Newspapers / The Carolina Indian Voice … / May 14, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
\ VvvSJc , PUBLISHED EACH THURSDAY THE CAROLINA INDIAN VOICE PEMBROKE. N.C “Building Communicative Bridges In A Tri-racial Setting. " ROBESON COUNTY 1 anc* ly-] nty^ nd lik vid tin fov ab itir| intj WLt "ME 15 A7 'MBER 20 WVRSDAY. yU/lV /-i. lff' Reprinted from the May 9, 1987 issue of Carolina Blue Senior Devy Bell Ready For Life With Or Without Baseball By STEVE BYERS Carolina Blue Staff Writer That the record-breaking home run should come at Boshamer Stadium was only fitting. That the one-out shot in the third inning would have no bearing on the outcome, a 10-2 ECU victory, was also somehow appropriate. It seems Devy Bell, Carolina’s senior rightfielder, has had the curious misfor tune of posting some very impressive numbers,in his almost four years of col lege baseball without the usual accompa nying fanfare or publicity. While former teammates Scott Bankhead, B.J. Surhoff, Walt Weiss, Roger Williams and others have gone on to the major leagues, Bell re mains in Chapel Hill and goes about his business of breaking school and con ference records in relative obscurity. Take the game against East Carolina. The Heels lose big, 10-2, although one of UNC’s runs comes on Bell’s 53rd collegiate home run. That shot broke the ACC all- time career homer mark of 52, set by Clemson’s Jim McCollum two seasons ago. But because the blast turned out to be just one meaningless run in the blowout, even Bell found it hard to get too excited. “I was very proud of myself inside after wards,” said Bell, a Pembroke, N.C., native, “1 only thought about it a few minutes because it wasn’t a whole lot dif ferent than hitting a regular home run. I thought about it for 10 or 15 minutes after wards and then it pretty much skipped my mind. I am glad I was able to do it in front of the home crowd. I’m fortunate in that respect. “I was also very lucky because I got a good pitch.” The 6-0, 190-pound Bell had already broken the school career home run total in his first game this year. He went into the season tied for first place on the UNC list with former teammate Scott Johnson. Bell’s drive against The Citadel in his first at-bat gave him 41 home runs in his career and started him on his way toward McCollum’s mark. But Bell says he tried to downplay the different records within his reach when he set his goals before the season. “I didn’t set my goals around the records. I set ’em for myself so that I could help the team. I knew that if I did this and that I could help the team a lot just in my position alone. I wanted to set some realistic goals this year, and I think I have. I’m still look ing for some more home runs and some more RBIs because I think our team needs them.” The Heels took a 25-16 record into their exam break. Not bad, certainly, but nothing extraordinary, either. Kind of like Bell’s season to date. The numbers: .321 batting average, 51 hits, 13 HFls, 43 RBI, .635 slugging percentage. All very respec table statistics, but nothing resembling the eye-catching junior year Bell enjoyed. He says, ‘‘It’s so hard to do some of the . things I did last year because sometimes last year I was just unconscious. I was do ing things I didn’t think I was capable of. This year I’ve left a lot of runners on base, and I’ve had a chance to do a lot of things with the bat, and I just haven’t done them this year. ‘‘At the beginning of the year I struggl ed a lot, and I think it was because I wanted to do so well that the pressure was too much. I couldn’t handle the bat. I couldn’t handle the concentration. I couldn’t handle a lot of things. I’ve been back and forth. Until I learn how to con centrate and learn how to play my game, then this’ll keep happening. Of course, you’re always going to struggle sometimes, but I think my consistency is better than what I’ve shown this year.” If Bell set out to top last season, he was kidding himself. Last year he set a new Carolina single-season record with 24 homers. Beil broke Johnson’s old mark of 22 with a two-homer performance against N.C. State in the ACC tournament. His 64 RBI was third best in the conference, as was his slugging percentage of .720. He finished second on the team with a .341 average. Bell reflects on that wondrous season. ‘‘I was very, very aggressive. I attacked the ball. Hitting-wise, I did more than what I thought I could do. I haven’t had a year like that since I’ve been playing ball. I guess a lot of it had to do with the weight program I had gone on. I felt really strong and felt like I could hit any pitch out. I didn’t even think about hitting home runs after 15 or 16, and they just kept cornin’. I wasn’t really aware of what I had done until the season was over and I had seen the stats.” He saw the stats, but did anybody else? Where were the major league scouts knocking each other over to get Bell’s signature on the dotted line? Bell admits now that he too was shocked at the lack of attention, although he thinks he has a