Stock Outboard boat race making waves

[HRTV]

Boat race making waves

Posted: Monday, Feb 25th, 2013
BY: John Shank



ROCHELLE — For the past several summers the Illinois Marine Racing Club has held a stock outboard hydroplane boat racing event on Lake Sule, but this year at least one park board commissioner is questioning whether closing down the lake to the public for an entire weekend is worth it.

Racing club representatives Mike Mackey, of DeKalb, and Gene Schertz, of Saybrook, addressed the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District board this past Tuesday and asked permission to hold a bigger regional competition at the south side venue.

The pair was met with some questions from commissioner Bud Norcross, who made clear his opposition to giving up the lake to the group for three straight days.



For the complete article see the 02-24-2013 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 02-24-2013 paper.

http://www.rochellenews-leader.com/v...&story_id=8657

[propnuts]

Good luck Gene and crew

We just have to keep fighting the fight one race site at a time. I always ask people if they have considered that we are NOT on the lake for the other 51 weekends a year.

[HydroKyle93R]

Sounds like Bud Norcross won't be getting any votes on the next election for parks commissioner, at least from local racers..

[Hutch06]

I'm sorry to hear about this Gene, Michael and MRC/BSOA... maybe a letter-writting campaign is in order to the parks & recreation board by Midwest Racers?

[propfxrO84]

We worked on a zoning problem for our new facility in OKC for over a year and were told over and over again that changing zoning was absolutely impossible, city council, city attorneys, etc. Even after we had hired a prominent atty, still no way on earth that it was going to happen. Someone told us to make a "contribution" to the city councilman's re-election fund to see what might happen. Low and behold the sea parted and our BIG zoning problem turned into "no big deal". Just a little food for thought. I know that this is not the (politically correct)way to rectify a problem but, it has worked for me several times. Politicians at any level LOVE money.

[G Stillwill]

Most parks have some kind of county,state or Govt funding sometimes you just have to go to the top to get results. Your tax dollars pay for the parks and all that work for them.

[26V]

we will see

Bud’s opinion is that holding a race there breaks most of their park rules. All Rochelle parks close at dusk, we remain over night. It’s a “ no wake lake” we run at high speeds. It’s a public access park, we close the park to “ normal public access” IE you can’t drive around the pits. Well you can but it is not easy! Several other board members spoke up with things like “ its no different then the youth leage reserving a park for soccer games. When the game is being played the “ public “ can not use the park.
So we do have some support on the board.

[Merc1]

I am sure the hotels and restaurants in the town might have something to say about Bud's opinion as well. In all of the years I have gone to this race, I have never once seen a single person fishing, swimming, water skiing ect on this lake.

[propnuts]

This seemed to work for us - follow the money

A few years ago we were having problems with residents around Cullaby Lake trying to shut us down. After I realized that city councils are controlled by businessmen we decided to go directly to them with our appeal. We gave racers slips of paper to hand out to merchants when they payed their bills saying "This money is being spent due to the boat races at Cullaby Lake, please support the racers that support your business". It may be just coincidence, but we haven't had to fight that same fight for a few years now, might be worth a shot.

[Affholter66]

Excellent!!

A few years ago we were having problems with residents around Cullaby Lake trying to shut us down. After I realized that city councils are controlled by businessmen we decided to go directly to them with our appeal. We gave racers slips of paper to hand out to merchants when they payed their bills saying "This money is being spent due to the boat races at Cullaby Lake, please support the racers that support your business". It may be just coincidence, but we haven't had to fight that same fight for a few years now, might be worth a shot.

Great Idea!!...I may be off somewhat, but it is my understanding that every $1 brought IN to a community from outside that community "turns over" either 3 or 5 times...so if we as racers spend $1000..that equals $3,000 to $5,000. Please correct if my figures are wrong...no matter what I REALLY like the slip idea.

[propnuts]

I have done this also

A few years back we were contemplating a Nationals bid for Olympia WA. It took a fair bit of digging but I found a Washington Tourism web site that listed economic impact of tourism. The number that kind of sticks out in my mind (the site no longer works) is $85 per person per day. The total by the time we figured out crews and family for a week was over $30,000. Your number will be smaller, but even if it's a few thousand there are very few cities that will turn that down in this economy.

Great Idea!!...I may be off somewhat, but it is my understanding that every $1 brought IN to a community from outside that community "turns over" either 3 or 5 times...so if we as racers spend $1000..that equals $3,000 to $5,000. Please correct if my figures are wrong...no matter what I REALLY like the slip idea.

[daveracerdsh]

Seattle's Green Lake

My first race ever as a racer was at SOA's Greenlake regatta in 1984. I was just a kid really....and as one of the last people to show up i was given a pit spot at the end of pit row..I was so excited to actually be at a race etc. I remember one of the things SOA had to do was re route the jogging track that runs around the lake. There were clear signs, cones, and rope to indicate where the runners were supposed to go...not a big deal at all. My first memory of being at the race was of a jogger running under the rope and right thru the pits....dodging boats with props on them as he went. If he would have fallen and got hurt, three guesses as to who would be held responsible. The biggest factor in losing the race as I remember was a group called the Greenlake community club or something like that....SOA had chicken wire enclosures all around the lake to use for trash....they did a great job after the race of cleaning up the whole park, even stuff that was not left by spectators at the race. If memory serves me correct, somebody came in Saturday night after the race and took all the garbage and spread it all over the place....and filmed it. They also showed drunken people on the beach causing a rukas, on a sunny day, and used that footage against us also. Of course, it was maybe 60 degrees and raining the day we raced. We of course lost the race the next year. I may not be 100% accurate in this, but that is what I remember. Another popular race site that seems to cause problems with the locals is Silver Lake Eatonville...The last year I was race director there (1996?) the pits were almost full by 4pm...we ended up with something like 300 entries for the weekend. Look at the amount of money we brought in to the local economy! Around 4pm, one of the local residents, that did not even live on the lake, comes up to me as race director and says he is going to use this law or that law to have the race shut down come hell or high water. I said fine....we will shut the thing down. But here is what is going to happen. I am going to use the PA system to bring everybody down to the club trailer, kids included, and YOU are going to tell everybody here that the race is not going to happen. I was dead serious. I had enough of his crap. He got all blustery, and I had him walk out to the barge with me to make the announcment. He stammered and hemmed and hawed and just walked away. I have several witnesses to this...anyway....do what Tony Perman said to do....use the money angle. People are stunned when they find out how much money we pump into the local economy. Dave

[blueskyracer]

What I remember about losing Greenlake was that the races were causing the spotted Lepards to die at the Woodland Park Zoo.. Another BS reason to lose a race site

[daveracerdsh]

Spotted Lepoard

That thing had terminal cancer...it was just bad luck that it died around race time. I mean...come on.....the people that did not like the races used that as an excuse. How pathetic.

[daveracerdsh]

Ducks

In 1989, at merc challenge series race at capitol lake in olympia, I hit 2 ducks going about 80 mph in my d stock. they landed right in front of me....what was I supposed to do...crash? Lemme tell ya.....the tree huggers were after me like I was going to make granola illegal....one of the ducks did not die right away, it was sorta flopping around in the water with one wing and half its little body gone....I had to wade out and put the thing in a plastic bag. Talk about feeling about 6 inches tall. I honestly thought they were going to attack me when I tool little Donald up to the dumpster (it had died by that point). Maybe I should have taken it to the local Chinese joint or something..who knows.