Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 10-21-16 Online Edition

Features
TBX Group Meets With East Tampa Organization
The Life Of Charlie Owens
In this photo are: Derylene Glover, Charlie Owens, and Tonya Walker. They are seen with the group of young people who acted as servers for the evening. They are: Herbert, IV, Herbert, V, Nyla Yas- min, James Thornton, and Briana Sailor.
On October 11th, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) made a presentation to the East Tampa Community Re- vitalization Partnership (ETCRP) on their Tampa Bay Express project.
Among the concerns of the ETCRP were:
• Overall Project Ap- proval
• Number of lanes to be added and number of structures impacted in East Tampa CRA
• Air quality impacts
• Funding source for capital and maintenance • Who benefits from
this project?
• Time savings by
using the express lanes versus general purpose lanes
• Bearss vs. Busch
• Can we elevate ex- press lanes to save right of way
• Specific community impacts within East Tampa
• East Tampa input into project
MS. EVANGELINE BEST ETCRP CHAIR
• Where will the sound walls be?
• Concerns about local road congestion
• Sound barriers sec- tioning off neighbor- hoods
• Final buildout time- line
• Mitigation of crime at empty buildings
• Timeline of property demolition
• Concerns about va- cant properties
• Impacts to seniors/elderly-transit
•Health Concerns/Ast h-ma/Air quality
• Eminent domain
• Relocation of struc- tures
• How are historic properties determined?
• Flooding concerns
FDOT (Florida Depart- ment of Transportation) will also have a presentation at the November 8th ETCRP meeting (10 a.m. at Cyrus Greene) regarding Tampa Bay Express, and they will be prepared to discuss con- cerns brought up at the Oc- tober 11th meeting.
ETCRP Chair, Ms. Evan- geline Best, said she wants to thank the people who came to the meeting, espe- cially all of the neighbor- hood association leaders.
“We had about 60 people in attendance and I thought TBX made a great presenta- tion. However, it was a lot of information for us to digest, and I’d like to see them come with handouts for the next meeting so we can be better prepared.
“I thought the dialogue was good, and a lot of ques- tions were answered, espe- cially the impact the project will have on our neighbor- hoods. There are still a lot of questions that need to be an- swered, mostly where this project is going.”
Ms. Best said an older neighborhood like East Tampa, especially with all the seniors, is concerned about the project, and she wants to talk to the seniors to make sure they are pro- tected and treated fairly.
“I Hate To Lose” is a story of courage and inspira- tion of an African American who grew up during the de- pression in Winter Haven, Florida. He overcame poverty, prejudice and several physical handicaps.
Though he was severely crippled from a Korean War injury and was blind in one eye, that didn’t bother Char- lie Owens. He played on the PGA Tour and successfully won against other profes- sional golfers of this era. He played with a stiff leg, gripped the club wrong, lost vision in his left eye, and beat some of the best players in the world.
Mr. Owens’ father was a groundskeeper at Winter Haven Golf Course. They lived on the 10th tee. The course belonged to the city, but it was private if you had the wrong skin color. The only way an African American was allowed on the course was as a caddie.
Mr. Owens has been in- volved in sports all of his life, playing football in high school, and for Florida A&M University as a tight end who could fly. He had an opportu- nity to try out for the Cleve- land Browns when he got out of the Armed services the first time, but he re-enlisted.
In his early 40s, Mr.
Owens started experiencing yips, which is where he would miss easy putts due to nerv- ousness. He later won the 1974 Florida Open, and also took a job as head profes- sional at Rogers Park Golf Course.
Mr. Owens loved golf, and would hate to see the darkness come. A lot of peo- ple were amazed he could hit the ball, let alone launch it on 300-yrd drives with old per- simmon headed woods. Nev- ertheless, in 1986, he won 18 of the 21 events he entered.
Today, Mr. Owens is 84- years-old and is proud to have overcome every adver- sity, from physical, mental, and financial difficulties that a man could withstand, and still emerge as a champion in golf and the game of life.
Mr. Owens is part of Four Golf Legends, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization that provides education and prac- tical application for youth and adult golfers that are chal- lenged by visual impairment, hearing, and other disabili- ties.
On Tuesday, October 25th at 4 p. m. at Rogers Park Golf Course, the Four Person Golf League will begin. No experi- ence is necessary, and a mem- ber of the professional staff will offer tutoring.
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