A Wheelchair For Andy

If you follow The Morning Call's Keith Groller like I do, you  know about Andy Weaver. If you go to their basketball games, he's the smiling guy who takes your ticket. Though challenged by cerebral palsy, he loves sports. To be more specific he loves Nazareth sports, and the players and coaches love him back. Andy needs a new wheelchair.

Here's what he says:

I am raising money for a new wheelchair because my chair has broke and it my only means of Transportation in my every day life. I use my chair to collect tickets at Nazareth and coach Softball and it helps me to get around everywhere that I go. I am in my chair 16-18 hours a day and i desperately need help to get a new wheelchair because the state won't pay for it Any little bit helps! It is a everyday thing, it almost like my legs, my wheelchair is my legs and the only way I get around to do what I do and without it I am basically stuck.

I know money is tight everywhere. But if you'd like to help Andy get a new wheelchair, you can donate through this Facebook page.

A True Sports Hero

Chester High School football coach LaDontay Bell is one of many unsung heroes. He and his wife go out of their way to get players to practice. The Philadelphia Eagles honored him and his wife recently with tickets to Super Bowl LII. There are a lot of LaDontay Bells. One of them is William Allen High School basketball coach Doug Snyder. He also helps his kids get to and from practice, and more importantly, helps them to stay in school. He instills his student athletes with pride. Something they never had.

There are a lot of LaDontay Bells. My grandson has been fortunate to meet and learn from many of them.

Allentown's Sportsfest to End

From the Sportsfest website: SportsFest will be discontinuing operations effective immediately.

At our recent board meeting, the Board of Directors wrapped up the 21st annual SportsFest and announced that this past SportsFest would be our last.

We have been proud to provide an event that our community could enjoy together. A community that loves and cherishes its sports history and culture.

SportsFest started in 1997 with a mission to promote the beautiful parks system throughout the City of Allentown, through amateur athletic competition and to raise awareness of health, fitness and wellness in our community. At its height, the annual summer event hosted over 40 competitions, attracting 10,000 athletes and 100,000 spectators. Over its history, SportsFest is also very proud to have awarded $10,000 in Scholarships to high school athletes, to help them further their academic careers.

On behalf of the SportsFest Board of Directors, I would like to thank the countless volunteers and committee members who worked and organized the events over the last two decades. None of what was accomplished could have been possible without your enduring commitment and support. I would also like to recognize the support and generosity of our corporate sponsors, local businesses and restaurants, City and County leaders, and the Allentown & County Parks and Recreation Departments, all who made SportsFest possible and sustainable.

It has been our sincere pleasure to serve the athletic community of the Lehigh Valley over the last two decades and we are confident its thirst for sports competitions will continue to be met by existing and future events and organizations.

Sincerely,
Ray Atiyeh
President/Executive Director
Lehigh Valley SportsFest

Lacrosse 4 Food This Sunday

LAX is the acronym used for Los Angeles Airport. I learned yesterday that it also stands for lacrosse. Fellow blogger and Lacrosse official Chris Casey told me. It's a very cool game started by native Americans that sometimes involved hundreds of players beating the shit out of each other. We are more sophisticated than the aborigines. These days, teams are smaller and fields are shorter. But they still beat the shit out of each other.

Casey has asked me to tell you that Lehigh Valley Lacrosse League is conducting its LAX 4 Food event this Sunday (May 7) at Tuskes Park, located at 3040 Bath Pike, Nazareth, PA 18064. The games begin at 9:30 am, and will goon all day. Teams from the Bethlehem Township Bulldogs, Easton Rovers, Forks Falcons, Northampton K-Kids, LMYA, Palmer Panthers and Nazareth Cupcakes will play.

Casey will be at Field #3, starting at 11 am.

The purpose of this drive is to help the Easton Food bank get thru the summer when there are no school lunches for many of the kids. Lacrosse officials hope We hope to eclipse the 10 tons of food collected since this event first started this event. If you can, drop by the park with some food. Watch some lacrosse.

Updated 11:15am: An earlier version of this story had the wrong day.It will be Sunday, not Saturday.

LV Blue Chips Win BucksMont AAU Basketball Tournamen

The Lehigh Valley Blue Chips are a dream team of 8th and 9th graders who play at Becahi, Central Catholic, Easton, Emmaus,Parkland and Whitehall. In the off-season, they play AAU basketball. They are coached by Dawud Abdur-Rahkman, an assistant coach at Muhlenberg College and the father of former Central Catholic and current Michigan standout Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Last weekend was the first chance I had to watch them in action since the end of basketball season. These kids were already good. Now they are scary good.  "Every one of them is selfless," Coach Abdur-Rahkman tells me. "Every one of them is also willing to listen."

