Fan wins $5,000 after ‘Back-to-Back Jacks' in contest

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

June 10 at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Southern Maryland Physical Therapy & Chiropractic sponsored the "Back-to-Back Jacks" promotion and in the fifth inning of the game against the Newark Bears, they got plenty of promotional "bang for their buck" … literally.

If the host Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball team hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning, a lucky fan chosen at random before the game was set to win $5,000. David Prohaska, centerfielder Jeremy Owens' "host parent" here in Southern Maryland for the season, happened to have his number called last Thursday evening.

Down 1-0 at the beginning of the inning, Blue Crabs leftfielder Kody Kirkland slugged a solo home run to leftfield to tie the game. Then Owens homered to right-center on the very first pitch of the next at bat to make Prohaska $5,000 richer. Prohaska was recognized on the field as the winner with a big check presentation. Southern Maryland went on to score three runs in the inning, en route to a 4-1 win.

This is the second year in a row a lucky fan has won the "Back-to-Back Jacks" promotion. Last season J.T. Hindle, a Blue Crabs 22-game plan holder, had his number called when Owens and catcher Lance Burkhart hit consecutive homers in a 13-0 win over the Long Island Ducks on May 13.

Prohaska couldn't believe he was chosen for the contest, let alone that he won it.

"I was totally surprised," he said in a team press release. "I just got tapped on the shoulder and was told I was the contestant. Then when Kody hit the first one I got kind of wound up and excited."

Then, as if it were scripted, Owens belted the second homer to make his host parent a winner.

"I just flat-out couldn't believe it," Prohaska said in the release. "We've always been big Blue Crab fans and supporters, and it was a very ironic, cool night."

"It's amazing that this happened two years in a row," Blue Crabs General Manager Chris Allen said, according to the release.

Air-rifle day camps scheduled

St. Charles Sportsman Club, in conjunction with La Plata High School Naval Junior ROTC, will hold four air-rifle day camp sessions for new Charles County Junior ROTC and 4-H air rifle shooters.

Registration fee is $20. No equipment is required.

The club plans session 1, from 8 a.m. to noon June 22, with a safety class at La Plata High, 6035 Radio Station Road; and 8 to 11 a.m. June 23 through 26 at St Charles Sportsman Club, Middleton Hall indoor range, 4045 Renner Road.

Session 2, noon to 4 p.m. June 22 safety class at La Plata; and 1 to 4 p.m. June 23 through 26 at Middleton Hall.

Session 3, 8 a.m. to noon June 29 safety class at La Plata; and 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. June 30 through July 2 at Middleton Hall.

Session 4, noon to 4 p.m. June 29 safety class at La Plata; and 1 to 4 p.m. June 30 through July 2 at Middleton Hall.

Marksmanship medals will be awarded to qualifying shooters. Call U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Fry at 301-934-7477 to register.

County official to speak to civic group

Deborah Hudson, county director of fiscal and administrative services, will speak at the annual meeting of Citizens for a Better Charles County from 7 to 9 p.m. June 16 at the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department at 911 Washington Ave. Hudson is scheduled to address the "nuts and bolts" of Charles County finances, according to a press release from the group.

Hudson will address the challenges in implementing the county budget in accordance with the direction of elected officials.

Navy base solicits memories

Naval Support Facility Indian Head will celebrate its 120th anniversary at the Indian Head Village Green from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 25.

As part of the celebration, the base's public affairs office is inviting residents to contribute to the celebration by providing a brief written recollection of their memories of the base.

The U.S. Navy will display a collection of the memoirs at the 120th anniversary celebration, and selections will be published in the base's weekly newspaper, the South Potomac Pilot, as part of the anniversary commemoration.

Celebration organizers urge memoir contributors to tell their stories in clear, concise language; to refrain from using acronyms that may be unfamiliar to others; to remember that detail is important; and to include dates so they can place the memoirs chronologically in base history.

Memoirs should be typed and double spaced. Submit all memoirs by e-mail to nsasp_pao_dlgr@navy.mil or by mail to Naval Support Activity South Potomac, Attn: Public Affairs Office, 6509 Sampson Road, Suite 217, Dahlgren, VA 22448-5108. All memoirs must be received by Sept. 3. For more information, call 866-359-5540.

Garden club in search of beauty

The Charles County Garden Club is sponsoring a beautification awards program to encourage and promote pride in the Charles County landscape.

The program recognizes residential, business and public sector efforts to beautify the county with landscaping. Any resident, business or public sector group maintaining property in Charles County is invited to submit an application for the awards. Judges are nationally accredited members of the Landscape Design Council consultants of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland who will judge entrants in July. The program recognizes gardens that are environmentally planned and planted with "green" practices. Xeriscaping; water conservation measures such as soaker hoses, rain barrels and mulch; organic fertilizers like compost and compost tea; and planting native plants are some of the green practices that conserve limited resources, yet still beautify the countryside, according to a garden club press release.

To enter, go to charlescountygardenclub.org for an application.

Library programs encourage summer reading

Summer reading programs and your local library provide more than just entertainment for kids — they're important allies for parents who are fighting the "summer reading gap." The summer reading gap occurs when many students take a summer vacation from reading, as well as from school, according to a press release from the Southern Maryland Regional Library Association.

The public libraries in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties have planned programs to keep children reading and learning all summer. Throughout the year, the public libraries in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties provide free, fun events — but none are more popular than the annual summer reading programs. Families can make an outing to the second annual Southern Maryland Library Night in conjunction with a Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game starting at 7:05 p.m. July 30 at Regency Furniture Stadium at 11765 St. Linus Drive in Waldorf. All summer reading participants receive a free lawn seat ticket to the baseball game, which will begin with a parade of summer readers and end with fireworks.

Go to the Charles County Public Library website, www.ccplonline.org.