Polk County
Sports
QUICK HITS
Central High to
host conference
INDEPENDENCE — The
Oregon Coaches Associa-
tion and the OSAA have
chosen Central High
School to host the Spirit of
Champions Conference on
Aug. 26.
The event, sponsored
by BiMart, will see schools
from around the valley
and the Oregon Coast
come together.
More details will be re-
leased later.
Fun run seeks
volunteers
DALLAS — The Dallas
Booster Club is seeking
volunteers for the Sum-
merfest Fun Run on July
30.
The run will need vol-
unteers beginning at 7
a.m.
This year, the run will
feature a 5-kilometer race
at 8:30 a.m. and a kid’s run
at 9 a.m.
Volunteers are needed
for registration, directing
runners along the course,
help at the water stations
and handing out water,
food and gifts at the finish
line, as well as cleanup
after the event.
For more information:
admin@dhsboosterclub.or
g.
Online registration for
the fun run is available at
www.runsignup.com/Race
/Register/?raceId=8490.
Day of registration will
also be available.
Cross Creek
men’s club results
DALLAS — Cross
Creek’s men’s club results
for July 12:
Two man best ball low
gross/low net
Gross: 1, Roy Speelman-
Wayne Baughman, 34; Lee
Gamaney-Jim Schroeder,
35.
Net: 1, Mike Largent-
Allan Hadley, 26; 2 (tie),
Steve Altman-Ken
Dankenbring, Larry Burg-
er-John Hopkins and Bob
Bennet-Denney Klassen,
31.
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 20, 2016 9A
LongBoard Larry finds a home
Larry Peterson opens first storefront for handmade boards
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — If not
for a decision long ago by
his older brother, Larry Pe-
terson’s life would look a lot
different than it does now.
Peterson graduated from
Western Oregon University
with a biology degree and
had his sights set on a par-
ticular field.
“The plan was to go to
dental school,” Peterson
said.
He never made it to den-
tal school. But Peterson, bet-
ter known as LongBoard
Larry, found something bet-
ter. Now, he’s ready to share
his passion with even more
people with the opening of
his store, LongBoard Larry,
located at 599 S. Third St. in
Independence.
—
Peterson’s love of building
longboards was born out of
necessity.
“My brother in high
school built a longboard out
of an old ski press,” Peterson
said. “He lost interest, so I
rode that for a while until he
decided he wanted it back. I
figured I have to figure out
how to make these things.”
His first board, made from
a flat piece of wood that he
soaked in a kid’s pool to try
and bend it, was less than
successful.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
LongBoard Larry features handmade longboards and skate boards, clothing and supplies.
“It didn’t work very well,”
Peterson said. “I think it
cracked on the second day.”
But he was intrigued by
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
the process and began ex-
perimenting with different
molds and techniques,
learning how different de-
signs led to different riding
styles.
“I kept working at it and
found different ways to
build boards and bend
wood,” he said. “… I like fig-
uring out ways to make cool
stuff.”
Before long, others took
notice of his skills.
“It got to the point where
people asked me to build
them boards,” Peterson said.
“That was back in the 1999-
2000 time frame. I was going
to Western at the time.”
The decision was made to
start LongBoard Larry. He
hired two high school stu-
dents to work with him and
they were off and running —
Board building
• LongBoard Larry, located at 599 S. Third St., in Independence
is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and
weekends by appointment.
• LongBoard Larry makes handmade longboard skateboards
and also sells clothing and supplies.
• Peterson’s business began in a 200-square foot shed. He has
spent the last five years in its manufacturing facility in Independ-
ence.
• This is the company’s first official storefront.
• The company has shipped longboards around the world.
• For more information: 971-209-5135.
though not with the grand-
est of beginnings.
“I started in a shed that
was 200-square feet,” Pe-
terson said. “I did every-
thing from pressing to cut-
ting and painting in that
shed for a long time. Then,
we had a car tent, that’s
w h e re w e s a n d e d t h e
boards and then added a
third shed because we were
keeping busy.”
In the decade and a half
since then, they’ve expand-
ed into bigger locations and
sent custom-made boards
around the world, but one
thing was missing.
See LARRY, Page 10A
Registration for
kids triathlon open
Different designs are made to suit different styles of rid-
ing. Each board takes two to three days to finish.
DALLAS — Registration
for the 10th annual Sum-
merfest Kids Triathlon at
the Dallas Aquatic Center
is now open.
The event is open to
kids ages 5 to 12 and will
be held on July 29 from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. Check-in be-
gins at 9:45 a.m.
Cost is $20 for Dallas
Aquatic Center members
and $25 for nonmembers.
Register before Friday to
receive a $5 discount.
Day of registration will
also be available prior to
the start of the event.
Age groups and dis-
tances are as follows: 5-6
(25-yard swim, 165-yard
bike, 75-yard run); 7-8 (25-
yard swim, 280-yard bike
ride, 175-yard run); 9-10
(50-yard swim, 545-yard
bike ride, 300-yard run);
11-12 (100-yard swim,
1,090-yard bike ride, 600-
yard run).
For more information:
www.ci.dallas.or.us/83/Dal
las-Aquatic-Center.
Injury complicates Curtis’ summer
Dallas High senior uses setback as fuel to take her game to new levels
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
Online
Visit www.polkio.com
for more sports stories,
photos and more.
www.polkio.com
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Dallas’ Kailee Curtis took 14th at state in 2016. An injury forced her to
miss a junior golf tournament in June.
DALLAS — Kailee Curtis was
ready for a big summer of golf.
Fresh off placing 14th at the OSAA
5A girls golf state championships
last spring, the Dallas High incom-
ing senior was ready to make a
splash on a national scale.
Curtis did undergo some impor-
tant lessons — but not the ones she
was expecting.
Curtis was preparing for a tourna-
ment in mid-June to qualify for a
Junior Open event in New Jersey
when she suffered a critical setback.
“I was playing a practice round
and broke a blood vessel in my fin-
ger,” she said.
She was forced to take two weeks
off, causing her to miss the tourna-
ment.
“It was really upsetting for me,”
Curtis said.
She was able to play in a tourna-
ment June 21-22 in Corvallis — this
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
one to qualify for the World Champi-
onships.
“I was still slightly injured and I
hadn’t played very much before it,”
Curtis said. “I played really badly. It
was hard going into that not play-
ing my best, but it was a learning
experience that you can’t just walk
into these things without practic-
ing.
“Not being able to play then
going to the next tournament and
doing so awful was definitely hard,
but it was a wakeup call.”
She’ll get another chance to get
her golf game back on track when
she plays in a special tournament on
July 24.
She’ll compete alongside her dad
— the one who taught her how to
play just before her freshman year of
high school.
“One day we were sitting there
watching golf,” Curtis said. “I said,
‘this is really boring, dad.’ He told
me I was wrong.”
See CURTIS, Page 10A
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
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