Fulton youngsters compete in Pinewood Derby

Fulton youngsters root for their car to win Saturday during the Bartley Elementary School Cub Scout Pack 52 Pinewood Derby competition in the Civic Meeting Room at the Callaway Electric Cooperative. The event is sponsored by the Fulton Breakfast Optimist Club.
Fulton youngsters root for their car to win Saturday during the Bartley Elementary School Cub Scout Pack 52 Pinewood Derby competition in the Civic Meeting Room at the Callaway Electric Cooperative. The event is sponsored by the Fulton Breakfast Optimist Club.

First to fourth grade students had their eyes glued on their car as it flashed down the track Saturday during the Bartley Elementary School Cub Scout Pack 52 Pinewood Derby competition in Fulton.

At the end of the action, A. J. Harding, a Bartley Elementary School fourth grader, was grasping the cup declaring him as the overall winner.

Finishing second overall was Luke Nichols and Thomas Harris finished third. Both are third graders at Bartley. Other top-seven winners were Derek Good, Draven Hux, Gage Feltner and Jaxon Acton.

The event was sponsored by the Fulton Breakfast Optimist Club.

The club had 10 volunteers on hand to organize and supervise the event. Earlier, separate competitions were held at McIntire and Bush elementary schools in Fulton.

The winners from each school will advance to Optimist Club Pinewood Derby district competition in March.

Brian Price, Optimist Club Pinewood Derby coordinator, said each participant is given a block of wood and weights to add as needed. With the help of parents and grandparents, youngsters shape the car, add wheels, and paint it. Youngsters can add lead weights, but each car can weigh no more than 5 ounces.

Gravity rules the day. Each car is released at the top of a steep ramp and races downward to the finish line.

The event is timed electronically. An electronic device displays the order of finish in each lane, making the winner easy to judge.

On Saturday Fulton Breakfast Optimist Club members Joe D. Holt and John Wilkerson supervised the release of the cars at the top of the ramp and Bill Ernst was the official timer.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.