Southern York County Life

The past few weeks I have noticed the batting cage in use . Are our kids, the ones that we are paying anywhere from $45 to well over $100 to play baseball getting to use this facility? Or is it for the priveleged kids of the board members or even people outside of the area getting to use this? I thought the candy money that we were forced to put up the last two years was supposed to be to get real (certified) umpires for games. My sons team had to have parents umpire games 80% of the time. The field at the Elementary school is a disgrace. Where is all the money going that we pay for registration and candy sales? Uniforms(t-shirts,socks and hats) should be paid for by the sponsors.  I talk with more parents every year that are signing their children up in other areas to get away from the buddy-buddy stuff that goes on. I also think that if you are a board member you should not coach a team. That seems to be a conflict of interest. Things will not change untill we get fair and honest members on the board. We need and deserve a change, for our kids sake.  :!: 

Take a pill.  Look outside, people have bigger problems than who’s using batting cages in mid-winter.

Apparently you don’t have any kids in ball or your one of the parents that dump their kids off to be babysat by a coach while you do something else.

“Apparently”, you don’t have a clue about me.  When my kids are old enough and if they want to play ball, I’ll be the first one to work with them.  And I guarantee I’ll not be whining about alleged, unsubstantiated corruption by government officials.  Sounds like you just have a personal axe to grind. 

hey, that’s a shame that you don’t like the fact that the kids are using the batting cages. High school softball and baseball starts the first week of march.  When I played in high school the batting cage was in someones chicken house.  The use of the batting cage is a great addition to the stewartstown, south eastern school district.  When I first coached a team in town the cage was still in that hen house in cross roads and it was a pain to have all the kids met there to hit.  Here at the community grounds the kids can hit, practice pitching and also work on fielding and catching skills.  I think you should be glad the cage is there it will help keep the neighbor kid from overthowing a friend and putting a ball through a window.  By the way since that cage has opened the KD baseball program has been to districts three times, won it once and finished fourth at states.  Beats the hell out of drugs and mischief.  I do agree in a way with your view on coaches however, I don’t think parents should be allowed to coach there kids.  :idea: 

I don’t have a problem with who is using the cage. I have a problem with who IS NOT using the cage. I think it’s great the school is using the cage for practice for the upcoming season, as long as our district is using it.  I like the fact that KD has strong teams. If you re-read my “gripe”, it’s for the younger kids that the parent’s pay good money to play ball. Don’t they deserve the same chance? Hopefully you being a coach you understand this. Afterall, the more the kid’s get to use the facilities the better they become. The better they become, the better the KD programs get. This has finally been realized with the start of a football program.  This is COMMUNITY REC baseball at the COMMUNITY BLDG. Time should be made for the kid’s to use it!  Thanks for your civil reply.

as you said it is rec, many of the rec coaches are also busy right now with other sports that are currently in season.  These kids you see are probably the kids that are solely dedicated to baseball or softball.  Are you the coach of you child’s team if so you should be able to get in the cage.  There is some bureaucratic stuff that goes on there but work all your angles.  The legion baseball team(high school) used to get the cage from 9-11 pm I’m sure that time is probably open right now.  The football feeder program will help however you still need talent to win, if the athletically talented kids keep playing soccer we will continue to struggle. :idea: 

register your name at the borough office and next time there is a vacancy on the rec board you can be appointed. we’re always interested in appointing ‘fair and honest’ people to the rec board. matter of fact, we always have been. 

Fair and honest? Hmmm. How were some of the baseball coaches just picked and who picked them? Maybe you should check into this. Sounds like 1 person made a choice or two on their own…

would you like to be more specific? this beating around the bush is pretty lame…

chirp....chirp...chirp…

I coached in the baseball program in Stewartstown “back in the day”. In those days, Stewartstown’s baseball program was the pride of the county. For such a small town, the program was well run, the kids were excellent (in many ways besides as ball players), and the program could only be described as a huge success. In those days the travel coach didn’t smoke on the bench during games (or practices for that matter). That’s embarassing to our town.

Let me tell you about the last time I went to a “board meeting” (which was fairly recently):

The guy who heads up the baseball program came in pitching paid umpires. He thought that would cure all the ills of the program. Of course he had no precedence to go on - no comparison to other programs in the state that had moved in a similar direction. He seemed to have no clue that the paid ump approach has already been tried and failed countless times in other areas. To that end, there was absolutely NO computation of the financial impact of such a move - yet the matter was voted on!!!

