Nike Peach Jam

Plans are already underway for the Nike Peach Jam coming in July. Nike comes to town along with hundreds of scouts, basketball players, coaches and parents for a few weekends. North Augusta graciously hands over Riverview Park and Recreation Center to all these visitors. Our local churches open their doors to provide free meals to all participants during the days they are here otherwise some of the participants could not afford to come. However, at the end of each day, all those hundreds of scouts, players, coaches and parents leave North Augusta, cross the Thirteenth Street Bridge and spend all their money in Richmond County. Riverview Park is in essence off limits to the community during this time. From what I can gather locals do not participate as spectators nor are we allowed in the building. Does anyone else view this as wrong? Why are we so gracious? When I say we I mean the powers that be. Shouldn’t North Augusta expect to reap some of the rewards in tax revenues or meals or lodging? Remember, one of our own sits on the board of the Augusta Sports Council. Shouldn’t he insist that North Augusta reap some of the rewards or is the fact that he sits on that board with Mr. Morris and the head of the Marriott Augusta enough to intimidate him and let Augusta receive all the benefits?
In light of all this I did a little research and discovered the budget for North Augusta. We do take in a substantial amount of money for the rental of the facility which I assume goes back into the recreation department. I could not determine where the money went once collected and did not know who to call to ask. Although it is a good thing to put the money collected into the coffers of the recreation department, what about the rest of North Augusta. According to an unnamed source, Mayor Jones was quoted as saying “This is not a public event”, therefore North Augustans are not allowed to even have a table out front promoting the city or giving out information about the city. What is wrong with this picture?
On a lighter note we have visitors from Sydney, Australia in our fair city. They are here visiting their son who is a student at ASU and a member of the ASU Jaguars. He, Tom, is a freshman studying Health Sciences which came as no surprise when I learned his mother Ann is a Clinical Psychologist. She is also a published author who writes under the pseudonym of Ann Wignall. Her latest book, Helping Your Anxious Child, will be out this fall. Ann Wright is involved in helping children and adolescents who are depressed and are battling anxiety. Mr. Wright is a retired attorney who modestly admits to be working on a book of sorts about their family history. He would, he says, love to be a John Grisham, but has no immediate plans for that. In his retirement he is enjoying a lot of travel, golf and is a member of a board that classifies films for Australian theaters.

Until this past weekend I had no occasion to drive to the end of West Avenue to Bluff. Imagine my surprise! All of the homes are gone. Bulldozed, land cleared and no trace remains of the houses that once stood there. The trees remain in tact thank goodness for they are old and need to be saved. The face of North Augusta is changing.