TRR photo by David Hulse (Click for larger image)

Community honors former ECS coach

ELDRED — Charles Donnelly and Linda Bjorn, widow of the late Eldred Central School (ECS) Coach Ken Bjorn, pictured, are pictured December 8 at dedication ceremonies for the first section of a new outdoor recreation center created to honor the memory of the 26-year ECS teacher.

Despite threatening weather, more than 100 people, including former students, colleagues and friends, turned out for the Saturday afternoon dedication

Donnelly spearheaded a two-year fundraising effort that won donations of time and money from hundreds of residents and business people.

The dedication included four paved basketball courts, on which construction began in October. Aside from untold hours of volunteer work, Donnelly said budget cost for the courts was about $9,500. The Ken Bjorn Recreation Center will be expanded to include adjoining tennis courts next spring, he said.

Linda Bjorn said he husband would have loved the project. “He’d have detested all the attention and the hoopla, but he would have loved the kids using the park. It’s a wonderful Christmas gift to the community and our family,” she said.

The Bjorn grandchildren were the first out on the new basketball courts.