Last weekend, I watched them knock off a much larger 16U team with relative ease at the Parkland Trojan AAU Classic. This past weekend, they won the 15U Premier Jam Fest Tournament, hosted by the BucksMont Indoor Sports Center  In one of the games, they were up nearly 40 points before the half, and the opposing coach asked the ref to end the game. After the third request, the ref called it.  Then the coach complained.

These boys are off for another tournament in West Virginia this coming weekend. I'll be dog-sitting. But for the past two weeks, I've been trying out my "new" camera, a used Canon Rebel EOS that I picked up for just $189, including the lens. I've been driving everyone nuts taking pictures.

I'd photograph a fart if I could.

I managed to get a photo of my grandson Dat, sinking a three-pointer.

Here's the shot:

... and as you can see, there it goes right into the bucket.

As Dat said when I sent it to him, Sweet!  I doubt I'll ever get a shot like that again. 

OK, I'm done bragging now. Sorry.

Stockertown Rod and Gun Club Offers Field Day For 200 Kids

Stockertown Rod and Gun Club was quite busy on Saturday. Over 200 kids were there to shoot rifles, muzzle loaders, pistols, cross bows and bows. As the smell of cordite wafted in the air, accompanied by the pop of gunfire, other kids were canoeing. Still others learned how to cast with a fly fishing rod, something most adults have never mastered. They even learned a bit about trapping.

"You're going the wrong way," shouts one kid to another.

"No, it's the wind," the other answers, as a breeze makes it difficult for this duo to paddle their way to shore.

From time to time, the Pa. Water Rescue Team would give a few helpful hints, and the young men eventually conquered the seas.

Or at least a pond. .

This was Northampton County Youth Field Day, something that the Stockertown Rod and Gun Club hosts every year. Kids who register are taught about conservation of natural resources, safety, sportsmanship and the hours of fun available in the outdoors. Trained volunteers in each sport give the kids and the adults instruction and hands-on experience in fishing, shooting a bow and arrow, boating safety, PA wildlife, and target shooting.

All those willing to try are given a chance to shoot BB guns, 22 cal. rifles, shotguns, and black powder rifles with over 75 experienced sportsmen volunteers watching over their safety.

The money for this comes from numerous sources. The biggest of these is the Whitetail Deer Classic Banquet, held every February since 1992. It's Jerry Seyfried's idea. All kinds of guns, bows and dishing equipment are raffled off as politicians walk up and down the aisles, introducing themselves, and acting like they're one of the guys, even if that guy is Lisa Boscola. Charlie Dent is a frequent guest. So is Ron Angle, who drives everyone nuts because he always wins at least one of the prizes. I've gone twice myself. It's where I met Birdman Paul, who happens to know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. People have a blast. But Jerry Seyfried came up with this annual shindig for more than the camaraderie. He and several other sportsmen have used the money raised - over $1 million - to help fund Northampton County Youth Field Day.

Officer Fred Lahovski gives firearms safety tips. 

The fellows teaching firearms safety are police officers. Nazareth and Stockertown police officers. So the first thing I did on Saturday morning was check my own name to see if there were any outstanding warrants.I was clear. I have two outstanding parking tickets that were strangely penned by Chief Trachta, but no citation has been issued.

So I put on my "Shackled for Stickers" T-Shirt, and went to the Rod and Gin Club. I taunted Officers Steve Schleig, Freddy Lahovski and Eric Schwab that there wasn't a damn thing they could do to me because they had no warrants. I was having a good laugh until, behind me, another voice cried out.

"I can change that." ..

It was Judge Zito! I genuflected, but it was too late. He issued a warrant. So I am writing this story from a padded cell.

From L to R: Nazareth Officers Stephen Schleig, Fred Lahovski, Judge Leonard Zito,
Nazareth and Stockertown Officer Eric Schwab, Sockertown Officer Alex Soloe and
Officer Phil Cohen from Tatamy .  

Judge Zito brought his grandson, who is already an avid outdoorsman and was even wearing a camouflaged baseball cap, to the Field Day.

A lot of these kids are more familiar with the outdoors than I. At the trapping station, they were able to name every fur shown to them. I only recognized the skunk, an animal that some say I resemble.

There was also a weasel fur. You need about a million of them for a tissue.

