Kingsport Times-News from Kingsport, Tennessee • 45

Byrd has passion for flying On Sinking Creefc Sally Chiles Shelburne Ball games more than athletics hours of flight time must be met before a pilot is authorized to operate a plane relying totally on the instruments and not on his own vision takes a lot of Jeff said got to devote yourself to it got to really have a love for it" Jeff says never forget the first time he soloed did it one day before I went to school Lrwas nervous about it until I got in the airplane and get nervous again until I got back on the He most enjoys flying in different kinds of weather and night flying Jeff was able to combine his flying interest and school work through a co-op program offered at John Battle High School During his senior year he enrolled in the distributive education program He attended school part of the day and worked at Skytrax part of the day His on-the-job performance was evaluated and counted toward his high school credit He will work this summer as a flight instructor at Skytrax be flying and getting paid for it too That really excites Most young peopje realize they can start taking flying lessons at age 16 Jeff said no word out about it People need to know he said think expensive but really not when you consider what getting I think a lot of people put as much money into golf or country To be hired by an airline a pilot must be 23 years old and have logged at least 1500 hours of flying time Jeff has 250 hours in now but expects the total to start shooting up when' he starts giving flying lessons hope to get on with a company or do some type of mail run to build up By the time he finishes college he hopes to have close to the required amount of flight time He also plans to work toward obtaining multi-engine and jet ratings and attends safety seminars Jeff has his heart set on being a commercial pilot but is practical-minded too major in something I can fall back on if Something happens to the flying career take a lot of By DEBBIE EATON Times-News Education Writer BLOUNTVILLE Jeff Byrd signed up for flying lessons before he had ever been up in an airplane Now he wants to fly for a living by becoming a commercial airline pilot 1 Jeff was only 16 when he started taking lessons at Sky-trax Flight Training Inc located adjacent to Tri-City Airport Now 18 he has his private license instrument rating commercial license and license It took a lot of hard work to accomplish that much in just two years But Jeff says when you like something you stick with it Jeff son of Mr and iMrs Billy Byrd 27 Woodsdale Drive Bristol Va graduated last month from John Battle High School This fall he will attend Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon After completing a two-year program there he plans to enroll at a state school and complete a four-year degree -A career in aviation is definitely what he wants shooting for the airlines I want to go all the way fly the 747s the DC-lOs always fascinated me when I was Jeff says was always a thrill inside of me watching the However flying them himself something Jeff always wanted to do In fact he was scared silly when he flew' for the first time It was partially the fear of it that moved Jeff and his best friend Matt Pack to check out a place where Jeff could take flying lessons They got a helpful reception at Skytrax and Jeff signed up op a Saturday in June two years ago The next Tuesday he went up in a plane for the first time scared he said had to conquer that It was a real big challenge for sure It still He took lessons on a regular basis and got his private license after about eight months It only takes 35 hours of flight time along with meeting other requirements for the private pilot license The instrument rating though is tougher to get Strict requirements including 190 Timet Newt photo Terry Blevlm The shout that crackles all ovet the country is as much a part of Tennessee summers as watermelons and haze In Rogers ville every type of small wrapped ball is thrown and hit in every imaginable fprm and stance at the City Park Gathering at the three ballfields are folks from all over the county spilling into spare parking spaces and dragging in fold-up chairs and children there too This year we graduated from that painfully slow game of T-Ball where all mothers needlepoint to faster-paced Little League not sure really better Instead of a simple cotton shirt my son now has a complete uniform The red shirt needs a cold water wash the white pants a hot one 'I always forget them until an hour before the game We do arrive on time my damp clothes clinging And all our stomachs are jostling with whatever fast food I can boil or broil Having made the effort to get there I rarely see any of the game I am always envious of those mothers who sit placidly in their webbed chairs watching their every move I only sit down backwards to retrieve my 2-year old who has toppled through the bleachers Every other minute is spent in a roving game as I join the cadre of mothers picking out toddlers in the crowd And in Rogersville a crowd Not only does all atheltic activity shift to the park in late evening so does all political and social action Fathers congregate conversationally in groups of threes and fours their capped heads nodding and naying From the looks in their earnest faces I wonder if more local issues settled behind chain-link fences than in courthouse halls Eventually they break up and shout to their player sons to keep a Teen-agers perfectly groomed gather In large loud groups while younger siblings pair off Our 8-year-old daughter always finds friends with whom to wander And our two younger children become members of marauding gangs moving from one dirt patch to another On these adventures dune buggies are visited water spigots turned on off-limit dugouts are attacked and used bubble gum recycled Once they uncovered a waiting team's playing equipment After observing them with masks to their knees and bats taller than themselves we all decided they were mean enough to outplay their faltering oldqr brothers In time these gangs wander to the concession stand Their purchases minge with their grubby hands to form gooey chocolate and coke icing It's in these stationary moments that I manage to catch my son at bat or looking intent in the field ready to catch a ball that rarely comes The years seem so short between dribbling chin and uniform At last it's over There are cheers and tears as the fireflies light our way to the car Our 2-year-old steps in every mud hole on the way while father and son bring up the rear discussing various plays of the night yells our 8-year-old to a friend Fourteen games down two Flying enthusiast Jeff Byrd of Bristol Va checks the oil before embarking on a flight By the time he finishes college he expects to have enough flying hours to become a commercial pilot TOPS Queen' happiest loser in Tennessee "IT averaged 6 yK II pounds a month JL not going to go through life Frances Locke 1 By BECKY JONES Times-News Staff Writer ROGERSVILLE One hundred thirty pounds may not round like mtich when talking in terms of tons or even of British currency But when talking in terms of dieting specifically of trying to lose 130 pounds talking hunger Like Garfield says diet is just die with a But 130 pounds is whet Frances Locke lost over a period of 20 months to be crowned state TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Queen for 1982 had a weight problem all my said Mrs Locke a Rogersville resident been to weight doctors been on crash diets I guess in my life lost and gained a When she went to her doctor that bleak day back In January 1980 she carried around an unhealthy 298 pounds on her 5-foot-2 frame "He told me I had to lose weight due to my high blood she said Two days later Mrs Locke joined TOPS TN239 chapter in Rogersville just a fellowship of people with the same she said talk to you write you little notes call you through the week if having trouble losing Gradually Mrs Locke began losing weight and unlike ever before keeping it off In 20 months she was down to 163 pounds and had shrunk from a size 50 to a 13-14 never was a big she said averaged 6 pounds a month not going to go through life Her weight loss was the most of anybody in Tennessee last year in the TOPS organization and she was crowned TOPS Queen at the convention in Knoxville last month As she said Mrs Locke who is an' employee of the Hawkins County Health Department in Church HUlr starve herself to lose the' weight She just cut back on her eating habits "Before I ate everything and gobs of she said Now morei moderate She uses a few tricks toj make dieting easier use a little breakfast plate in- stead of a big dinner plate to make it seem like eating she said I try to make the food attractive If eating fcreens slice an egg on them If having salad use a nice dressing on it eat an awful lot of fresh said chips and candy bars ate just a no-no When you want them grab you an she advised The hardest thing for her to overcome was impulsive eating she said "I love sweets and desserts Of course I also like cornbread anything fattening But I think the sweets were the hardest She has backslid on occasion she I admitted have your slip-ups the main thing is just to get right back on your diet the next she sai Tkim-NMI Photo tori Conor Frances Locke is all smiles as she models a much too large pair of pants after losing 130 pounds The achievement won her the honor of being chosen TOPSgueen for 1982.