| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Campbellsville U athletics staff visits Northpoint Training Facility Campbellsville University athletics visited Northpoint Training Facility and Prison to play softball, run a combine and share the love of Jesus Christ. Sports Information Director Jordan Alves accompanied the mission group and this is his report and there's this excerpt on prision food: 'Chow' was the next event and I'm not sure about many other people but for Sarge and myself, when we hear chow we immediately think of porking out at an all-you-can-eat buffet. That expectation did not become reality and the food accentuated the fact of how good we have it on the 'outside.' Click on headline for complete story with photo(s) By Jordan Alves News from Campbellsville University Athletics DANVILLE, KY -- Campbellsville University is known for living out God's calling of servant leadership, and today 17 staff members from the athletic department were able to show the love of Christ through sports. Half of the department made the hour-long trip to Northpoint Training Facility to play softball and run a pro football combine. But the real reason was continuing to carry out a CU Athletic Department mission of "More Than A Game." Northpoint is nestled in Danville and is a medium-security prison that can house more than 700 inmates. The morning began with a 45-minute check-in through security and once on the yard, it didn't take long for the love of Christ to start spreading. The CU staff mingled slowly but softball slowly became the vehicle to open conversations about Jesus. By the end of the day, high-fives were being exchanged and hugs were going all around. "It was an honor for me to watch as our athletic department were 'doers' of the Word," said Jim Hardy, assistant director of athletics. "It was great to see our coaches, trainers, SID, and a few resident life staff come together as one and be examples of Christ to many who our society has forgotten about." While the teams were warming up, Marty, Northpoint's softball recreation officer, asked if the CU staff wanted to designate a per-inning home run limit, but the answer was no, and that was a mistake. Assistant women's basketball coach Michael "Sarge" Pollock was called upon for pitching duties and the knuckle ball just wasn't knuckling today. I lost count, but the inmates' All-Star team came out with hot bats and hit one tater after another. Softball: Inmates All Stars 31. CU Athletics Staff 12 I don't think we actually knew what we were getting into because once the staff saw that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, we tried to up our game. But that still wasn't enough. The score of game one ended in a run-rule for the inmates, 31-12. After game one, head soccer coach Thom Jones shared his testimony with the team and spoke on how his father lived his own dreams of playing sports through him. Jones mentioned that he was never good enough for his father's approval but shared with the inmates that Jesus' love will take care of that missing part and that is the only person we need to please -- Romans 8:38-39. "Chow" was the next event and I'm not sure about many other people but for Sarge and myself, when we hear chow we immediately think of porking out at an all-you-can-eat buffet. That expectation did not become reality and the food accentuated the fact of how good we have it on the "outside." Food was the worst writer has ever had People claim that inmates receive a cot and three meals a day. But I can tell you from experience, it was the worst food I've ever had. We didn't get to try out any of the cots. "We take a lot for granted on the little things in life," said Sarge. "God put us in the right place at the right time today. It was all about hanging out eating a nasty grilled cheese and awful tomato soup with a great group of guys who have just made a mistake to get them here. We were able to share with them that there is someone who can take you just as far and love, forgive and give you a fresh start on life ... that someone is Jesus." Second softball game ended much as first. Inmates' dingers flew out of park Even though the lunch at Northpoint wasn't necessarily exactly gourmet, it lit a spark under the staff for the second game. CU came out with a six-spot in the first inning and Sarge held down the inmates to only three runs through the first two innings. That didn't last long, though, as it took about 30 minutes before the dingers started to fly out of the park for the inmates ... and when I say out of the park I literally mean over the barbed wire fence surrounding the medium-security prison. Hunter Cantwell of CU remembered by inmates as QB for Cards, a Falcon pro Games two, three and four went much like game one, but football coach Hunter Cantwell was able to get