Bethlehem Tp Arrangement With Bulldogs Goes Back to 1969

Like most municipalities, Bethlehem Township has organized sports programs for its children. These are provided by its Community Center, the Bethlehem Township Athletic Association (known as the Bulldogs) and the Freemansburg Bethlehem Township Athletic Association, (known as the Blue Barons). The Blue Barons have an excellent baseball program, which extend from Little League to Legion. That's the only sport offered by this group. The Bulldogs is much broader, encompassing a much wider variety of organized sports, from football to lacrosse. Commissioner Michael Hudak has for some time expressed resentment against the Bulldogs, referring to this group as "the special few" and as a "select group." He and Pat Breslin are two Commissioners who voted against a resolution that recognizes the Bulldogs during the Board's Monday night's meeting. He and other Commissioners are apparently unaware that the Bulldogs have been recognized by the Township since 1969.

A former member of the Recreation Board, who shall remain nameless, has provided me with the original 1969 agreement between the Township and the Bulldogs (read it here).  In that agreement, the Township recognized "the need and demand for organized athletic activity in Bethlehem Township." The Township agreed to subsidize Bulldogs efforts to provide for organized sports, in its sole discretion, and even agreed to pay expenses incurred to the extent that its finances would permit. The Bulldogs in turn agreed to make its athletic programs available to all Township residents and to maintain insurance.  So since 1969, the Township has recognized the Bulldogs as a "select group" that supplies a need and demand for organized sports within the Township.

Instead of slamming this group, with under-the breath remarks abut the influx of new Jersey residents, Commissioners like Hudak should be assisting the Bulldogs in assuring that coaches are properly screened and that some first aid training is provided for the inevitable injuries.

Obviously, the more that these kids play organized sports, the less likely it is that they will get involved in drugs and gangs.

You can have organized sports or organized crime.

Take your pick.

Little Hawks Win League 'Ship

Little Hawks 8th grade boys' team has done it! They completed an UNDEFEATED season Sunday night winning both the regular season and playoffs in the LV Knee-Hi Basketball League. The boys were coached by Judge Emil Giordano and Michael Gehringer.

8th Grade Hoops: Notre Dame, St. Jane's Going to Diocesan 'Ship

Notre Dame 8th grade basketball team

St. Jane's (Easton)  and Notre Dame (Bethlehem) will compete in the Diocesan championships next Saturday after two weeks of play-off games. These teams edged out St. Anne's and Our Lady of Perpetual Help (both Bethlehem) in very close contests.

My grandson plays for Notre Dame. But instead of my usual bragging about him, I want to mention some of the others. Grant Hershman, grandson of Team Accountant Lou, was vicious on defense all season. His long reach made it impossible for players to get around him. But the biggest surprise is Caden Giordano, a 7th grader who is playing up. he gets his athletic ability from his mother, a track star whose records still stand. He gets his good looks from ... his mother, too.

In high school, it's no big deal to play up. But in grade school, it's tough to think you might be as good or better than another person who is a whole year older.

We were lucky to have him under the boards, especially on Saturday. He made the difference in  a very close game against OLPH.

In Sunday's game, St. Jane's nipped Notre Dame by one point, scoring with just 2.6 seconds left on the clock. It was a thrilling game, one in which Notre Dame was behind, sometimes by as much as nine points. The boys, including Matt Horvath, Danny Rojas, Danny Long, Jordan and "Who Dat" Lambert, simultaneously exploded in the 4th, wiping out the deficit and slowly climbing into the lead with 2:00 left in the game. One point was not enough, and the lead went back and forth until the game was tied. With no time to come back, St Jane's pulled it off.

I don't know their boys, but they have every right to be proud of their accomplishment. The boys who played were good athletes. More importantly, they're a nice group of kids. One of them even held the door open for an old fart on his way into the building.

From the picture above, you might get the impression that Notre Dame was unhappy about their loss. And they were. But they're going on to the Diocesan championship anyway, and I reasoned this loss will teach them not to take anyone lightly. .

St. Jane's won the game because they were the better team, and they behaved like winners.

LVR Does Header At Basketball Game

You've probably seen cheerleaders do death-defying back flips during breaks in the action at high school basketball games. Yesterday, I performed my own acrobatics, doing a header from the bleachers at Notre Dame High School. 

It's playoff time in 8th grade CYO basketball. Today, some teams were eliminated while others will continue next weekend. The two surviving teams will go on to the Diocesan championship. After my grandson's game, we stuck around to watch and exciting contest between OLPH (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) and HI (Holy Infancy). I decided to give up my seat for the parents, but tripped as I got up and went head first down the bleachers.

