40 years of Bulldog basketball
As a senior in high school in 1970, Rudy Dubis figured he would do Batavia High School athletic director Bob Tober a favor when Tabor asked if he could announce some home basketball games because the current announcer had too many irons in the fire.
When Dubis took to the microphone last weekend for the annual Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic Tournament at Batavia High School, it marked the 40th year he's been the voice of his beloved Bulldogs.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing this for 40 years,” Dubis said. “I was thinking maybe it would last a couple of years.
“But you know what?” Dubis asked. “I'd probably be going to the games anyway because I'm a big basketball fan.”
When Dubis worked the games with scorer Ken Peddy and scoreboard operator Max Striedl in years past, he figured they represented the most experienced crew at a high school game in the state.
Dubis, who was inducted into the Illinois High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a “friend of basketball,” could easily have had a similar longevity streak for football if his job in the early 1970s had not forced him to be unavailable for Saturday afternoon games in the pre-lights era of Bulldog Stadium.
But basketball has been his calling. He estimates he has missed only five games in 40 years. Like many Bulldog fans, he picks the 1991 Elite Eight team that went to Champaign behind high school All-America player Corey Williams and Lamar Justice as his favorite.
“That was the most unbelievable high school team I have ever seen,” Dubis said. “They would just come out and bury people.”
Dubis sums up his long stint with a simple truism regarding Batavia High School: “Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.”
For the dogs:
The dogs were out in force at Pet Supplies Plus in North Aurora last weekend as a drive began to create Christmas Pet Bags for elderly or handicapped people who have pets.
Karen Reeves and her Dog Scout Troop 208 are spearheading the effort to provide the pet gift bags after learning that many people receiving the Salvation Army senior meals were sharing those meals with their pets.
The troop has hooked up with the North Aurora store through Dec. 15 and those interested in helping can go to the store to purchase pre-filled bags as donations, or buy items to place in donation bags.
“The Dog Scout Troop is exactly what it says it is,” Reeves said. “It's a Scout Troop, but the dogs earn the patches.”
Pet Supplies Plus is at 180 N. Randall Road.
Moving close by:
When it opens, it will be the closest Aldi grocery store to our house, so we're eager for the Batavia Aldi to move into its new location at the former Basset Furniture store on Randall Road.
The grand opening is set for Dec. 9, and it looks like it will be bigger than the current location in the Windmill Creek retail area.
dheun@sbcglobal.net