good idea why the scouts laid off-lack of ex perience in summer ball. ‘‘You finally wonder what the scouts really want after having a year like that. You wonder what you’re playing for. You wonder, what else can I do? When nothing comes your way after three good years, you begin to wonder, what can I do now? ‘‘Maybe it was because I never played summer ball. But I never played summer ball because one vear I was gaining weight and lifting, and the other years I was in school. One of the reasons I didn’t go out to the Cape (Cod) last summer was because I had to finish a couple of classes to get things straightened out for my senior year. I’m glad I made that decisioi, and I don’t regret not playing in the sum mer.” Devy Bell...it’s been an intense year Bell says there’s more to his life than baseball. ‘‘I have so much more stuff I want to do during the summers, like school, for instance. If I had played dur ing the summer, I would’ve made a mockery of myself because I wouldn’t have been playing for the right reasons. But I do think that hurt me v.n.h the scouts.” There’s still hope, of course. After the current season. Bell’s name will be on the market again. He says scouts project him as a first baseman in the pros, which is alright with him, although he’s developed into quite a defensive outfielder this year. He admits his strong and accurate arm from right field has surprised everybody from opposing runners to his own team mates. Bell has also made some clutch diving grabs at his position this season that he wouldn’t have even attempted in years past. In short, he’s making himself as attrac tive and versatile a package for the scouts as he can. But if nothing pans out. Bell is prepared to close this chapter of his life and move on. ‘‘I’ll be student teaching in the fall, and I hope to be teaching by the end of the fall. I have it all lined up, just in case,” he says. ‘‘I’ll be ready to go on. Of course, it’ll bother me if I can’t play ball anymore, but you have to go on. I place a lot of emf^sis on what He wants me to do. When I get His answers, I go with them because it’s whpt He wants me to do. ‘‘If it so happens that I won’t pursue a professional career, it’ll hurt for a little while, but I won’t go out and find scouts to watch me hit or something like that. I feel there’s another avenue for my life to go in.” Bell also feels that even if he never gets a shot at the major leagues, he’s still luckier than most players because of his friends in the pros. Guys like Bankhead (Seattle), Williams (Cubs), Weiss (A’s) and Surhoff (Brewers). He says he keeps in touch with most of them and can always tell people that he played with these guys in college. ‘‘You learn so much from those guys, especially Bankhead, the pitcher he was and the way he carried himself. He was unbelievable. You sort of want to model yourself after those guys. B.J. got on some guys’ nerves sometimes, but he was ex tremely smart, and he knew that I wanted to learn. I usually listened to what he had to say. These guys have had a big in fluence on my career.” Regardless of the future, says Bell, if his career ended tomorrow, he could leave knowing he accomplished a great deal at (Carolina. He’s come a long way from that first baseball practice freshman year when he was a walk-on with the JVs and thought seriously about quitting. ‘‘If I don’t do anything the rest of the year, I guess you could say I’ve done enough. I’ve already done things I never thought I could do here. After my freshman year I went in and saw coach (Mike) Roberts, and I promised him that I would work just as hard my last three years as I had that year. And I have. ‘‘This year I’ve tried to be too intense. I try to say the pressure’s not there, but it is there. I need to handle it better. I usually thrive on pressure. If I stay in it long enough. I’ll get it back, I know I wiU. ‘‘But if nothing else happens the rest of the year, I really don’t think I have anything to be down about.” Devy Bell, the ACC’s all-time career home run leader, has baseball, and life, in perspective. Maybe that’s more important than what the scouts think. Pembroke State University’s New University Center Is Named For Dr. James B. Chavis think it is a great tribute to Dr. Chavis who has spent 24 years serving Pembroke State University,” said Dr. Givens. ‘‘He is a very vital member of our administrative staff. I think it is most appropriate that he is honored in this wav.” When Chavis was informed of the honor at a luncheon for the trustees at the Chancellor’s Residence prior to commencement, he expressed complete surprise. After the news settled in, he responded: ‘‘Fm honored that the Board of Trustees believed this ought to be done. It has got to be the highlight of my professional career. I look forward to our moving into the building and having programs there that wfll enhance the quality, of life at not only our university but the university community as well.” Chavis, a native of Robeson County, earned his B.S. in ‘63 at Pembroke State University