The only reason I avoided a broken neck or a concussion was the petite lady below me, an OLPH mother. I cascaded into her and two of her daughters. They broke my fall. 

They will be buried on Wednesday.

Lou Hershman, Team Accountant

All teams have trainers, equipment managers and coaches. Some even have psychiatrists and psychics. But the Notre Dame 8th grade basketball team has something even better. Accountant Lou Hershman. His Mensan mind keeps a running tally of points and fouls in each game. And during a close game between Notre Dame and St. Jane's 8th grade teams this afternoon, it was Hershman who pointed out that St. Jane's had committed enough second half fouls to allow one and ones. Refs went back to the scorekeepers table, and it turned out Lou was right.

Dat, the player fouled, sunk two free throws.

Notre Dame ended with a three point lead.

A St. Jane's priest, sitting in the stands, was so upset after the game that he became a Lutheran.

Angry St. Jane's fans were looking for Lou, but he hid behind a crucifix.

Blogger's Note: The player who won the tip off for Notre Dame is Caden G.

LHS Athletes Raise $1,700 to Fight Breast Cancer

Middle schools from all over the Lehigh Valley invaded the Bethlehem Steelers' complex on October 21. While football players hid, seventh and eighth graders competed in two-mile cross country races hosted by Liberty High School's own cross country team. These athletes also managed to race $1,400 for another kind of race - the race to cure breast cancer. Another $300 was scraped up by the girls' volleyball team.

They did so in honor of cross country athlete Emily Cecchini's mother, Robyn, who lost her battle with breast cancer in March at age 44. Emily (center) along with assistant volleyball coach Melissa Waldron (right) presented a $1400 check to Dolly Woody, Executive Director of the Susan G Komen Foundation NEPA, whose mission is to find a cure. To date, that foundation has invested nearly $2 billion in research and outreach.

Liberty's entire cross country team, coached by the legendary Mark Will Weber, relax below with the fruit of their labors.

The Whitehall Zephyrs ham it up before their race.

East Hills were all business.

Nitschman Middle Schoolers thought the race was next week.

Should Girls Play Football?

In his last play of this this football season, my grandson Dat got blindsided by a Bethlehem Township Bulldog while rolling out to throw a pass. It was a good, clean hit, but he was laid out. When a trainer asked how many fingers he was holding out, Dat answered, "Tuesday." It's a violent game. Is it too rough for girls?

That's what Bucks County's Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) thinks. They've banned an 11 year-old girl from play next year. Her Dad calls the rule "archaic and discriminatory."

I wonder what her Mom thinks.

I've seen girls play youth football. I've even seen a few on the high school level, mostly place-kickers, although one young lady played quarterback at a Florida high school last year.

I see no reason why a girl should be excluded, so long as she can make the team like everyone else.

Craig Golden: A Coach For All Seasons

Unpaid and unrecognized, the men and women who coach our grade school children have a far greater impact on them than the professionals later seen in high school or college. Fundamentals, discipline, persistence and teamwork are learned from volunteers who are rarely thanked for their dedication.

Craig Golden is one of these unsung heroes. For the past 36 years, he's coached youth sports programs in basketball, baseball, football and even bowling. After finishing a perfect season with a 6th Grade 'Canes team, he's decided to go out on a high note.

Vice President of Contract Underwriting for International Fidelity Company, Golden has also served as President of the Hurricane Basketball Club and is Vice president of the Lehigh Valley Knee High Basketball League.

Q) Over the years, you have been offered positions in several high school programs. Why did you stick with youth sports? - I have discussed some Assistant Coaching positions for High Schools, but I have enjoyed working and developing younger kids and never seriously considered the positions.

Q) What got you started? - I started as an assistant coach in baseball at 14 with a friend of my fathers' team. I then became a head coach at 15 of my cousins 11-12 baseball team in the Dewitt Little League. I love sports and wanted to be a coach when I grew up. Even though I am a huge Syracuse Orange fan, I idolized John Wooden and the UCLA teams. Though my mother was very supportive of my endeavors, I also believe my father's passing when I was 8 years old had something to do with my interest in developing kids since I never really had that experience.

Strategy session

Q) How do the kids compare today, from the way they were 36 years ago, when you first started coaching? - The kids are pretty much the same. I do think the intensity of the involvement at a younger age has increased significantly along with the importance of winning versus player development is a problem. The big difference over the years is the parental involvement.

