Since I started covering sports here in 1970, I always felt that the one facility that needed the most work was the Wilde Lake Tennis Club, which opened in 1967. I don't want to speak out of turn but on a number of occasions, I have seen more than one termite, or worse, making the rounds of the wooden facility. To me, the building always appeared to be a temporary structure and although it got a patch job here and there, I always felt that, at best, it needed to be blown up.

In a way, that is going to happen in October when construction begins on a brand new Wilde Lake tennis facility, complete with an outdoor patio and a new club house.

The new club house won't be much larger than the current one, but you will at least be able to move around. The current club house is so small that if two doubles teams come inside, they barely have room to move. And the bathrooms facilities? Please. You had to wait your turn outside.

Like with any new construction in this town, there has to be some sort of controversy. In the case of the tennis club, it's the trees outside the clubhouse. Those trees have provided welcome shade and a cool spot for the players and tennis fans for decades, but they must come down to make room for an extended clubhouse roof line. Understandably, some of the WLTC members want those trees preserved.

At this point in time, so close to the start of construction, it may be too late for the Columbia Association to change direction, but I, too, would like to see these trees saved. The question now is did the save-the-trees petitioners wait too long and is anyone listening?

One Less Car plans bicycle forum

Thanks to Barbara Kellner, manager of the Columbia Archives, for bringing this item to our attention. In conjunction with several bicycle groups, including the Bicycling Advocates of Howard County, One Less Car has an information sharing forum planned.

The BAHC is looking for a big turnout at the forum, which will be held Oct. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in North Laurel. The meeting will take place in Parsons Auditorium, and refreshments will be served.

The forum hopes to send a strong message to the 2009 Maryland legislature and elected officials at the county level, about bicycle transportation needs and how to make our state more bicycle friendly. If you have a bicycle transportation project, this would be the place to bring it up.

Lawn mower races coming to Laurel

Lawn mower racing champions from the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia areas will be crowned at the Great American 250 Lawn Mower Race, Sunday, Sept. 28 at the Laurel Moose Lodge #1504, 430 Brock Bridge Road, in Laurel. The competition gets underway at 2 p.m. Admission is $5 (adult) and $2 (children ages 6-10). The day will also include target golf, a football toss, a new vehicle display, a car smash and an antique tractor display. Food and beverages will be available.

The DelMarVa Lawn Mower Racing Association will crown champions in seven racing classes at this culminating event of the 2008 season. More than 50 mowers from across the region are expected to compete.

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