I remember a comment during the meeting that (notice the quotes here) “It would take a math major to calculate the cost...”. Math major?!?!?! I figured the cost, per kid, in a matter of minutes (And I’m not a math major, believe me).  Yet they voted (and passed) the measure. Huh? The cost impact of such a move should have been well defined before the conversation started, much less before a vote.

On the topic of fund raising, a visitor suggested a revamped approach which includes a “needs based” provision. Some families can better afford the exponentially rising cost of sports programs in our town than others. Yet we’re all neighbors here and equally interested in the welfare of our children.

For my part, I personally suggested that (considering the hundreds of children all trying to sell candy at the same time, to the same people) we should allow parents to just pay the necessary money and skip the candy sales. I used that technique in travel soccer in this town 6 or so years ago and it was very successful as a tactic. The board’s reaction to these ideas? Dead silence. And that pretty much silenced any want to contribute to “board matters” from that point forward.

Then I got a chance to see the budget. Budget? Trust me, go to the next board meeting and check out the “budget”. Try to find a more worthless document. You would expect a balance sheet; there is none. The expenditures are not classed, the income is tracked ever so loosely. There’s no statement of current equipment inventory nor it’s age, relative condition, cost to replace etc. Nothing about that “budget” projects into the future. The financial documents reflect that there’s no goal for the future. It appears there’s no vision of what Stewartown’s athletic program would/could/should look like 2, 3, 5 years from now.

There was some comment in this thread about “fair and honest” members of the board. Who can vouch for the fairness and honestly of these people? Well, that may be a problem, maybe not. But theres no doubt whatsoever that the biggest problem with the board right now is one of ineptitude. Bottom line is, the baseball program is in a very, very poor state and I believe the responsible people should be accountable for that.

Hey, this is not new news here folks. The same people that have been on that board for a decade or more are the same people that have been reviled for years and years. Just ask around. This is not something new.

It’s painfully clear now that it was Gene Streete that held that program together all those years. Now that he’s gone, so is the one pride of Stewartstown’s baseball program.

I’m a 14 year Stewartstown resident. My older kids are aged out of the athletics programs now. But my younger kids are coming of age for athletics. They will NOT be playing in an SAA program.

I remember some people saying that there has been a deliberate attempt to kill the baseball program in favor of soccer. I never believed that before. But maybe it’s true.

This is not a joke folks. It’s sad. Attempt to berate and bamboozle the original poster will not change the truth. America’s game is of little concern to regime.

twoedgedsword - good post. Are we talking rec ball here or HS? I did not see a clear delineation on the subject? I am not familiar with the batting cage situation but how difficult should it be? If the batting cage is a business, then its first come, first serve. If it is a product of the Rec Council or the HS, then I could see some preference towards who uses it, but ultimately it serves all. There is nothing wrong with making schedules either. “Between 7-8p on Mondays and Thursdays, its Rec Council batting practice, or HS practice” (This is going back a bit) but it is no different than ‘all skate’, or ‘ladies skate’ or ‘couples only’ times at the roller-rink. Or is it?

I spent 11 years playing rec ball, from T- ball to teen traveling leagues. We always paid to be on a team - a registration fee if you will - for equipment, uniforms and to pay the umpires. Thats all I’ve ever known. I cant ever recall an ump not showing, or any troubles because of finances, but I was just a kid...all I knew that every pitch I took that was called a strike was a bad call! 

Joe

No, the batting cage is handled well enough. Any kid who’s lucky enough to have a coach who cares enough to spend time with his kids will get access to it… HS too. As it should be. But the cage is very much underutilized. It could be many time more valuable an asset. I contributed my time to it’s creation and expected more that’s for sure.

No, my post was in reference to the Recreation Board which (BTW Pahoa) are not even remotely “government officials”. They are self-appointed, self-perpetuated, and self-scrutinized people who’s self-proclaimed charter is to benefit the kids in our community.

Naturally though, they spend more time worrying about the parents of the kids of our community (and the power trip from being considered “government officials” of course).

This thread will get them upset for sure. Remember the Stewartstown Music Festival? I donated all the sound equipment for that festival and was also a performer. Sean Byndas went through a very rough time, no thanks to the rec board, to put on that show. Go back to the “old forums” and read the responses to Sean’s anger at being stiffed by this town’s “officials”. The response was defensive (should have been apologetic and shame filled) and even challenges that there might not BE another S’town Music Festival. Oh, and what do you know… there hasn’t been!

It’s an embarassment.

Maybe some transplanted Marylanders will somehow infiltrate the “government” of this town and break the chokehold of the old-boy network segment of the rec board once and for all.

I finally read the archived posts. Ouch and not nice...from both parties. Hindsight is 20/20 though. Perhaps everyone could make nice and try again. It would be nice to have another event in town.

As for the infiltration...thats not needed. No reason to be sneaky. Make your intention loud and clear...but before I would be involved in a coup of this sort, I would want to see their records on how they voted and what decisions were made. This could be the only blemish on their record, or just another in a series. Regardless, it would take more than one. Maybe term limits should be an item on their agenda. If the council is not evolving with the community they serve, that could be a problem. At least with term limits, you know the ideas and stances on items of vote will constantly change...and that could be good...or bad. 

While I’ve not been offended I do think a little explanation of the process is in order here…

The HARPB aka Hopewell Area Recreation & Parks Board consists of citizens who are appointed by the member municipalities.  3 residents from Stewartstown Borough, 3 from Hopewell Township, 3 from East Hopewell Township and 1 member from Cross Roads Borough.

The local government selects and appoints citizens to serve on the HARPB.  There are terms for these positions and I believe it is for 3, 4 or 5 years.  In Stewartstown Borough we have a “Request to Serve” self nomination form that we send out once or twice a year in the quarterly newsletter.  When a position becomes available on one of committees or on the HARPB we contact the next person in line to see if they are interested.

When it has come to the Rec. Board filling vacancies we have found that this can be difficult at times.  One municipality has had vacancies for 18-24 months while others have had a complete change in representation in the past 2 years.

As always, if the general public feels that a person or group of HARPB members are not doing their job, then your local representatives should be notified as they are probably not are aware of any issues.  They at least have the power to not re-appoint a particular person when their term expires.

To address the longevity of the HARPB members, I know that some have served on the board for years, while also running or serving in other capacities with Soccer/Baseball and other sports.  This can be both beneficial and detrimental for the board.  Having a variety of opinions and experience is helpful and those who are out on the fields are in a good position to express their organizations needs. With a number of new non-sport involved members most issues are being addressed in a bi-partisan way which prevents anyone sport receiving all of the attention and money.

While on this subject this is a good place to also mention that the HARPB members are also volunteer and are not paid for the work that they do.
I should also note that the SAA Baseball, Barrens Soccer are separate and distinct organizations from the HARPB and only use the facilities that the HARPB provides.

Concerning the future of the Hopewell Area Recreation & Parks Board I think you will see even more positive changes at the Stewartstown Community Building & Fairgrounds.
Projects which have been in the works for months and years are all starting to fall into place and should be completed in the next couple of weeks.
You will see a new and improved walking trail, the parking lot next to the Community Building is paved, and all of the grass on the facility has been super seeded and fertilized.
The basketball courts have been resurfaced and the lines have been repainted while the playground at Camelot court has been replaced with new and safer equipment.
A new Bulletin Board was installed outside the facility so that upcoming events can be listed.

Other projects that are in the works include lighting the main ball field which will provide the ability to have night baseball games, night soccer games, lacrosse and tied into this project we hope to have lighted tennis and basketball courts.
We are working on getting a lighted sign placed along College Avenue so that upcoming events can be posted. We are also looking are redesigning the Rec Board website located at http://www.stewartstown.org and click on Recreation.
We are looking to provide a way to maintain a calendar of events and to post this information to the web so that everyone will know which events are schedule and which fields are being used.

The other large project that is still in the works is a new facility on Plank Road however this is a multi-million dollar project that takes time.

As for the batting cage.. It is my understanding that SAA Baseball and/or some other local organization built and paid for the building and the equipement.  I have no idea who, how, when the use of the building is handled though I personally would like to see it used more and that block of time can be scheduled by teams, individuals etc. just like the community building and the fields. 

Concerning any issues that residents have about the sports programs, use the facilities, new uses for the facilities etc….

- Contact your elected officials and let them know about your concerns as these folks appoint the board members.
- Attend a HARPB meeting to address any concerns. The board meets on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30PM at the Community Building
- Contact your elected officials and sign up to volunteer and serve on the board or at least be contacted when a position opens up.
- Even if a position is not available on the HARPB board we would welcome citizens who want to volunteer to work, co-ordinate a project etc..
- You can PM (Private Message) me on this forum or send me e-mail at . This e-mail address is used by me for Borough Council and Rec. Board correspondence.

Thanks,
Jeff Bruening
Councilman, Stewartstown Borough
Board Member, Hopewell Area Recreation & Parks