Q) In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky and other scandals, is it harder to find people who are willing to coach? - I don't think it's harder to find people, but organizations are more cautious and perform more background checks than before. I do think the Sandusky situation has caused coaches to draw lines in regards to their direct involvement in kids' lives.

Q) If you could only teach your kids one thing, what would it be? - With the Hurricane Basketball program, I was more concerned in developing kids into young adults and building teamwork. Skill sets that are needed when they become adults. What I was most proud of in my tenure with the Hurricane Basketball program was not that almost all of our kids played for Todd Rothrock or Chad Landis, but that the kids that played in and stayed in our program graduated High School.

Q) How does it feel to go out on a high note with a perfect season, in both tournament and regulation play? - The undefeated season this year was great as was the 74-1 record over the last 3 years with this group, but watching the kids develop as young men, the camaraderie of the team and their competitive spirit in every minute of every game was my greatest take away. Also, that every player contributed in every game and all 9 players scored in double figures at least once and that we weren't solely dependent on one or two players.

Q) What will you be doing next Winter, when the boys start looking for you? - I will still watch games and still serve on the board of the LVKBL. I will not lose touch with the program but I will devote more time to my youngest son and his aspirations.

6th Grade 'Canes Finish Undefeated in Tourney & League Play

Do they look tough? Well, don't be fooled by their good looks. This is the toughest team I've ever seen in any youth sport, whether it's basketball, baseball, football or even hockey. It's the 6th grade 'Canes, a feeder team for Bethlehem's Liberty High School. And they are bad mama jamas.

They've just finished a perfect season. Undefeated in two tournaments against teams from all over Eastern Pa and Southern New Jersey. Undefeated in 15 regular season games against other Lehigh Valley teams. Undefeated in the playoffs. In fact, they won most of their games this year by thirty or more points.

Individually, you might find another six grader who's a little faster, a better dribbler or a better shooter than any one of these boys. But that's the whole point. What made this group a great (not just good) team was their ability to work together and feed off each other's strengths.

Take Darius, for example. The shortest boy on the team, he might very well be the shortest boy in the entire league. But guess what? He can dribble and he can shoot. Boy, can he shoot! I can't begin to tell you how many teams take him for granted until he burns them for a few trays.

Or look at Dat, the sweet and innocent one in the middle. He'll strip that ball from you and be halfway down the court before you ever even knew you had it. Nobody gets by him. As point guard, he has an unerring ability to put the ball in the right person's hands for the score.

Alex, the tall one in the back, is all business on the court. Ice. He turns into a robot, showing no emotion, and just picks his opponents apart.

The dude holding the trophy, Josh Clark, usually holds a football. He scampers up and down the gridiron for the Bethlehem Steelers. On the court, he explodes. In fact, one day, I expect to see little pieces of Josh just disintegrate all over the place and then reassemble again right below the basket.

I could go on about the strengths of each one of them from fifth grader Todd Erney's outside shots to Jermaine Battle's shooting accuracy to Jaziah and JoJo's amazing rebounds all year.

None of that is what made them a great team.

What made them great is that they knew each other, liked each other, could read each other and fed off of each other's strengths. All season long.

The team they beat tonight, ironically, is the only other team that has even come close to them. Allentown's no-nonsense East Side Youth Center, coached by Chuck Rockmore of Wall2Wall fame, has an outstanding basketball program and should be proud. The boys on both teams all know each other after years of play and are friends off the court. Many of them learned to dribble on those courts.

It's a bittersweet victory. The man who put it all together - Head Coach Craig Golden - is stepping down after 36 years of tireless devotion to our children. I'll have more about him later, in a future post saluting him and one other great coach.

Until then, the champions you see above, from left to right, are Jermaine Battle, Coach Italiani, Jaziah Scrafano, Dom Italiani, Alex Serrano, Dat Lambert, Josiah "JoJo" Piazza, Josh Clark, Todd Erney, Darius Seaman and Head Coach Craig Golden.

Below, Darius Seaman, with his parents, brother and sis. His number should be 3, not 2, for all the trays he shot this season.

Also, we got the big man, Jaziah Scrafano, with his proud family. Jaziah's little brother insisted on checking the picture to make sure it was good enough for publication. He gave me his approval after some serious thought. Maybe he'll be a sports agent.

These guys are just in it for the babes. It's why Coach Golden had to keep a tight leash on them.

Finally, there's Alex "Iceman" Serrano. Now that the season's over, he can finally smile again.... A little.

