Good morning!
The snow’s melting at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Gill, but golfers won’t be launching tee shots down its long seventh fairway anytime soon, if ever.
On Feb. 28, at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, attorney John Roberts filed for bankruptcy protection on behalf of Oak Ridge owners Richard N. Giverson and Janet M. Giverson, who are listed as debtor and joint debtor, respectively.
It didn’t take long for word to spread in the local golfing community that the course isn’t opening. When Northfield’s Bill Koldis saw that retired Greenfield police chief David McCarthy had posted an inquiry on Facebook, he went online and found the bankruptcy details on unicourt.com.
It was startling news, considering he’d already paid his $475 membership fee. Others, he said, had anted up $500 on two-for-one deals Giverson was promoting last fall.
“They got me for $250,” said Bernardston’s Ron Aleman. “It coulda been worse, they coulda got me last year for $500.
“I saw it coming,” Aleman added. “I won a closest to the pin contest last year. I’ve been golfing there 40 years and they’d always given me cash. This time they gave me gift cards. I’ve still got ’em in my wallet,” he laughed.
Oak Ridge’s website is kaput, the course’s telephone has been disconnected, Richard Giverson’s email bounced back and the landline to the Giverson’s home in Gill isn’t in service. One number did ring through, and the person who answered said, “Oh, Richard. I’m his brother,” and hung up.
Oak Ridge borders both sides of West Gill Road. It’s a hilly but easy nine-hole golf course that opened in the early 1960s. The greens and cart fees were reasonable, and the course was usually uncrowded. “I liked it because I could go over at 7 a.m. and there’d be nobody there,” said Koldis.
On Wednesday, the parking lot was empty except for the two mailboxes that had been knocked off their hinges and were strewn next to the road. Eighteen golf carts were parked in rows of three near the first fairway, the signage was faded and there were no messages on the door for visitors curious about opening day.
Bankruptcy takes a while to resolve itself. The creditors file paperwork and the trustee sells off the assets and everyone waits to get a refund. Aleman, however, said he’ll shrug it off and find someplace else to golf. “I consider it a bad night at the track,” he said. “That’s happened to you hasn’t it?”
Yep, it sure has.
The UMass basketball team’s wretched season ended Wednesday in Brooklyn, where they lost in overtime to George Washington in the opening round of the A-10 Tournament.
The 21 losses were the most since 1980-81 under coach Ray Wilson, who was hired as a reward for recruiting Julius Erving. Current coach Matt McCall was hired after AD Ryan Bamford’s first choice Pat Kelsey bolted a half hour before his introductory press conference.
The Minutemen lost 20 games last year, good enough in Bamford’s eyes to give McCall a contract extension through 2023. According to the comptroller’s office, McCall’s base salary is $250,000 and includes a $175,000 retention bonus on July 1.
In December, I watched UMass play NCAA tournament-bound Fairleigh-Dickinson and sat a few rows behind the pep band. During the national anthem, UMass forward Jonathan Laurent stood with his arms folded across his chest and his warmup hoodie over his head. Others had their hands on their hips as if to say let’s get this over with.
The next time McCall looks at game film, he should start there for a clue of how the team quit on him and disrespected the fans, the school and the program.
Northfield residents might finally be getting a gas station close to home. On Tuesday, voters in Winchester, N.H., approved a zoning change that would let Cha’s Convenience Store build a gas station across the road on Route 10. Cha’s is one mile over the border and is well known for its cheap beer and cigarettes. The family-owned business also got a boost when voters defeated an article that would’ve raised the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.
Recorder editor Jason Remillard notes that retired NFL executive Charley Casserly coached at Cathedral High School. According to his Wikipedia biography, Casserly’s a New Jersey native who coached at Cathedral while he was at Springfield College. His two-step jump to the NFL began with one year as Cathedral’s athletic director and two years coaching the Minnechaug football team in Wilbraham. In 1977, he became an unpaid intern for Washington Redskins coach George Allen. Five years later, he was named GM and the Redskins won their first Super Bowl.
“Charlie Montoyo was well liked while with the Rays,” writes Shelburne native Skip Smith, referencing last week’s mention of the Blue Jays’ new manager. Smith operates a TV camera near the Rays dugout, and got to know Montoyo, who was the Rays’ bench coach. “He has a couple of sons who constantly showed up at the Trop with lacrosse sticks and I’d always remind Charlie that UMass has a pretty good lacrosse team.”
Williams College SID Dick Quinn reports “The Ephs were unable to use their indoor track this winter due to renovation issues so they cobbled together workouts in the rink — 30-yard dashes — and in old Lasell Gym (1886) where they used a pole vault runway created by the facilities department and well, the rest is history.”
Horse trainer Ron Moquett waxes poetic about his profession: “We give up so much to chase this dream. We sacrifice everything from sleep to relationships. And though it’s the Sport of the Kings, far more people are lucky to make a living than a fortune caring for these guys. You have to love the horses. Love the sport. Love when you win so much you handle the losses till you get to win again.”
Amazon pulling out of New York wasn’t the only hit the Empire State took this winter. The people of Derby, N.Y., got a jolt when New Era announced it was closing its plant at the end of the month. New Era makes the caps the MLB players wear, and the contract (through 2030) stipulates those caps must be made in America.
The company moved the caps operation to South Florida and outsourced the rest of the work overseas.
Assemblyman David Pietro told the Buffalo News: “I blame this on the governor with his crooked policies. He just cost 200 people their jobs.”
New Era said it wasn’t about the taxes, it was simply time to move on.
SQUIBBERS: Before last night’s game at the Mullins Center, the rumor mill was a flutter that UMass coach Greg Carvel is getting overtures from at least one NHL team. “Ottawa’s interested,” said Bill Wardwell. “I was speaking wth Todd Howe, and he heard the same thing.” … Chris Russo on holdout Le’Veon Bell signing with the Jets: “He can sit there and think he did it for the players like he’s some Norma Rae, but that’s a lot of nonsense.” … Judith Nathan’s divorce lawyers argue that if Rudy Giuliani can afford to pay $12,012 for cigars every six months, he can afford $63,000 in monthly alimony, reports the New York Post. … NESN’s fill-ins for Red Sox baseball this spring have included Tom Caron and Jarrod Saltala-manbun whose color commentating has been less than riveting: “He takes pride in his craft… the ball will always find you…” Dustin Pedroia’s lack of playing time is an ominous sign; the 34-year-old Muddy Chicken has played four innings, has four at-bats and wasn’t in yesterday’s lineup against the Yankees. … If there’s such a thing as a statement game in spring training, it was the six home runs Tampa Bay hit off the Red Sox on Sunday. … Steve Pearce got out of his 0-for-12 funk with two home runs against Detroit on Thursday. … Hanley Ramirez is batting .286 (6-for-21) with two doubles and insiders claim that Han-Ram will be on the Indians’ opening day roster. … Vince Young was fired from his part-time job at the University of Texas last week. The former Longhorn filed for bankruptcy seven years after he inked a $25 million deal with the Tennessee Titans. Young once spent $15,000 at the Cheesecake Factory. “Most I’ve ever spent on a meal in my life,” he told SI.com. … Not your usual suspects on the team leaderboard this spring. The Brewers lead with 38 home runs, the Royals are batting .303, and the Angels have hit 57 doubles and 14 triples. … The MLB season starts at 5:30 a.m. (Eastern) in Japan on Wednesday. The game will be televised on ESPN with lefthander Mike Fiers starting for Oakland against Seattle’s Marco Gonzales. Hallelujah.
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached by email at sports@recorder.com.