row left to right: Kalie Brooks - Joaquin, Chloee Mason - Alto, Miranda Morin - Rusk, JJ Bass - Joaquin.

Friday, June 23, 2017, Killeen, Texas - The Bandits 14 and under (14U) Girl's Softball Team have checked off many of their 2017 goals but none as exciting as their most recent accomplishment of qualifying for the ASA Nationals, in Johnson City,Tennessee, on the weekend of June 16-18. They face some very tough competition against both first and second year 14U teams in Killeen but were able to secure the birth thus accomplishing its top 2017 goal, a ticket to ASA Nationals. Facing teams like the Firecrackers, Bombers, Glory Teams and Velocity, will certainly continue to push this ladies team to new levels of competition.

The Texas Bandits softball team was started in 2012 by Jay Stone and Jason Stanley out of Joaquin. The team mainly consists of local area talent. Over the last several years there have been many accomplishments and the Bandit’s name has become well known in the East Texas area.

The Lady Bandits first year 14 and under team was formed in August of 2017. The team includes many new players from around the area as well as some additions to the coaching staff. The teams focus for this season is Commitment, Respect & Teamwork. The Bandits coaching staff quickly established its goals for the upcoming season and shared with all players & family.

Goals set by the team were to develop top notch team chemistry, compete at the highest levels successfully, win and lose as a team with class, qualify for 14U American Softball Association Nationals this summer at Johnson City Tennessee, and to keep a team grade average of 80+ is also a minimum expectation.

In October of 2016 the Bandits began the journey of competing at a higher level by participating in the Ronald McDonald College Showcase in Woodlands, Texas in the 14U division despite being eligible to compete in the 12U division based on age. Throughout the fall of 2016 the Bandits played all of their tournaments in 14U age group to better prepare for the level of competition they would face in 2017.

Competing at this level requires a lot of hard work and dedication from the Bandit ladies as well as their families. The Bandits will travel over 50% of the time leading up to Nationals to compete in some of the highest levels of competition in both Texas and Louisiana. The Bandits have begun the journey of trying to raise funds to attend the Nationals in Tennessee with an estimated budget to attend of $16,000. The Bandits will host several fundraisers over the next month and welcome any assistance from local area businesses. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Team Manager Jason Stanley at jstanleytbsoftball@yahoo.com or call at 903-754-9213. Any donations are appreciated by the coaching staff, ladies & parents.

June 20. 2017, Tenaha Special Events Center –

Area teams such as Tenaha, Joaquin, Chireno, Woden and Nacogdoches, enjoyed summer basketball league action, last Monday, at Tenaha High School. The Monday Basketball Summer League started weeks ago and will continue until late summer and include other teams such as Timpson High School as well.

This week’s action saw cross-county rivals Tenaha and Joaquin battle it out in a close game which saw the game tied at 29-29 until Lady Ram Erica Davis gave Joaquin a two-point lead (31-29) with five and a half minutes left in the contest.

Tenaha briefly gained a 32-31 advantage but a Lady Rams’ put-back shot, and a Day’za Lane hook, in the final two minutes left in the contest, gave Joaquin the chance to stall the remaining time off the clock and win by a 35-32 margin.

The Chireno Lady Owls took on the West Sabine Lady Tigers next. The Lady Owls took a commanding 32-6 lead into the midway break. They went on to win the contest by over thirty points.

Joaquins’ second game saw them trail Woden 30-16 at the midway point of the contest. Woden held on to beat the Lady Rams 57-28.

Tenaha played the Nacogdoches Lady Dragons in the night’s final game. Nacogdoches held a narrow 13-12 lead at halftime and went on to win 33-30.

Tenaha will again host league play on Monday next week starting at 5 p.m.

Desmond Hillard is seen on the field instructing campers during the Preston Football Camp.

June 12, 2017 - Dwight Preston hosted his annual mentoring program and football camp on Friday and Saturday, June 2-3. There were about 10 kids in attendance for the mentoring program plus guests.

Several familiar faces were on hand during the mentoring program. Pictured are (from left) Dwight Preston, Center Fire Chief Keith Byndom and John Brooks, Founder of MBK Mentor.

