Surdich on Bowling: Hall of Fame adds fifth scholarship

Our association has informed me there will be five $1,000 scholarships given this year instead of four during the Hall of Fame dinner April 16. The extra scholarship was made possible by a recent $500 donation from the Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club.

Four $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students in $500 increments. The Joyce Bigham Memorial Scholarship will be $1,000, courtesy of Bigham’s longtime companion, Mr. Don Belden of Los Banos.

In the next couple of weeks, you’ll see association board members going around the leagues selling raffle tickets for two 40-inch televisions that will be drawn during the dinner. Prizes and gifts for the dinner are starting to come in. There are four bowling balls, dinners, and patio and garden items that will be auctioned.

Voting for induction into the Merced County Bowling Hall of Fame’s 2016 class will be Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at Bellevue Bowl.

League highlights – The Bellevue Seniors on Tuesday had John Eversole rolling nine strikes in a row for a 274 game and 676 series, and John Nunes rolling the second “Greek Church” in recent weeks, the 4-6-7-9-10 split, but he didn’t convert. ... Joann Baker had a 182 game in the Twilighters.

Amateur staff members – Two of our local bowlers are now amateur staff members of Lord Field/Lane Masters bowling company. Cam Clemens is now rolling Gold Diamond and a Terminator Revelations balls with good results. Neill Barcellos has been bowling great with the Black Pearl “Blue Ocean” and Buzz Legend. Barcelllos just finished 14th out of 61 at the annual Stockton Masters for $225, rolling with the Blue Ocean. Barcellos has rolled in a couple of PBA regional events, and Clemens is gearing up to do the same. Both are rolling in the 200s.

Aqua Entertainment Center – Word from Bertha Faria, executive director of the Los Banos Chamber of Commerce, is that the pace has picked up on work at the new Aqua Entertainment Center in Los Banos. Faria said the plumbing contractor was working on a system for the cafe corner. The center has obtained its ABC license to serve beer on tap and in the future will have a full-service bar.

A large arcade area is being prepped to receive 50 full-size game machines, and the party room is moving along with two 70-inch televisions.

Framing for the pin system has been installed, and the center expects delivery of the bowling lanes in the next week.

It’s finally moving along for the people of Los Banos and the West Side. More information as it comes available.

Black Oak senior no-tap – I have only five spots left on my squad for March 11 at 1:30 p.m. in the 11th annual Senior Handicap No-tap. The age minimum is 50 for men and women. There also is a squad March 4 at 1:30 that was open.

The cost is $15 for three games of 9-pin no-tap. High-game scores for men and women are paid out after every game and after your series at the end of the mini-tourney. If you have questions, contact tournament director Jeff Hurley at 209-928-9437. You can contact me at 209-777-1111 to sign up.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Surdich on Bowling: Hall of Fame adds fifth scholarship."