This feature story appeared on Page 1 of The Birmingham (Alabama) News on Dec. 3, 1999.
2A title game signals victory for referee without hands
By Ed Odeven
News staff writer
DOTHAN — Steve DePriest won’t let his physical limitations stop him from doing what he loves: raising dragsters and officiating high school football games.
He is undeterred because he realizes that, even without hands, he isn’t as disabled as some other people he has met.
“The best thing that happened was where they sent me after my accident — UAB (hospital),” said DePriest, who had to have his hands amputated following an on-the-job accident in 1989. “Because, as I walked around up there, you could see people that were in worse shape than I was.
“I thought, ‘You can sit around and feel sorry for yourself, but you are still going to be disabled. You just got to carry on…
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Ed Odeven Reporting 