The mentoring program, "My Brother's Keeper," was held in the conference room of the Best Western Plus in Center and featured a host of mentoring participants. They included: Center Fire Chief Keith Byndom; John Brooks, Founder of MBK Mentor; Noel Cotton, Sid Roberts Funeral Home Director; Lt. Jeremy Bittick, with Center Police Department (accompanied by Sgt. Ricky King and Officer Kenneth King); Todd Bailey, Professional Body Builder; and Dwight Preston himself.

"They talked to them about being positive, about attitude. Mr. Cotton talked a lot about them putting in the work. If you want to have something, you're going to have to put the work in to get it," said Preston.

Former Center Roughrider Jeremy Small is seen giving tips to camp participants.

A lot of the kids attending the program, Preston works with during the school year. He said some of the kids attending the program have trust issues and need nurturing.

"One of the kids really, really came out and Mr. Cotton really helped him out," said Preston. "One thing with kids with trust issues you cannot do is tell them something and don't do it, because, they expect you not to do it all the time."

Dwight Preston and John Preston in a huddle with campers.

Although some of the kids have had to face negative situations in their lives, Preston wants to help break the cycle and help them to realize everything in the world is not that way, not everyone is bad, and some days are just bad days.

Preston said during the program the kids were provided with a continental breakfast, pizza, gifts and MBK bags provided by John Brooks.

Following the mentoring program on Friday, the Preston Football Camp was held on Saturday. Several people contributed time to the camp to help educate the children on different football skills.

John Preston (foreground) shows some moves to Preston campers while Ronnie Williams waits his turn.

Those individuals included: Ronnie Williams, Elliott Edwards, Jeremy Smith, Desmond Hillard, John Brooks, Jeremy Small, David Harris, John Preston, Jhimon Preston, Jerrett Preston and Stephen Preston.

Preston had some additional news about Jeremy Small, "He has graduated from graduate school. He graduated from college and he went to grad school, he has his Masters and he is going to be working in Nacogdoches over at their high school."

The camp was a success, and plans for next year are in the making.

Dwight Preston (left) is seen with his fellow championship football teammates from Kansas Wesleyan University who attended the mentoring program and camp and helped out.


First place team members with Lorei Choate with Shelby Savings Bank (left) and Deborah Chadwick with the Chamber of Commerce (right)

June 9, 2017 (More photos) - The 2nd Annual Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Golf Classic was held recently at the Center Country Club with presenting sponsor, Shelby Savings Bank. Gold Sponsors for the Event were High Roller Wells and Texas Quick Care. The participating golfers were served lunch and had a 12:30 p.m. tee time with the opportunity to win an ATV with a hole in one shot contest.

At the end of the day the teams turned in their scorecards and the results were announced. In First Place was the Center Country Club team with Joe Whittlesy, Austin Craig, Billy Thompson and Roy Peace.


Second place team (from left) Bobby Pigg, Charles Rushing, Howell Howard, and John Howard.

Second place was awarded to the East Texas Poultry Team comprised of Howell Howard, John Howard, Bobby Pigg and Charles Rushing. Coming in third place was the Farmers State Bank team with Scott Stanfield, Ryan Pinkston, Shane Ray and Roy Blake.


Third place team (from left) Shane Ray, Ryan Pinkston, and Scott Stanfield.

Leon Dykes, a member of the Center ISD team, won the longest drive. Howell Howard had the shortest drive.


From left: Howell Howard won shortest drive and Leon Dykes won longest drive.

The Chamber's 2nd Annual Golf Classic was an opportunity to network with Chamber members and potential business associates. The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce is organized to promote and advance economic enrichment and development, tourism and the social and civic interest of Shelby County and adjoining areas.

Thank you to all our sponsors and participants! See you next year!

