Condition of ball fields addressed

CALCUTTA -- The condition of the baseball and softball fields at Beaver Local Schools--along with rocks, bricks and other debris not cleaned out--was cause for concern for some parents, one of which voiced his frustration to the school board during Monday's meeting.

Concerned parent Billy Pancake expressed his dissatisfaction to the board over the condition of the fields along with, what he said, was the board's refusal to respond to these concerns for the past two years since the district's new K-12 facility opened on Bell School Road two years ago.

Among the items that had been found, according to Pancake, were large-sized rocks, bricks, glass shards, porcelain and other debris that were supposed to be cleaned up prior to the surfacing of the fields, but were never removed.

Pancake said he spoke with board member Lance Shultz --who was absent from Monday's meeting -- back in October 2015 at his business regarding the debris in the fields.

"(Shultz) called me. He showed me what he had dug up at the time, and said 'I'm going to take care of this. This isn't right. I'm going to take care of this'," Pancake said. "That was in 2015. That was two years ago."

Pancake stated that a total of three companies were called in to clear out all of the debris and re-plant the seed for the fields. He mentioned two businesses--Executive Landscaping in July 2016 and Smith Landscaping in March 2017--who were paid to do that job, but had not completed the work properly.

He added that the items that were found were not buried deep in the field, and furthermore created a safety issue for the players and those using the fields.

"This isn't stuff that is buried six inches and eight inches deep," Pancake said. "This is stuff that if you walk out there with a shovel and you see a piece of dead grass that you hit. It's concrete. It's blacktop. It's bricks. That's what we want our kids to play on? It's good enough? No, it's not good enough. That's not what we paid for, and that's not what we want to put our kids out on. It's a safety issue."

Pancake also addressed how he and another parent, Brian McKenzie, were called "moles" from the previous administration while attending private meetings, and was accused of turning the school district into the state regarding the fields, which Pancake said never happened.

"All I asked you, five and half months ago, was to fix the issue," Pancake said. "That's all I asked, and I was lied to. I was called names. I was threatened. I was told to shut up. I was told to watch who I messed with, I better watch who I'm messing with and who I'm talking about. I didn't think that's how we did things professionally when you asking me to come into meetings to go over things."

To further prove his point, Pancake brought two bags of rocks, bricks and other debris that he said were found. Furthermore, he presented a video which was played on the television screen, which showed Pancake digging up the rocks and debris in places where there appeared to be dead spots, some within feet or yards within each other throughout the field.

"I appreciate your passion and your stick-to-it-tiveness with this project," board member Patrick Clutter said. "I want to apologize that it is not done."

Following the showing of the video and Pancake's speech, one parent asked if any solutions could be discussed that night, to which board president Greg Eisenhart "Not here, you can't." Another parent, although he didn't have the floor, had asked when something was going to be done, but his question received no reply from the board.

Superintendent Eric Lowe said the district has attempted to address the issue with the fields, but stated that will it continue to look further into the situation.

"We've met in regards to the fields a handful of times since the spring time, and we have attempted to address issues with the fields to improve the quality of them along with other extenuating things such as the concession stands, those types of things, and it continues to be something that we are trying to address," Lowe said.

When asked whether or not the baseball and softball fields could be ready for the spring of 2018, Lowe said that at this point, it was too early to tell.

"Based on what I had seen tonight, it's just hard for me to say confidently one way or the other," Lowe said.