Gearing up for softball, youth football

This week in parks and maintenance news, our Concord Park crew has been hauling off driftwood at the boat ramps, fixing a couple of lights at Carl Cowan Park tennis court and a water leak at the Par 3 golf course, clearing walking trails, and repairing potholes on roads throughout the system. Additionally, the Carl Cowan splash pad is up and running again.

Our carpenters spent some time installing cabinets in various department-owned buildings and then went back to Ball Camp Park to finish work on the soft toss batting cages now that the parts showed up.

“Dylan (our electrician) has been running new wire for the irrigation at the SportsPark and Frank (the one-man machine) has been working on vandalism at various parks,” said Jason Halliburton, who is the department’s superintendent of maintenance. “And of course, our mowing crews have been mowing and going and taking care of their parks.”

So, we’ve had a few folks ask about a possible missing person earlier this week at House Mountain. We were called about a young teenager who disappeared when his parents were hiking but they apparently found him quickly. I don’t know the details but the kid is safe. We were about to send our own trail expects – along with Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies – to look for the person. Thankfully it wasn’t necessary.

It seems like every week some knucklehead vandalizes a park restroom – the last one was at Ball Camp Park. If you vandalize a bathroom, you’re a loser. Of course, you’re also probably too stupid to be reading this column or know how to read anyway, so I’m probably spitting in the wind here. Anyway, we’re probably talking about another couple hundred dollars in repairs. In the meantime, we’ll soon be beefing up security camera surveillance throughout the system.

On the recreation side, adult softball registration for the SportsPark in Karns is ongoing and will end Aug. 20. Please go here for more information. Games start Sept. 7.

We also:

Have adult soccer this weekend at US Cellular
Are in the final stages of registration and preseason preparation for fall baseball/softball recreational leagues in the county
Are preparing for the kickoff of the 2021 KMYFL Season on Aug. 14 and 16.

Additionally, the Josh Jones Kickoff Classic will be held on Saturday and Sunday of Aug. 7-8 at John Tarleton Park. As always, we are always looking for part-time help ($12 an hour) and umpires for our leagues.

Folks also are welcome to join the Ultra Instinct Volleyball on Wednesday and Thursday nights at Solway Park. Current sessions run through Aug. 18-19. Info here.

Enjoy this carousel of photos from this week’s projects.