with majors in science and mathematics. He received his M.A. in educational adminis tration in 1970 from East Carolina University. He earned his Ed.D in 1976 at Duke University in adminstration in higher education. Married to the former Judy Stokes of Muskogee, Okla,. he is the son of Macy Brooks Chavis and the late Fred Chavis of Pembroke. is the $5.5 million I niversily Center at vice chancellor for student affairs. It will be Pembroke State University which is being completed in July with its dedication named in honor of Dr. James B. Chavis, PSU scheduled Sept. 9. Dr. James B. Chavis... Pembroke State University's vice chancellor for student affairs in whose honor tht new University Center is being named. Indian Youth Unity Conference Set for June 17 Pembroke State University’s new $5.5 million University Center, to be completed in July, will be named in honor of Dr. James B. Chavis, PSU vice chancellor for student affairs. The PSU Board of Trustees, meeting Saturday in executive session, voted to honor Chavis in this way. Chavis, 51. has served at PSU for 23 years--14 of them as head of student affairs-, which this facility will center on. He was dean of student affairs from 1972-77, was gone for a year to be the Governor’s Ombudsman, then returned in 1978 and has served since as vice chancellor for student affairs. ^ The 66.068-square foot student union facility, which will be| two stories, is scheduled to be dedicated Sept. 9 during a PSUj fall convocation. ‘ The building will house a bowling alley, cafeteria, billiards room, game room, student lounges, snack bars, chapel, faculty lounge, 'TV rooms, counseling center, placement center, plus having many other features. Everyone has agreed it wUl be “a showplace” for the University. “'This building is going to be so spectacular that people will not .ealize how outstanding it is until they go inside,” says James C. McCormick, building superintendent for Home Builders Service corporation of Lumberton, which is the general contractor of the facility. Chavis was a leader in working through the N.C. General Assembly and the UNC General Administration in getting the University Center funded. Prior to his work in student affairs for PSU, Chavis was director of the PSU Student Center form 1964-66, financial aid officer from 1966-67, administrative assistant to the president from 1967-71, and director of admissions and registration from 1971-72. Among- his many professional activities is being a member of the State Board of Education. Dennis Lowery of Charlotte, chairman of the PSU Board of Trustees who announced the 'Trustees' decision at PSLTs centennial commencement Saturday, commented as follows: “Fm proud to be a part of the Board of Trustees which is honoring Dr. Chavis in this manner. He is most deserving. I think it is especially a great honor to bestow on one of James Chavis’ relatively young age. He has done a great work for the institution.” PSU Chancellor Paul Givens was among the first to congratulate Chavis after the decision was announced. “I ”1116 8th Annual Indian Youth Unity Conference is scheduled for June 17-19, 1987 at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Tbe conference provides an opportunity for students to explore their Indian heritage, improve their self-image and develop academic and social values. Participants will attend educational workshops on Indian Youth Involvement, Indian Traditions, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, and Leadership/Public Speaking. Special events will include intra-tribal pow-wow, volleyball, and basketball tournaments, princess pageant, banquet and art and essay contests. Tbe conference is sponsored by the North Carolina Native American Youth Organization and will have the theme, ‘‘nie Dreams of Our Forefathers are the Realities of Today’s Native American Youth.” Indian youth ages 14-18 or in grades 9-12 are eligible to participate. Ihe application and $45 registration fee must be submitted by May 29. It covers accommodations for two nights, four meals and a banquet, use of recreational facilities and all woikshop materials and activities. For more information contact Ron Hunt, Conference Coordinator, P.O. Box 27228, Raleigh, NC 27611-7228 telephone (919)733-5998. local bull^rin SHENANS SCHOOL OF DANCE ‘W PRESENT SPRING RECITAL MA Y22 & 23 SheNan's School of Dance, Pembroke, presents the 1987 spring dance recital for public school children on Friday, M ay 22, at 10 a.m. at PSU’s Performing Arts Center, Pembroke. $1.00 admission per student with no charge for teacher accompanying class. Interested teachers may call 521-2392 for information about reservations. General public performance will be on Saturday night, May 23, at 7:30 at the Performing Arts Center. Admission cost is $2.00 per adult and $1.00 per child under 12 years. LTITLE MISS DUMB EE PA GEANTPLANNED FOR JUNESO 'The little Miss Lumbee Pageant is an event that is a part of Lumbee Homecoming sponsored by Lumbee Regional Development Association. Lumbee Homecoming this year wilt be June 27 through July 4. 