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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, April 18, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 17, 2005 Tennis courts at the Gold Hill Sports Park will be refurbished, thanks to grants from the U.S. Tennis Association and a whole lot of help from community members. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Serve the greater good The net result of some Gold Hill tennis fans? Restored courts for the city’s sports park By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune Tennis anyone? Come summer, racket-heads in Gold Hill will have a nice place to play, courtesy of grants from the U.S. Tennis Association, a local service organization and lovers of the game. The creation of a tennis club at Patrick Elementary School put the city’s sports park in the running for two $2,500 grants from the USTA, says Southern Oregon representative Valerie Wright. "It qualified them for a $2,500 grant from both the national and Pacific Northwest Adopt-a-Court programs," says Wright. Gold Hill Community Development (Can-DO)board member and former City Councilwoman Gloria Eilefson started the ball rolling for a $25,000 resurfacing project several years ago with a plea to local lifelong tennis player Ogden Kellogg Sr., 80. Kellogg told Eilefson he was willing to give money to repair the two courts, but only if the community would show a strong desire, she says. Advertisement "He said, ‘If you guys come up with money, I’ll come up with money,’ " says Eilefson. Kellogg says he’s since agreed to pay half the costs of the project because he’s encouraged at the town’s new interest in tennis. Kellogg remembers when Gold Hill had several tennis courts. "There were two at the middle school, but they put a gymnasium over them," he says. "And then they had two more (on the playground), but they’re gone now, too." Kellogg did some repairs on the sports park courts once himself — on the sly. "(Ron Miyamoto) and I did the nets several years ago. We stole them and took them to Medford Awning (for repairs)," says Kellogg. "We didn’t tell the city and they didn’t even notice." The pair also took the net-tightening gearing to Sweed Machinery Inc. for repairs. "They fixed it right up for us," he says. Eilefson also credits Sue Densmore of Densmore Communication Strategies for connecting the community with the USTA grants. Densmore says the project was further aided by Ogden Kellogg’s son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Lynn Kellogg. Lynn Kellogg created the afterschool "Ralleyball" tennis program at Patrick Elementary School, which opened the door to the USTA grants. She will offer tennis lessons for kids and adults during the summer, says Densmore. Gloria Wood, current Can-DO president and chairwoman of the Gold Hill Parks and Recreation Committee, says the new courts will provide a much-needed activity for the town’s children as there will be no summer school programs offered at Patrick Elementary School this year. Woods says there are many plans in the works for the sports park. "We hope to have lights and benches at some point," says Wood. "This is a wonderful way to start implementing all our plans for the sports park." Now that old courts will receive state-of-the-art resurfacing, Eilefson is looking forward to a rematch with the former mayor — her husband. "Scott used to be on the college tennis team," says Eilefson. "But with my bad shots and the uneven court, it was really bad." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Tatoos Advertisement s