Published: June 25, 2008 10:46 am         

Parks department works hard

As a former resident of Kosciusko, I occasionally browse the local websites to keep up with news in and around the community. Recently, I read a letter to the editor questioning the poor conditions of the parks and recreation facilities in Kosciusko. Not to long ago, I worked for Todd and several other directors over the years, two mayors and countless city alderman as a park employee.

Now most of you know me, and know how opinionated I can be, so I’ll try to go easy. I realize each date to keep the park areas and ball fields in top condition. So, since I no longer work for Todd or the city, and neither can tell me to keep my mouth shut any longer, I will take this opportunity to tell you some facts about local parks that you probably don’t know.

First, the financial resources available to the city for parks and recreation are far more limited than you might think. While the City of Kosciusko pays for labor and everyday supplies, most renovations or development projects are either donated by local leagues/parents or government grants at both Hugh Ellard Park and Northside Park (i.e. the new soccer fields). With rising fuel cots and labor escalating on a annual basis, it makes more sense in the aspect of time and money to have all the sports centralized in one location.

During my time there, we spent countless man-hours maintaining the fields behind the old Jack Post plant, even in the off seasons in exchange for the use of the grounds. While we were appreciative of the offer of the old location, the opportunity to build a new complex for an ever-growing sport in Kosciusko, through the use of government grants was too good to pass up. The new soccer complex has been and will remain a good idea because it same time and money. You have to keep the area up anyway, why not put it to use.

Kosciusko Water and Light donates the electricity to the city free of charge, or at least they did in my time there. They spend their time at the Park Department’s beck and call, sometimes coming at 1-2 a.m. to make sure the facilities are running properly, so your tax money is not going to that. In fact, the mayor and the board of aldermen try to spend your tax money wisely, on things such as roads and bridges instead of bathrooms and parking lots.

The very fact that you need additional parking is a good thing. It means people are using the facilities and your money is not going to waste.

Second, the park and recreation department is the second largest attraction in the town behind the festival each spring through tournaments, local leagues and high school events. While facilities may need upgrading, the community would be far better served if they practiced personal responsibility. During my time there, we spent the first two hours each morning picking up trash, emptying cans and YES, cleaning the bathrooms, simply because some people never learned hot to do it for themselves.

All most of you see is the fields before each game and the bathroom in the middle of a game after your kids have dumped two pounds of sand in the sinks and urinals and tried to stop up lines. I doubt things have changed much since my time, so I know you never see the dugouts, sidelines and common areas littered with trash each morning after.

I know this much from my time with the Parks and Recreation Department, the trash is picked up, garbage cans are emptied and the BATHROOMS are CLEANED at the start of each morning. So, next time you go to the park, clean up after yourself and your kids, find the kid who is dumping all the dirt in the toilets and tie him down.

If your kid doesn’t play ball, but comes home with red dirt all over the places, it’s probably your kid, and you need to do something about it.

If you want new bathrooms and parking lots, write your congressman, not the newspaper.

Paul Comfort

Memphis, Tenn.