By Gary Curreri

Michael Hutchens defeated Matt Lazarus, 224-223, to win the men’s open championship in the Broward County United States Bowling Congress Association’s Top Eight Tournament at the Strikers Family SportsCenter in Sunrise recently.

The 36-year-old Pompano Beach man was sitting in third place during qualifying until he rolled a 274 to seize the top seed. 

“I loved it,” Hutchens said. “It was awesome! I love the sport because it is competitive and you can beat anybody,” Hutchens said. “It doesn’t matter what generation you are from, what you like or what your personal interests are. Anything about this game, it doesn’t matter. We are all here for one thing and that is to bowl, and that is what I love.

“You can be a rocker, you can be country or you can be rap,” he continued. “You can be anything you want.”

It was his debut in the Top-8 tournament. He moved to Florida from Indiana in 2013. He bowls at Diamond Strike Lanes in Pompano on Wednesdays, Strikes@Boca on Thursdays and Sawgrass Bowl in Tamarac on Fridays.

The top eight bowlers from around Broward County competed in the one-day event in six divisions –Boys and Girls, Men’s and Women’s Open, and Senior Men and Women. 

“I just wanted to show that I belonged, that’s it,” said Hutchens, who said he has bowled more than a dozen perfect 300-games. “I usually average between 225 and 230, but averaged 240 today. To me, bowling is about fun. It is the enjoyment of the game, meeting new people and everybody fits in because we love one thing and that’s bowling. We all want to win.

We all want to enjoy it, but at the same time we want everybody to be good.”

The competitors in the tournament bowled three games of qualifying and the top four bowlers in each division bowled step ladder finals. The fourth-seeded bowler took on the third seed and that winner bowled the second seed, and the that winner bowled the top-seed for the title.

To qualify for the event, bowlers need to bowl in two leagues in two different houses (bowling alleys) or two leagues in the same bowling center. They have to compete in at least 2/3 of the league to qualify for the Top-8. Juniors needed only one league to qualify for the annual tournament.

State Representative Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed invites you to attend The Legislative Update Town Hall Meeting. Topics include: Florida Election Laws/Voter Registration, Medicaid Reform, Workforce One, Unemployment Compensation, Redistricting Process.Clarke-Reed represents residents in these cities: Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Tamarac, North Lauderdale and Wilton Manors.

Join her  Wednesday, July 20, 2011 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, 520 Martin Luther King Blvd. (Hammondville Road)
Pompano Beach, Florida 33060. For information please call her office, 954-786-4848 or the community center at 954-786-4585.

Allen West’s congressional offices are on high alert after a suspicious substance was mailed to West’s post office box in Deerfield Beach. On Friday, a campaign worker went to a post office box in Deerfield Beach to routinely pick up West’s mail. West is a U.S. Representative in Washington representing a large swath of both Broward and Palm Beach counties.

When the worker returned to West’s Boca Raton office with the mail, an envelope with a white powder and what is described as a “derogatory” letter enclosed. In the letter, anthrax was specifically mentioned.

Local police and fire have provided additional protection to West’s office while the material is tested at a lab in Miami to determine exactly what the substance is. West’s office was blocked off by police, and his office condemned the incident in a public statement.

“I thoroughly condemn this act which does nothing but evidence the sick and deranged nature of the perpetrator,” West said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “I will continue to serve the constituents of Florida’s Congressional District 22 with honor and integrity.”