The inaugural Fishin’ for a Cure Angler Tournament, held April 28 in Long County, raised $10,000 for two area residents battling diseases.
The money was given to Long County students Vicky Hall, who is battling leukemia, and Taylor McCartney, who is fighting a degenerative spinal condition.  
Tab McKnight claimed first place in the open event, while Kyle Duncan took first in the kids’ division.
The event was organized by the Long County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety-Motor Carrier Compliance Division.
“We were able to give $5,000 dollars to both Vicky and Taylor, and we were only able to do so due to all of the help that we got from our sponsors,” Long County Sheriff Craig Nobles said. “We had too many to be able to thank them all, but I do want to thank Foster Logging, the Boyles Firm, and Nesmith Chevrolet in Claxton. They were really big helps.”
The tournament drew more than 60 adults and children as competitors, and approximately 300 people also came out to support the event.  The fishing tournament began at daylight and ended at 6 p.m.  Once all of the fish were gathered, they were weighed to see who had the largest pan-fish stringer.  In addition to cash prizes for the top three finishers in the tournament, kids also received fishing gear as prizes. Door prizes also were given out, and everyone enjoyed a meal together.
Eight-year-old Jonah Durrence, who came over from Reidsville to fish in the tournament, said, “I ain’t caught nothing yet, but I had fun.”
Capt. Kenny Nobles of the Department of Public Safety said the tournament was in the planning stages for several years.
“A couple of years ago we started talking about doing it, but we had to figure out exactly what we wanted to do. We came to the conclusion that this would be a good idea, but our key was that we wanted the money to go directly into the hands of local kids.  That’s what we did today, and hopefully we’ll be doing it for another 25 years,” he said.

Results for Kids
•First Place (fishing gear) — Kyle Duncan
•Second Place (fishing gear) — Cameron Deloach
•Third Place (fishing gear) — Alex Driggers
•Fourth Place (fishing gear) — Damien Creech
Results for Open Event
•First Place ($300)— Tab McKnight, 12.80 pounds
•Second Place ($200)— Leo Barrett, 11.54 pounds
•Third Place ($100) —Duck Deloach, 10.72 pounds