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By Bob Weaver
Calhoun High School home baseball games have been postponed until
after the
advent of daylight savings time, according to administrator Roger
Propst. Play on the
new field is presenting a safety hazard, with sunlight striking
players in the face.
Some coaches, players and supporters are saying the new field was
turned wrongly,
allowing sunlight to be a problem.
Administrator Donnie Pitts told the Calhoun County Athletic Complex
Committee
Monday evening the current field was the only configuration that was
affordable. He
said it would have taken an additional $200,000, apparently for dirt
fill, to turn the
field away from the sunlight problem.
Calhoun County school board member Ralph Cunningham said "It was the
best we
could do with the money we had."
After daylight savings time, Propst says it is likely seven innings of
a game can be
completed before there is a sunlight problem. The first home game with
Braxton has
now been scheduled for April 5th at 4 p.m. Propst says as the days
become longer,
games will probably be scheduled at the original 4:30 p.m. time. He
said there are no
plans to play at the old Grantsville field.
Propst told the CCACC "Everyone knew the field was oriented wrong" at
the time it
was approved. He said the school board apparently felt the plan as
submitted was the
best alternative.
Propst has asked the Little Kanawha Board of Umpires to observe the
conditions and
report problems. Coach Roscoe Gainer is monitoring the situation
closely and
"concurs with the actions and plans," said Propst.
CCACC President Kelley Houchin said the fundraising group had nothing
to do with the
positioning of the field. The group has supplied labor and materials
to build the
backstop and fencing.
Propst said he was present at some of the board meetings with the
architects, where
plans for orientating the field were discussed. He said there was
awareness of some
possible problems with sunlight. "The Board accepted the plan they
felt they could
afford, knowing we would have to deal with the conditions as we are
doing now," he
said.
He said "We are taking a conservative approach in dealing with this
problem because
it affects the safety of the participants. Preservation of
instructional time is the
highest priority," he concluded.
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