many of the inmates' attention. Cantwell was a hot commodity in the "yard" as many of the prisoners remember him as a quarterback at the University of Louisville and with the Baltimore Falcons in the National Football League. His testimony hit the heart of many. Cantwell spoke on how many professional athletes are looked on as idols because they have money and fame. He lived through that fame during his three-year stint in the NFL. "Many people that are playing professional sports and have millions of dollars can go get anything they want," said Cantwell during his devotional time. "But the one thing that will always be constant in their lives is the love of Jesus Christ. "The only way to live a life to please Christ is to accept Him into your heart. Now that is something money cannot buy." Assistant athletic trainer Scott Baughman was also able to give his testimony between games. Baughman, like Cantwell and Jones, was someone who came to Christ through sports. "I came to Campbellsville without knowing the true meaning of accepting Christ," said Baughman. "Men's soccer coach Adam Preston (pointing at Preston) invited me to church while I was working with his team my first few years on staff and I started playing church softball as well. Something just went off in my head one day that I was missing one thing and it was a relationship with Jesus Christ." During the afternoon, the yard was full of 300-plus inmates and as many gathered around the rock and pot-hole filled softball park, others joined in on a pro combine run by football coaches Perry Thomas, Vincent Davis and Ricky Gehres and also bowling coach John Rausch. And I truly wish we could have sent linebackers coach Dwight Houston over his colleagues because when he said he was 3-for-2 in softball he meant he had two hits and three strikeouts... OUCH! The football combined included a 40-yard dash, L-drill and the pro shuttle. "The guys had a tremendous time competing during the combine events," said Thomas. "They really got excited about the 40-yard dash and showing us what they could do. The events also gave us time to share with the guys and let them know the role that Christ plays in our life and how that relationship with Christ can enhance their lives." It was not a day off work, as writer had thought . . . Overall the day for the staff and myself started out mentally with a day off work. But by the end of the afternoon our blood, sweat and tears were left on that field. I really mean blood, as some relived their glory days and came back to campus with scrapes, scratches and blood rolling down their legs from sliding... AKA me. "It says in James 1:22 - 'Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.' Today our staff did that and showed that Campbellsville University athletics is More Than A Game," said Hardy. CU Staff who traveled to Northpoint Training Facility: Ricky Gehres, football; Hunter Cantwell, football; Jim Hardy, assistant AD; Dwight Houston, football; Matt Atwood, football; Scott Baughman, athletic trainer; Andrew Franklin, director of residence life; Vincent Davis, football; Sarge Pollock, women's basketball; Perry Thomas, football; John Rausch, bowling; Adam Preston, men's soccer; Thom Jones, women's soccer; Will Snyder, football; Kyle Caven, tennis; Caleb Queen, residence director; Jordan Alves, sports information director. Background information on Northpoint: Northpoint was originally constructed as a state mental hospital called Kentucky State Hospital in 1941. The U.S. Army controlled the facility and renamed it Darnell Hospital. It was used to provide care for soldiers suffering from psychiatric illness and to house German prisoners of war. In 1949, the hospital was returned to state control for the sum of $1. The facilities were again operated as the Kentucky State Hospital until 1977. From 1977 to 1983, the city if Danville operated the facility as a Youth Development Center for juvenile offenders. In January 1983, the Kentucky Department of Corrections received control of the property, and renamed it to Northpoint Training Center. This story was posted on 2015-06-10 04:17:10
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic News:
Traffic Advisory: Short delays I-65 SB, MP 65, Hart Co., KY Blakey Quartet at Cane Valley Christian 5 Jul 2015 Democratic Women's Club members face deadline Comments on the professionalism of Godfrey Jackson Writers meeting at Green River Arts, Fri 12 Jun 2015 Sad word of the passing of Peggy Brockman Bus backs up Campbellsville Street after getting lost in detour Singing Amazing Grace with the Foundation UMC congregation Paddle Adair Trial meets criteria for Trail Town certification Awaiting picture after report from Heart of TX of Bear at Egypt View even more articles in topic News |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
