VALLEY WILL MISS SHOULDERS TO LEAN ON.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

Odds and ends from around the Valley:

Retirement has robbed the Valley of a couple of class acts who spent their careers making life better and safer for local kids and seniors.

Over at the Glendale Parks and Recreation Department, Community Services Manager Bob MacKay retired after 41 years as a mentor, tennis coach and surrogate father to thousands of kids.

A few hundred people showed up last Sunday afternoon at the Glendale Civic Auditorium to say goodbye to MacKay, who is moving on to coach the Glendale College tennis team.

From legendary University of Southern California baseball coach Rod Dedeaux to parents Franchesca McWhorter and Mike Padula, they all said the same thing - MacKay had that special ability the good ones always have of being able to instill life's lessons with sports.

He taught kids more than backhands and forehands. He taught them sportsmanship and respect, and always gave them a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen when they needed it.

Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Ron Gould, who headed up the Gray Squad in the Valley, provided that same shoulder and ear for local seniors.

It was Gould's idea to start a special police team about 10 years ago that seniors could specifically call for help or to report scams that the bottom feeders were trying to pull on them.

During that time, I've done dozens of columns on how the Gray Squad saved the day for many seniors in the Valley. Now, unfortunately, with Gould's retirement and move to the Black Hills of South Dakota after more than 30 years on the department, it is being disbanded.

Happy retirement, guys. You're both class acts, and this community is going to sorely miss you.

Before he hangs `em up, Tiger Woods will undoubtedly hold all of golf's records, but the kid's going to have a problem topping the record of 80-year-old Eddie Rosa, a member of the Woodland Hills Golf Club.

I wrote a column on Eddie's 14th hole-in-one a few months back, and the ink was hardly dry on the story before Eddie teed off on the par three, 15th hole and, yeah, you got it, sunk his 15th hole-in-one.

``I guess after 14, 15 shouldn't be a surprise or exciting, but it is for all of us,'' said Kerry Hopps, the club's pro. ``It's pretty incredible, really.''

Yeah, it is. Eddie and his playing buddies said they didn't even know the ball had gone in the hole because the sun was shining in their eyes when they teed off.

``We were looking in the rough for my ball because it wasn't on the green, and I jokingly told one of my buddies to look in the hole, just in case,'' Eddie said. ``There it was.''

Eddie bought a round on the 19th hole, then drove over to the DMV office to change his personalized license plate from 14HLSN1 to 15HLSN1.

Top that one, Tiger.

And finally, some local events you may want to consider taking in this weekend for some very worthwhile causes.

--Disabled American Veteran's Post 73 in Woodland Hills is having an evening concert and picnic, 5-9 p.m. Saturday to raise money for all the wonderful projects they do during the year to help and support veterans.

For $7, you get dancing and entertainment from the popular Moon Dog Blues Band, and you're invited to bring your own picnic. The DAV veteran's park is located at 6543 Corbin Ave., and the event is adults-only.

--Los Angeles Pierce College's Theater Department will debut ``My Fair Lady'' tonight in its Performing Arts Building. For ticket information and other upcoming performances, call [phone]. The school is located at 6201 Winnetka Ave.

--On Sunday, the Tri-Valley Special Olympics will hold a fund-raiser at 2 p.m. at the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center, 23400 Park Sorrento, Calabasas.

It's a top-seed Tennis Challenge between the Calabasas club and the North Ranch Country Club. For a $25 donation to Special Olympics you get a donation raffle ticket for a chance at a new Honda Aquatrax personal watercraft.

For more information on the Tri-Valley Special Olympics, call Jan Maseda at [phone].