Lots of repairs and cleanup at area parks

We wrapped up our Second Saturday Concert Series this year at the Cove at Concord Park and Clayton Park with some great turnouts. Thanks to all the folks who supported the events (they ran June, July and August) and all the musicians who played! We will be back with more bands next summer.

We’ve hosted the concert series now for several decades and it’s always been fun. The events are open to the public and always free, and the music runs from 6-8 p.m. It’s a really great time for the family.

The weather was perfect for the events this past weekend, but not so great in the days following. In fact, our folks at Concord Park were super busy as heavy rains created quite a mess along the trails at Callaway Ridge. Still, they took care of business and removed the fallen trees. The crew out there also pressure-washed the walls and floors at all the bathrooms, finished installing new posts and cable, and replaced a number of broken boards on the picnic tables and benches.

We also had an incident in which a boat slammed into the dock at Carl Cowan Park. But, our carpenters were on the scene and managed to get the dock repaired. No word on the boat.

In addition, our carpenters went out to the club house at Beverly Park Par 3 Golf Course to replace parts of the floor that rotted.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our one-man machine Frank Christian! He’s remained busy as usual. He was at Forks of the River Park when he discovered an abandoned homeless camp. He got that cleaned up but it was nasty out there. He found some syringe caps but thankfully didn’t get poked. Every cleanup is a chance taken and we always applaud Frank for hustling every day. In addition, he pressure-washed some of the kayak launches throughout our parks system.

“Busy, busy, busy,” he joked in an email to me.

Over on the recreation side, Knox County youth fast pitch at Nicholas Ball Camp Park has drafted and formed the teams in the 10u division and the teams will start practice this weekend. There are still opening for up to six players to join the 8u coach pitch division, and we will open up the online 8u signup page for anyone interested. Folks can either contact Troy Fleming via email at troy.fleming@knoxcounty.org or call the office at 865-215-6600. We will close the sign ups after the first 6 girls get signed up.

In addition, we have flag football games on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Also, just a reminder that the adult softball fall league registration ends on Friday, Aug. 20. Don’t miss out. We accept cash, check or credit card. We also have Monday and Tuesday coed leagues; Monday senior leagues for men; Tuesday men’s E and D leagues and a Wednesday women’s league.

Enjoy this photo carousel of work around the parks: