Fields sodded for Little League baseball season

In a mere week $317,000 worth of grass was laid out on Highland Community Park like one giant carpet.

"I can't wait to see it," said Mike Clingman, president of the Central Little League.

Because efforts to grow grass on the park that features several baseball diamonds would not have met the deadline date for the Opening Day ceremonies on March 13, the Highland City Council voted to approve the installation of sod grass.

Throughout the week more than a dozen men worked on putting on the grass blankets across the dozens of acres of land where the new baseball fields are located. The blankets of grass were loaded on a big truck and picked up by a tractor. Then men would roll the grass in the area desired. Once in place, they stamped it down.

Guards are protecting the area from thieves and the entire area is fenced. Other than birds flying in, the grass areas will not be in use until the Opening Day ceremonies.

"We have to let the grass take root," said Councilman John Timmer.

It was Timmer's idea to assure that the Central Little League starting date would take place with a fully intact park. Both Timmer and Councilman Larry McCallon were involved in the blueprints for the park and baseball diamonds with the previous. They felt it needed to be done.

Efforts to have grass seeded and grown in the baseball fields had passed the deadline necessary for it to spout in time. The last day to put grass seed in was the last weekend in October, and due to pipeline conflicts that had to be rectified, the deadline passed.

The City Council did not want to miss the most important deadline.

"It wouldn't look good," said Timmer during the City Council meeting several weeks ago.

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Fields sodded for Little League baseball season