Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs Director John W. Castle recently announced the appointment of Alvin J. Kelleras as Chief of the Department's Office of Local Management Services.

Keller is a career government employee whose service spans the terms of five governors. In 1972 Governor Richard B. Ogilvie awarded him the Superior Achievement Certificate as an outstanding state employee. For the past thirteen years, Keller has served as a fiscal advisor to the 6300 local governments of Illinois through the Illinois Departments of Revenue, Local Government Affairs, and Commerce and Community Affairs.

"This new post will give Al the responsibility of directing a staff which advises and provides technical assistance to local government officials throughout the state," said Castle. "Al's broad background in local government finance is an asset to our Department and to the State of Illinois."

Prior to his state service, Keller was director of finance for the City of Bloomington for seventeen years and was purchasing agent for the Steak n Shake chain of fast food restaurants.

During his tenure with the City of Bloomington, he instituted a new fund concept allowing for investment of temporarily idle funds, introduced computerization of the city's fiscal system, and established the Sister-City relationship between Bloomington and Asahigawa, Japan, consisting of a cultural exchange program.

Keller is currently the Illinois representative to the Municipal Finance Officers' Association of the United States and Canada.

He and his wife Doris reside in Bloomington.

Dr. Joseph D. Teaff, formerly an associate professor of recreation at Texas Woman's University, has been appointed as associate professor in the Department of Recreation at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He holds a B.A. from the University of Dayton, an M.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Ed.M. and Ed.D. from Columbia University.

The Dundee Township Park District has been named by the Region Two, Area Agency on Aging as a recipient of a federal grant for the purchase of a new 16-passenger bus for use with it's Senior Citizens programs. The bus, which will be equipped with a wheelchair lift, will be available for all area seniors for transportation to the Park District Senior Center and it's various activities, such as the nutrition program, college credit courses. Exercises, "Happy Hoofers" Dance Club, Card Club, 50+ Club and Senior Citizens Council meetings, Special Events, and more. In addition, the bus will be available for transporting area seniors to other needed services such as doctor appointments, shopping, etc. The new bus has been ordered and will be available after the first of the year.

Transportation is currently available, but through the use of this new bus as well as the new wagon being made available by the Kane County Nutrition Program for the delivery of home-delivered meals, the program will be expanding to meet the needs of even more seniors in the Dundee Township and surrounding areas.

Dr. Jean Loveland, SIU-C, has been appointed to serve as Chairperson for the APRS Religion and Recreation Committee for 1980-81. Dr. Loveland and her brother, Reverend George Loveland, Director of Wesley Foundation, gave a presentation at the National Forum on Recreation and Religion at the NRPA Congress in Phoenix.

The Peoria Park District recently celebrated the opening of the Rhodell E. Owens Recreation Center with an open house. The facility, named after Peoria's long-time director, covers 1 1/2 acres, and contains two full-sized hockey rinks, each 85' x 200'. The 150-ton refrigeration generates 1.6 million pound ice slabs for each rink.

The building also includes an all-purpose meeting room that seats up

Illinois Parks and Recreation 26 January/February 1981

to 300 which can be divided into two smaller meeting rooms if needed. This area is served by a small kitchenette so refreshments can be served, or banquets and luncheons catered.

The skating areas are served by a first class pro shop, a concession area, a first aid room, skate sharpening and maintenance facilities, and a comfortable lounge area for parents. A variety of skating programs are available including a figure skating club, junior hockey, skating lessons, family skating, and open skating.

The rink areas, when not in use for ice skating can be used for a variety of other recreational activities. Some possibilities include basketball, broom-ball, curling, flower shows, gymnastics, horse shows, rodeos, style shows, volleyball, and wrestling.

The two-day open house included a dedication program, a number of skating shows and exhibitions, a hockey game, and open skating. Appearances were made by Diane Holum, Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, and Eric Strobel, right-winger on the United States' gold medal hockey team.

Rhodell Owens, the facility's namesake, has been director of the Peoria Park District since 1952 and employed here since 1945. In that period of time acreage of the system has increased from 1,736 to about 7,500, the budget from $250,000 to $4.8 million, and the number of employees from less than 100 to about 1,350.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 January/February 1981