THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408100122
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 27 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bill Leffler
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Notes on a frayed white cuff . . .
Churchland High School football coach Ken Taylor is recovering from surgery during the summer and promises to be ready to go when his Truckers commence practice on Monday.
Taylor underwent surgery on three occasions after a tumor was discovered in his chest. ``It was a nerve root tumor and was pushing on my lungs,'' said Taylor.
He experienced numbness in his legs and had problems walking back in January. After his first surgery, he had additional surgery on May 23 and June 22.
``Right now my main problems are a lack of strength in my left hand and arm,'' Taylor said. ``But I'm working out every day and getting plenty of exercise. And I'll be ready for football.''
The reduction in force among school personnel has cost Churchland the services of Mike Hall, the former Western Branch athlete and assistant coach with the Bruins who was joining the Truckers' staff.
That position now will be filled by P. J. Honore, who is an assistant basketball coach at Churchland and formerly was head basketball coach at Wilson.
For the second year the outstanding sportsmen in the Baker Damron Eye Center Junior Tennis Tournament were presented the Bernie Segall Memorial Awards. The recipients were Vic Oppleman of Lynchburg and Sara Guthrie of Chesapeake.
Neither won a championship but Oppleman was a finalist in boys 18-under doubles and Guthrie lost in the girls 18-under singles championship after eliminating the top seed in the semifinals.
The initial winners of the Segall awards last year were Kelly Smith and Alex Johnston.
Segall, one of the founders and a longtime director of the tournament and former pro at Elizabeth Manor, died from cancer in October, 1992.
Former Wilson athletes are wondering about the status of Buck Childs field with the construction of the new Norcom High School over a portion of that site.
The field was named in memory of a former Wilson football player who died from an injury in a game in the early 1940s.
In the late 40s, Wilson students assisted in building a track on the site, which also served as a practice field for the football team.
For many years the Wilson Little League utilized Buck Childs field.
``It seems to me there was a plaque dedicated to Childs either placed there or in the school,'' recalled Burrell Johnson, who played on Wilson's 1947 state championship football team and ran on the track team. ``If the field is done away with, certainly this plaque should be found and relocated.''
Wilson's LaTasha Colander, who recently placed second in the 100-meter high hurdles at the World Junior Olympics in Portugal, will be leaving for Chapel Hill next Wednesday. The state champion sprinter/hurdler accepted a scholarship offer from the University of North Carolina earlier this year.
Colander was honored with a surprise welcome home party on her return from Portugal by the Faith Temple United Church of Christ (Apostolic). Her grandfather is pastor of the church and her father is associate pastor.
``I was really surprised,'' Colander said. ``They had clippings of all the news articles about me and a big poster picture of me. It was like a museum.
``They even had a VCR set up, showing some of my track meets.''
Hunky Archer, one of only a few local athletes ever to play with the Portsmouth Cubs, celebrated his 80th birthday this week.
Family members had the appropriate birthday celebration, taking him to a Norfolk Tides game. He was pleasantly surprised when his name was flashed on the scoreboard as his birthday was recognized. by CNB