Dateline: February 10, 2005

Ball fields bring community together

By Ashlee Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Community leaders wanted it. Kids wanted it. Parents wanted it. But no one group could do it alone.

Now through a spirit of cooperation, the dream of making Clarendon’s ball fields suitable for use by high school teams and turning them into something people can be proud of is being accomplished with the city, the school, the Little League, and the kids themselves joining forces to turn an idea into a reality.

“We finally got enough people to sit down and talk about it,” Clarendon Junior High Principal Marvin Elam said. “We got people… actually making plans and implementing them.

“No one group has the money to do it alone,” he said. “This is an instance where the school, Little League, and city have come together, come up with a vision, and are working to achieve it.”

That vision was to build an entirely new softball field and substantially renovate McClelland Field by erecting new fences, adding new lighting, and constructing new dugouts.

“The school has had a need to improve the parks for our teams,” Clarendon School Superintendent Monty Hysinger said. “We knew since the city and school both own the fields, and the Little League uses them, we needed to work together.

“We have a lot of booster parents that were very interested in it and were ready to get something done.”

Hysinger said the support of the community has been tremendous.

“It’s been neat to see everyone coming together to get things done. The three organizations realized that things are tight, and we’re all trying to pitch in.

“We talked about it and realized if everyone pitches in we can accomplish anything for our community.  When you work together you can make your dollar stretch farther.”

City Administrator Sean Pate said he would like to think the organizations have set a precedent for others to follow.

“These three organizations have joined and worked together. It goes to show what can happen when you get people together and really want to accomplish something.”

Elam thinks the cooperation on this project is the only way it could be achieved.

“If you get people working together with a vested interest, anything can be done. I think this project is proof we can do more than just sit back and expect things to happen.

“It’s proof that when you work together and share talents, anything in the community can get done,” he said. “I hope this will show people we can overcome any problem in town, like the streets.”

Elam believes the project will give the kids and community an object of pride and the kids agree.

“I think the new fields are going to give us pride in our teams and town,” said high school junior Quentin West, who plays baseball for the Broncos.

Junior softball player Kaitlyn Howard agrees with West and likes the cooperation on the project.

“I like seeing people come together and work. It gets me excited about softball. It’s not only beneficial to just us, but to the whole community. It’s nice that the community is taking an interest in the youth.”

While the school has put up some money towards the project, much of the improvements have been made with donated materials and volunteer labor.

As work is nearing completion on McClelland Field and a new softball field is arising out of a formerly weed-covered lot south of Hart-Moore Field, Hysinger is pleased with the progress that is being made.

“I think that when we’re through, both fields will look tremendously better,” he said. “We’re getting some really nice fields that cost less than they could have without help.”

Hysinger said he encourages people to drive by and see the work that is being done.

“Get out and help if you would like,” he said. “We want to do this right where everyone will be proud of it, and we want these improvements to be nice in order to enhance the park area and add to future improvements.”

Elam says this project is a good investment into the community.

“We’re trying to make it something the kids and the community can be proud of. Whether people like it or don’t, this has proven there’s enough talent in Clarendon; and when you work together, you can get a lot done.”

Pate says for anything in a community to be truly successful the community should get involved.

“It all comes down to people taking pride in their community and unifying to make a change for the better.

“If we work together, we can accomplish things like better streets, nicer community areas, and a lot more.  A lot of people will say things need be done, but we need to come together and get it done.”

Pate also said the community needs to be willing to donate time and support one another.

“Now is a time to be unified. The most detrimental thing in a community is to not unify. It’s up to us to better ourselves and make a change for the better.”