KFDM COOP Posted June 3, 2006 Report Posted June 3, 2006 West End little league fields still in recovery stage in wake of Rita BEAUMONT - Almost nine long months have passed since Hurricane Rita plunged through the Amelia Junior League Field, ripped away the press box's roof, tore down light poles, and left its devastating mark throughout the ballpark. Well into the 2006 baseball season, the effects of Rita still linger. The Amelia Junior League, which for the first time is being managed by the West End Little League, is still without lights, electricity, and a concession stand. With no lights, the solution has been to move games to daytime hours while some nighttime games are being played at Kelly High School. "We have a lot of issues," WELL President Dave Morrow said. "The field itself is playable, but we have no lights and no power." When Rita struck, the light pole on the third-base line was split in two; knocking out all of the field's power. Another light pole was lost in the storm when all of its light canisters were blown away. Morrow said the price of the lights is about $400 per canister, and with six or seven canisters on each pole, the cost comes close to $3,000. The hurricane-damage wasn't limited to the lights, electricity, and press box, however, as backstop fences were blown down, the scoreboard was busted, and destruction put the concession stand - the league's source of revenue - out of order. With the help of the Beaumont Independent School District and volunteers, the press box has been fixed and fences have been repaired, but the Amelia Junior League Field is still in need of approximately $20,000 to fulfill its basic needs of repairs. The biggest expense, Morrow said, will likely be the electrician to get everything back up and rewired. "It's just a matter of whether we can raise the money," Morrow said. "To be honest, what we're doing right now is just trying to get through with this season." The last slate of regular-season games will take place Monday at 5:15 p.m. behind Amelia Elementary when the Junior League Cubs take on the Junior League Astros. Considering the year and adversity the league has experienced, having a season, let alone completing one, is no doubt something to build on. "It's a miracle that we got the season going," Morrow said. "We have a lot of people out there, who have worked hard to get things to the playable point, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us and I think that it's just going to take time for us to raise the needed finances. "I'm very optimistic that this time next year we'll have lights up, and we'll have our scoreboard working and that come next spring we'll be in full shape."
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