  • Presenting Sponsor: Shelby Savings Bank Gold Sponsors: High Roller Wells and Texas Quick Care
  • Corporate Team Sponsors: East Texas Poultry Supply, Farmers State Bank, Hope Medical, Steel Building Supply, Tyson Foods
  • Beverage Cart Sponsor: Aurora Concepts LLC
  • Interactive Hole Sponsor: Pineywoods Beverage
  • Golf Ball Sponsor: Center Country Club Pro Shop
  • Goodie Bag Sponsor: Texas Quick Care
  • Tee Box Sponsors: Edward Jones Investments, Shawn Danley Construction, Texas State Bank (Center Branch)
  • Cart Path Sponsors: B&S A/C and Heating, Celebrations Events & Travel, Dairy Queen, Edward Jones Investments, Hughes Florist, Nettie's Nook & Sammitch Shop, Shawn Danley Construction

Thank you to Center Motor for allowing the use of 2 ATVs; to Bobby Daw for cooking a delicious lunch and to the staff at the Center Country Club.

Center Middle School Gymnasium, June 08, 2017 –

The 2017 Roughrider Summer Basketball Camp was held in the Center Middle School Gymnasium for boys entering grades fourth through eighth. Each camp participant received a T-shirt and learned the value of conditioning drills, basketball fundamentals, competitiveness, and teamwork. Coaches, including Head Basketball Coach Hiram Harrison, instructed over forty players at the camp which lasted three days.

May 31, 2017 - Tenaha student Pacey Rhodes, son of Heather and Robbie Rhodes, competed in the Texas State Junior High Finals this past week in chute dogging. Pacey finished 2nd in average time and 3rd place in points.

His outstanding performances earned him the chance to compete in the National Finals in Lebanon, Tennessee the week of June 18-24.

May 25, 2017 - Rams, Roughriders, and Dragons will be represented as the nations elite 10u baseball players gather in Disney World.


From left: Ram Tanor Doggett, Roughrider Logan Horton, Roughrider Carson Crawford and Dragon Dylan Parker

Shelby county will be represented well in the Demarini Elite 32 World Series event located in Orlando, Florida Disney World. The event invites the top 32 teams in the United States to compete for the title of National Champion. These four players have committed their time and efforts since 4 years of age to achieve this dream.

Their love for the game and motivation to succeed is the driving force behind their efforts. The future is bright for Shelby County Baseball and their parents would like to thank the community for the support they have each received.

May 22, 2017 - Center's own Grant Belrose, owner of 936 CrossFit, traveled to San Antonio over the weekend to compete in the 2017 South Regional (Latin America, South West US, South Central US) CrossFit Games in San Antonio, Texas as part of the Reebok CrossFit Games.

After competing in the CrossFit Open (Area level) in February, Grant was invited to compete in the regional along with 47 more athletes from the southern United States and Latin America. The Open is the first stage of the CrossFit Games which includes hundreds of thousands of athletes competing in the worldwide, online competition.

Grant not only displayed strength and skill but also mental fortitude completing 6 workouts in 3 days.

His standings were:

Friday
Event 1 - 42nd place (For time, wearing a 20-lb weight vest: 1,200-m run; Then, 12 rounds of: 4 strict handstand push-ups, 8 chest-to-bar pull-ups, 12 squats)
Event 2 - 13th place (21-15-9 reps for time of: 80-lb Dumbbell snatches and Ring dips)

Saturday
Event 3 - 19th place (For time: 100-ft (80-lb) dumbbell overhead walking lunge; 100 double-unders; 50 (30-lb) wall-ball shots; 15-ft. rope climb, 10 ascents; 50 wall-ball shots; 100 double-unders; 100-ft. dumbbell overhead walking lunge)
Event 4 - 36th place (For time: 60-ft. handstand walk; 10 toes-to-bars; 10 (150-lb) double kettlebell deadlifts; 60-ft. handstand walk; 12 toes-to-bars; 12 double kettlebell deadlifts; 60-ft. handstand walk; 14 toes-to-bars; 14 double kettlebell deadlifts; 60-ft. handstand walk; 16 toes-to-bars; 16 double kettlebell deadlifts)

Sunday
Event 5 - 12th place (21-15-9 reps (80-lb. dumbbell) for time of: Muscle-ups and Single-arm overhead squats)
Event 6 - 12th place (For time: 30 / 25 cal. bike; 20 burpee (30-in) box jump-overs; 10 (150-lb) sandbag cleans)

Finishing out his final points standing in 19th place overall.

When asked what his goals for next season are he replied "next year, top 10". 

Congratulations Grant Belrose on an outstanding showing and we look forward to seeing you accomplish your next season goals.

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