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Hellen McCall stories needed

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Re: hellen mccall

memories at Helen McCall Park? I've been there once, and turned around when I saw the empty, mostly neglected baseball field. Did I miss something? Recommendation for the article, drive up to the new Freeport City park being built off the east side of Bay Loop Rd, and compare it to the expansion plans of Helen McCall. How Freeport has enough money to build that very nice park, and Walton Co, doesn't have enough money to build something halfway decent, is beyond my comprehension. I know some people have been working extremely hard to expand the much needed park in SoWal. I hope they continue to do so. After living in towns with good recreational parks, the lack of one around here is very noticeable. We don't need a Frank Brown Park with many baseball fields to draw in hundreds of thousands of people, but we do need something to provide recreation for the locals.
 
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Re: hellen mccall

Yes, Helen McCall park is just south of St. Ritas on Moll. She willed the county the property years ago when there was NOTHING that resembled a park around here. My kids played Tball there and even then the parents had to take care of the park. Its a shame that the county never took her donation and made it into the place she had wished for. I hope she will finally be proud once the county does the expansion.
 
Re: hellen mccall

My experience is limited since we just moved here in June 07'. My son, age 6, played soccer this past Fall in SWYS league. We were there several times a week for about 8 weeks. The park/facilities are definitely in need of expansion and upgrade. The week night practices were sometimes chaotic due to parking restraints and Saturday's were a nightmare. With almost no parking and late, desperate, crazed parents focused on finding their kid's team on ill-marked fields walking from the car to the field became hazardous.

They are currently a "decent" resource for the community, but could be great if a little planning, with safety in mind, is put into the facilities.
 
Re: hellen mccall

Smiling JOe said:
How Freeport has enough money to build that very nice park, and Walton Co, doesn't have enough money to build something halfway decent, is beyond my comprehension.
Click to expand...

If you've got a good grantwriter on your staff, there's a ton of federal money out there for community development & public safety infrastructure for moderate income rural communities. A lot of it is just a matter of a) knowing what's out there, and b) knowing how to write your grant application to hit all the bullet points the grantor is looking for.

When I was in college, I spent an internship summer working with Community Development Block Grants, and if you could get a given area classified as low-moderate income, you could get all kinds of goodies like new six figure fire trucks, new playgrounds that were handicap-accessable, a good amount of historic preservation projects, paving dirt roads, etc.
 
Lots of fond memories from South Walton Youth Football and South Walton Little League. One in particular, which wasn't fond at the time, involves a late baseball game that should have been called, but the pitcher on one of the teams was the league president's son. Meanwhile, it's 9:45 on a school night, parents with younger kids are having a fit, and to top it off, the coyotes are braying in the forest - and they are not very far away. :creepy:

Another time, one of our kids hit a ball to the fence. The outfielder ran to pick up the ball, but found it resting comfortably on a pygmy rattler. :shock:

The county did make a considerable upgrade about five years ago, but of course regular maintenance is needed. :roll: Travelling to and fro became much easier and nicer when Moll Drive was paved! :D

I miss those days. Sometimes. :blush:
 
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