'Ibe little Miss Lumbee Pageant is scheduled for June 30 in the Performing Arts Center at Pembroke State University. Tbe age category for the pageant wUl be 4 through 6 years old by July 4, 1987. Only the first 15 applications will be accepted. Applications are now available for the 1987 little Miss Lumbee Pageant. These applications may be picked up at the Lumbee Regional Development Association’s Office between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. For further information, call Bobbie Oxendine at 521-9761. COUNTY WIDE PLATE SALE PLANNED TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION ON SENIOR CENTER Senior Citizens Action Group (SCAG) is planning a county wide plate sale on Friday, May 22, 1987. Our goal is to reach $30,000 in the next ninety days in order to start construction on a Senior Center for persons 55 years or older who need nursing home service. SCAG is a non-profit organization therefore your contribution or donation is tax deductible. Mail your check to the following address: Senior Citizens Action Group, Route 2 Box 296-A, Maxton, NC 28364 or John L Godwin, P.O. BOx 936, Pembroke. NC 28372. Make checks payable to Senior Citizens Action Group. The oig^anization operates exempt from Federal income tax under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. SCAG is licensed to solicit funds in the State of North Caorlina. PEMBROKE SPEAKER TO STRESS HANDICAP A WARENESS The Public Awareness Committee of the Mayor’s Committee for the Handicap has scheduled its eighth meeting at the Pembroke Town Hall in Pembroke at 7 p.m. on May 20, 1987. The guest speaker will be doctorate candidate Miss Zoe Woodell Ii>cklear of Pembroke. Miss Locklear is presently completing herFb.D. in Special Education from the University of North Carolina with an anticipated graduation date in May of this year. Her Ph.D. was preceded by a Masters in Education for the severe and profound handicapped, and a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Pembroke State University, graduating magna cum laude. She is a recipient of six academic and professional honore including Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges from PSU. Nine wori^shops and special training laboratories were incorporated into her academic program. The presentation will be a show and tell which will provide informative and educational substance for the general public and handicapped individuals. The information will be particularly useful for those living or working with the impaired on a daily basis. Mayor Milton Hunt of Pembroke will introduce Miss Locklear. Rease mark your calendars now! HEALTH DEPT.&SADD CHAPTER SPONSOR WALK The Robeson County Health Department and the “Students Against Driving Drunk” chapter at I^umberton High School will sponsor a “Walk Against Drugs” on May 16, 1987 from 8:30a.m. until 4:00 p.m. in the downtown plaza in Lumberfon, NC. Everyone is invited to come out and set up booths, entertain, and join in on all the fun. For further information, contact Susie Sutton at the Robeson County Health Department-the telephone numberis 738-7231. GOSPEL SING PLANNED FOR OUTDOOR DRAMA A gospel singing is planned for May 15, 1987 ai 8 p.m. at Lumberton Senior High School. Admission is $4.(i0. Singing groups featured will include the Pierce Family, Rev. David Carter, Cherokee Quartet, Chapeliers Quartet. .Mr. Robert Biyant, and the Sensational Gospel Singers. Th singing will be sponsored by the Robeson Historical Drama Association to raise funds for the outdoor drama “Strikg ;i‘, the Wind!”, which is presented each summer near PemI ke, NC. REVIVAL AT SOUTH BROADWA YB/iPTlST CHURCH South Broadway Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD, located at 211 S. Broadway announces its Spring Revival to be held at the church throughout the week beginning May 17, 1987. Sunday evening services begin at7;00p.i Weekday services begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. Reverend Jimmy Strickland, from Prospect Community Baptist Church, Pembroke. North Carolina is the visiting evangelist. According to the Pastor, Reverend Steve Brewer, there will also be special singing and other exciting features throughout the week. All churches and the genera! public are cordially invited and are encouraged to attend. For more information, one can call the Church Office at 732-8460. l'WTlfVlnr0 815 S i •"■Tb • « D 0 B Q wlTg'Q Q a v UPWARD BOUND REUNION ■ TTie Upward Bound Program at Pembroke State University" ■is planning a reunion of all former participants on July 25,^ J1987. The program is requesting that all students who! •participated from 1973 to present, contact their office as soon* las possible at (919)521-4214, ext. 276 or write: Upward Bound' JProgram, P.O. Box 112, Pembroke State University,! ijPembroke, NC 28372. fie I V •h.r Ipi drii ■y s^if Ct SI tol.ti e m 3d SI h jd tss f its
The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 14, 1987, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75