Rain continues to create havoc for work crews

As the rain threatens to make this a short week for the folks out in the field, the Knox County Parks and Recreation crews have been hustling all week, getting the job done!

Take Concord Park for example. It’s one of the biggest in the area, featuring the Cove, the Point, Cherokee and more, and draws folk not only throughout the county but the region as well. The crews over there have spent the past couple of weeks fertilizing the par 3 golf course, fixing the septic tank at the Cherokee Park bathrooms and repairing a set of lights at the Farragut Park baseball fields.

They’ve also cleared the growth on the beach volleyball court at the Cove and serviced the mowing equipment to get them through the season. Additionally, the crews spent time cutting and clearing trees from the trails – a result of the recent storms.

During the next couple of weeks – with TVA raising the water levels for the summer season – the crews will put in new buoys at the Cove, haul off driftwood from all the boat ramps and put four loads of sand on the volleyball courts and fix the drains there. Then the focus is on mowing and weed eating. It’s that time of year again!

Our carpenters continue to work on the boat dock at Melton Hill Park although it still lacks the gangway, which is on order, and the floaters. We do have a section that connects to the bank but we’d rather folks not use it right now.

Other crews were at Ball Camp Park, fixing the ruts in the outfield, and making sure it’s safe. The electrical crews were chasing electrical problems at Clayton Park. We had some lights blow out there, so we needed to fix them.

Also, the inspectors signed off on the lights at Gibbs Park, so we’re just waiting on the keys to the electrical box out there. We’ll need access in case there are future problems.

Of course, the crews in Beaver Creek are still going strong, clearing out what will become the 44-mile long Knox County Water Trail!

We also will continue work on the county’s splash pads, which are for kids of all ages. The three splash pads are located at Carl Cowan Park (10058 S. Northshore Drive); New Harvest Park (4775 New Harvest Lane) and Powell Station Park (2318 W. Emory Road). Use of the splash pads is free and open, weather permitting, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., beginning May 1 through mid-September. That said, last year we kept them open into October, since the weather was still nice.

On the recreation side, I want to start off by saying that we continue to need help finding umpires and part-time workers. That said all our community parks began their baseball and softball seasons, which run through the middle of June. Youth softball games are going on right now at Ball Camp Park and adult softball leagues at the SportsPark. (We also have tournaments at the SportsPark on the weekends.)

AYSO soccer games kicked off (get it?? Haha) at U.S. Cellular Park and run through the middle of May. And, FC Alliance is using some dates at U.S. Cellular Park for tournaments on the weekends. We also have adult soccer at Tommy Schumpert Park through the middle of May. Finally, we have lacrosse groups using John Tarleton Park for practice and some games when it doesn’t rain.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fine work our folks at the Knox County Engineering and Public Works Department do. Crews have been out in force, working annual asphalt resurfacing operations.

Here’s a look at some:

Strawberry Plains Pike (from John Sevier to city limit)
Asbury Road
Harvey Road
Corryton Luttrell Road
S. Northshore (from Choto Roundabout to county line)

In addition, here’s a snapshot of some of the E&PW Department’s other work:

Northshore Park (Concord Roundabout) – construction underway for parking lot
Northshore Road – Roadway drop-off grading completed w/ stabilization (sod) to be completed this week
Babelay Road – culvert maintenance removing debris to eliminate roadway flooding
Woodhollow Lane (Brandywine subdivision) – New stormwater pipe continues to be installed – progress update from last week

Enjoy this photo carousel of projects across the county: