by Kate Evans
Several community members spoke during the public comment section of the Morgan County School Board’s August 20 meeting asking how they could partner with the school board to make the baseball/football complex at Berkeley Springs High School safer for student athletes.
Mandi Michael raised concerns about the conditions of the football/baseball complex. She thought that the last time they’d been completely overhauled was probably 20 years ago. She said the field is unsafe. Kids are out on medical leave for twisting their knee where the field was humped up or for stepping in a hole. The field is all torn up, she said.
It’s not just the football and baseball teams that use the fields, Michael said. The band, boys and girls soccer teams and the cheer team all perform or compete on the filed, plus there’s a ton of community use in the complex, Michael said.
Local people want a facility that they can take pride in and want to support county athletes. She mentioned the state-of-the-art Jefferson and Berkeley Counties sports facilities, but said those are out of reach. Michael said Hampshire County has a fantastic sports facility.
Michael asked if there were grants or other resources available and if someone in the community could write a grant to help.
“We’re asking for a partnership. What can we do to improve the facility for the community,” she said.
Larry Hutchinson said there was a bridge across Warm Springs Run to get foul balls at the baseball field that was taken out. There was talk of sidewalks and putting the bridge back, but nothing ever came of it, he said.
Denny Aulabaugh said that the gymnasium floors look great now. He estimated the cost of redoing the gym floors at $4,000-$5,000 and said in six months they’ll need done again. Aulabaugh said when he was in school they could only wear tennis shoes on the gymnasium floor and no high heels or cowboy boots, which helped preserve the floor.
Nick Moore asked who was in charge of the high school athletic director. Board president Aaron Close advised it’s the high school principal. Moore said he’d worked all year in the baseball field because “no one would do anything.”
Close asked him not to refer to anyone specifically in his public comments and told him that what he was saying was more of a conversation between Moore and Superintendent Banks than what could be said in public comment.
Close thanked them for their concerns and comments and said that the high school sports complex is a priority for the school board and that it definitely needs more attention. It’s a large concern for the athletics committee. They’ve talked about tearing the field up but that would mean they’d lose a season. They’ve had the same conversations about the Widmyer track and field.
Board member John Rowland said as a cross country coach he’s seen Hampshire County’s sports facility and was mesmerized by what they’d done. He was told they’d gotten a sponsorship through a local bank. Rowland suggested that the group contact the local athletic director there for more information.
