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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015


As Queen Bonnie Exits With Accolades.....

there are some facts that should be know. When I was head of the SouthSide Recreation Committee, she did not want to put up tennis courts at John Gwynn Park unless they could also be used as basketball courts. Joe Stowell, then Bradley Basketball coach told her that was illogical. So two separate tennis courts were built and I used those courts for my At Risk tennis programs that were highly successful. A hitting wall was installed on the wrong fence where every ball hit over the wall, landed in private property. I told her the wall needed to be moved so the balls landed on park property. To no avail. I eventually had to turn my program over to the park and it went downhill the first year and then kaput.

I waged a constant battle for tennis courts and maintenance. When the hard courts at Glen Oak and Bradley became badly cracked, contractors tried to scrape the top of the courts off and replacing the cracked tops with new tops. I told her that unless they went to the bottom where the cracks started, the top surface would crack again and very soon. They did and a total of 10 courts had to be redone. In redoing, one net post was set higher than it's mate so that the tennis net tilted downhill. As far as i know this situation prevails today.

Next step was that she wanted to close all but 2 of the seven clay courts, claiming the space for parking for the African Exhibit. A group of us banded together and saved the 7 clay courts. She tried to convince the board that Clay courts were more costly to maintain. Her staff took a study that proved the opposite. However, neglect of the clay courts of not enough water or too much water or not enough maintenance remains a problem yet today.This year, the clay courts were blessed with a lot of rain or their would usually be a cloud of dust. That we have 44 free public courts is an asset to tennis players as I have pointed out in previous blogs

When I unsuccessfully ran against Tim Cassidy for Park Board President, Bonnie warned all employees that if they wanted to hold their jobs they would not vote for me nor show any of my signs. In fact, a leading caterer to the park put up two of my signs on Pioneer Parkway. In two days they were down. I asked the owner why and he said he was told by........that if he wanted to do more business with the park he must take down my signs. I asked the owner where the signs were and he showed me but the signs had disappeared.

Bonnie brags of Golden Balls the parks won including the RiverPlex. Not mentioning that the RiverPlex came no where near to meeting their projections and it took them at least 16 years instead of 10 years as projected to pay off the bonds. Which may not even now be paid off.

In order to meet rising maintenance costs of the new 33,000 sq, ft. headquarters, the maintenance of the Knoxville facility, originally planned as the new park headquarter, the maintenance ot the Pavilion, rising pension costs lower than expected attendance at the expanded zoo, erosion control, less grant money, etc. expect that as most public bodies in Peoria, that fees and taxes must raised. In fact fees have been increasing slowly for a long time.

Why are tennis courts free? The park tried to charge but the employee cost offset the revenue. One of the reasons tennis is basically dead at Manual and Peoria High is that the park under Bonnie's direction, had and has little interest in tennis. The Tri-County TennisTournament that for years got free use of the courts now must pay for their use. 6 years ago it was $1800. I do not know what the PTA pays now.

Bonnie and others try to make Peoria into an Indianapolis or a Cincinnati. She would have been a roaring success in a city two to three times larger than Peoria, a city with low growth and a high poverty level..

If Bonnie was being paid $130,000 a year or more, I wonder what the new director will be paid??

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2014


How Old is Too Old to....?

do what, was a discussion on Fox TV today.  Play competitive tennis at the age of 89? NO, never too old.  I last wrote a blog on Super Senior Tennis on November, 2004. Much tennis happenings in the last 10 years.. Some sad happenings such as death of the editor of the quarterly new letter, Doug Crary, my European doubles partner one year, Jason Morton, of Phoenix, a world champion many times over, Tom Brown, a Wimbledon or U..S Open winner and my doubles partner on 9/11, and several dozen other senior champions who I had the pleasure of enjoying friendships and playing with or against in my 32 year of enjoying this most aerobic game.

I am fortunate to have the health and competitive spirit to compete and enjoy tennis at the age of 89. I played and won three out of four half hour matches today giving me 8 wins and 3 losses in my last three outings. We have a group that meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the clay courts at Glen Oak Park. Any age is welcome to play but most of the players are in their late 50's up to Doc Stafford who won't tell his age but is over 90. We play half an hour matches with winners moving up and everyone switches partners. Today we had twelve players and last Monday we had 17.

I first started playing tennis at age 55 with my former workmate at Widmers'  and and today a State Farm Insurance agent, Bob Humbles. Bob was a four letter winner at Manual and a star basketball player for Bradley. He is also a class act winner of many Tri-County tournaments, this year losing to Mario Palmeri, a local legend. Last year Bob beat Mario.

I have had considerable fortune in playing winning tennis tournaments in Peoria and all over this country, Canada, Cancun, Austria,  Bermuda, etc  accumulating approximately 225 awards. Locally, I won 5 Tri-County's, 5 Twin City Opens in Bloomington-Normal,  Pekin, and 8 championships at the Western Open in Danville. I twice was a finalist at the World Senior Games in St. George Utah,, won a Phoenix, Az. Senior open, and won several Phoenix Park District tournaments.

On 9/11, I was playing a National Tournament; there are 4 a year, clay, grass, indoor hard court and outdoor hard court, at the Army-Navy Club in Arlington, Va. where we witnessed the American Airlines plane piloted by Muslim terrorist seconds before it hit the Pentagon  A year later I was back to Arlington winning 4 singles matches in a 32 entry consolation bracket before losing a 3-setter in the semi-finals to the champion.

I was Peoria Country Club open winner, ( I once won 33 consecutive senior doubles sets at the club).  I won a number of Senior Olympics tournaments and a finalist in St. Louis losing to a national ranked player. I had pulled a hamstring winning 2nd in the long jump and was unable to play my finalist tennis match.

Bob Orr from Pekin and I won a Mid-west Sectional tournament (5 states)  at Lansing, Michigan in year 2000, winning 8 straight matches over three days. In a tournament at Baton Rouge, La. I won a 3 3/4 hour singles match but paid for it the next day by pulling a hamstring, disappointing my doubles partner now deceased, John Moorhouse who was Bradley tennis coach  for 10 years. Local notable finals wins were over John and Bob Orr in Twin-City singles finals.

I was several times kidded about why I couldn't beat Terry Glynn, a local legend and my only defense was that Terry was nine years younger than me. Same with John Seigrist, 10 years younger,another local legend who I lost all 3 tournament matches, all 3 setters

Anyway, what experiences! Playing against Pancho Gonzales, Torbin Ulrich, Hugh Stewart, Bob Sherman, Jason Morton, Bob Brown, Ed Kauder etc.,all once world ranked players. And once being selected to play the National Sectionals at Tuscon, Az. and being selected to represent the East in a tournament against the West at Morgan Run Country Club in lower California, playing at some of the best clubs in the country including the Foothills at Santa Barbara, Seattle Yacht and Tennis Club, Pinehurst, N;.C., clubs all over the Gulf Coast of Florida, Vancouver, Canada, Sn Diego, Bermuda Island, and Fountain Hills and Sun Lakes, AZ. where Claire and I owned a home.

If I am successful in winning my battle against cancer, (won't know until the end of October) I plan to play at least 2 National tournaments next year as I'm eligible to play in the 90's in January, 2015. And providing I can find a doubles partner.as I can no longer handle singles with my health problems recently mentioned. I'll also be playing at my favorite club, Payne Park, in downtown Sarasota. I had won 82 out 104 sets before returning to Peoria this spring.

So much to look forward to and remembering that "how old is too old" a myth as long as one can avoid pushing up daisies.















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