George Johnson

Santa Fe

Science Writer and Author at Freelance

Two time winner of the AAAS Science Journalism Prize for my work in @nytimes. Author of Fire in the Mind, The Cancer Chronicles, Strange Beauty and other books.

Articles

Sophomore hits all marks two weeks in a row

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

The Pine City High School Trap Shooting Team was blessed with bright blue skies, temperatures near 80 degrees, and light winds for the third week of competitive shooting. For the second consecutive week, sophomore Evan Benolken led the team, shooting another perfect round of 25/25 and ending up with a remarkable 48 hits out of 50 targets. Senior Bryer Berube finished second with another strong performance, scoring 43 hits. Right behind him was Tristan Firth, another sophomore, with 42.
Week one for competetive shooting

1 month ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

Sunday was the kind of day most trap shooters love – partly cloudy skies with light winds and mild temperatures. It proved to be a very good day for Dragon shooters. Senior Ryan Carl once again led the team hitting 44 targets out of 50, one better than last week. Not to be outdone, sophomore Levi Kraft also shot a 44. Two more seniors, Bryer Berube and Nate Burns, continued their hot shooting with 43 and 42 hits respectively.
Some of the best scores shown this week!

1 month ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

What a difference a week can make! Blue skies and light breezes greeted the Pine City High School Trap Team shooters Sunday for the first event of the season, reserve week. Scores from this week are used in the event a competition week is canceled. The good weather definitely benefited the Dragon shooters because they posted some of the best scores for the first shoot of the season in the history of the team.
The missing $5

1 month ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

The five dollar bill went missing back in the 1950’s. That probably doesn’t seem like a big deal in 2025, but it definitely was back then. Just about every day my mom would send one of us kids on the three block walk to the grocery story to get the necessary fixings for the night’s meal. Bread was 19 cents a loaf, a can of peas was a dime, and a couple dollars’ worth of hamburger would feed all 16 members of the family.
2025 trap shooting season begins

1 month ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

The Pine City Dragon Trap Shooting Team will begin their ninth season on Sunday, March 30. The team of 64 shooters is led by 10 senior athletes: Macie Babolik, Landyn Baumert, Bryer Berube, Nate Burns, Ryan Carl, Dani Holmstrom, Ben Huettl, Erik James, Logan Kolecki, Logan Mincke, and Talen Reitan. Burns, Carl, and Reitan all shot at the coveted varsity level last season.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to host state-wide conference in Orangeburg

Sep 27, 2024 | thetandd.com | George Johnson

The South Carolina Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., will convene its 64th District Conference on Oct. 3-5, 2024, on the campuses of Claflin University and South Carolina State University.
Pine City shooters hit their targets at state tournament

Jun 19, 2024 | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

The Pine City Dragon High School Trap Shooting team competed in the state tournament in Alexandria on Monday, June 17. Skies were cloudy; the temperature was a cool 62 degrees accompanied by a mild east wind which made for optimal shooting conditions. Each athlete in the tournament shot 100 shells at the elusive clay targets. The team was led by freshman Austin Gariepy with 96 out of 100 clays, and senior Tyler Mohr, who had a 94.
Trap team shows off its top guns moving into State meet

Jun 12, 2024 | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

Six Dragon sharpshooters ended the season on the coveted varsity level which requires an average of 19 targets hit out of 25. Senior Tyler Mohr led the team with an average of 20.1. Another senior, Gavin Broz, averaged 20, as did junior Nate Burns. Talen Reitan ended his season on a high note; the junior averaged 19.2. Junior Ryan Carl and freshman Austin Gariepy rounded out the varsity shooters averaging 19 hits. All of the varsity level shooters have been on the team since seventh grade.
Competitive week for trap shooting team!

May 22, 2024 | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

Sunday’s fifth and final week of competitive shooting saw some of the best results in the history of the Pine City High School Trap Shooting Team. Excellent weather provided optimum shooting conditions, and an impressive 11 shooters scored at the coveted varsity level of 38 out of 50 clays.
Competitive week of shooting

May 15, 2024 | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

Pine City High School Trap Team; Week 4 of competitive shootingWeek four of the five weeks of competitive shooting in Class 8A found the Pine City High School Trap Team enjoying a beautiful Mothers’ Day with clear skies and temperatures in the 80’s. Winds from the northwest at around 15 miles per hour kept the targets down. Top guns for the Dragons were Nate Burns and Tyler Mohr with scores of 42. Both shooters have been consistently near the top of the leaderboard all season.