7th Grade 'Canes Win the 'Ship, Too!

See that picture above? It's the 7th Grade 'Canes. They're a good, but not a great, team. Individually, they are very talented ball players. But unlike the 6th Grade 'Canes I described above, they often seemed unable to read and work with each other. They were beat up twice during the regular season, once by over 20 points.

But they got better as the season continued, and they are gritty. They fought and clawed their way through those losses to face a dominant South Parkland in the championship game yesterday afternoon at Freedom High School. And once they made it, they continued clawing and fighting. Down by ten points with 5 minutes to go in the second half, they never gave up on themselves. When the buzzer sounded, it was a tie game.

In OT, they were down again, but managed to climb on top by one point with 4 seconds to go.

And that was it.

Coach Teddy Street, whose jaw has been moving nonstop since the season started, finally has his moth closed in the team picture you see above.

Now you'd think that in a game between tough city kids from Bethlehem and suburban game boys from Parkland, the Bethlehem boys would be more intimidating. I certainly would guess that myself.

But we're both wrong.

These kids from Parkland were rough. Their two best players were actually tossed out of the game by the refs before they had even fouled out. Unsportsmanlike conduct, the refs claimed, although it just looked like good, hard play to me. Had they remained in the game, Parkland might have come out on top.

But yesterday afternoon, as flurries swirled around Freedom High School, the basketabll gods smiled on the 'Canes instead.

South Parkland Unhappy With Final Score. 

Will Forks Trade Youth Sports For Old Farts' "Passive Recreation"?

Forks Township's brand new Chairman, David Billings, is in for a wild ride tonight. On his blog, Everything Forks, he quotes himself as saying, "It is hard to imagine a greater trust between a local official and the public, than the promise of open and honest government." But this transparency advocate is going to face a public tonight that is convinced he kept them in the dark.

On the surface is a new ordinance that abolishes the all-volunteer Recreation Board in favor of a paid Parks Director. And if you dig just a little bit, you'll see a growing concern that youth sports will be sacrificed for the "passive recreation" and amphitheaters enjoyed by old farts. According to Palmer-Forks Patch, the fireworks will start at the township building, 6:30 PM.

Of course, Forks has never played these Bethlehem hot dogs, except in basketball, and things got ugly fast. The final score was something like 4,683 to 0. I thought I overheard one Supervisor claim at the time that he'd rather see those kids doing ballet in an amphitheater. Maybe that's for the best.

But I digress. At Forks Township Residents Page, resident Kelli Steele Wilson lays out the details, from her point of view. Here are some excerpts, slightly edited.

"The Board of Supervisors (BOS) are 5 elected officials that are voted in for a 6 year term. The BOS distributes township tax money to the Recreation Board to fund townshp recreation. The Recreation Board (Rec Board) is appointed by the Supervisor's and consists of 7 residents as members. The 7 members meet once a month to manage the funds and township recreation as needed. The Rec Board distibutes funds to the FTAA in order to fund the 9 youth sports currently offered in our township as well as any other recreational requirements other than youth sports.

"The current situation is that the Supervisor's want to 'eliminate' the Rec Board and manage the funds themselves. The Supervisors would like to implement an arduous process for the FTAA to acquire the funds required to run the current youth programs. They have also indicated that there is not enough money spent on passive recreation and seem to hold the Rec Board accountable for this. Passive Recreation can only be manged by those who want to manage it. The Rec Board is not responsible to manage passive recreation, those who want it should manage it much like the FTAA manages the youth sports.

"The Rec Board has been accused of not 'operating under an ordinance.' COMPLETELY FALSE. There is an existing ordinance, was written in 1960, and the Rec Board was in compliance. The Supervisors were still not happy and had a "New Ordinance" written, one to their liking. It appears that there is something more to this however the Supervisor's have not been 'up front' as to why they are carrying on with this 'witch hunt.' As a township resident I think the Supervisors have enough on there plate to concern themselves with other than this. The fear is that the Supervisor's will lower the budgets for youth sports and the required funds needed will have to be absorbed by the taxpayer and or the parent.

Here are a few facts that you need to be aware of:

"Approx $30 of your sign-up fee for youth sports is kept by the town. Approx 1200-1500 athletes play youth sports annually in Forks Township.

"The FTAA pays the town $15,000.00 annually for 'use of the facilities,' which includes field use and Community Center use.

"In one year the town can receive as much as $60,000.00 per year from the FTAA.

"The FTAA helps supplement each sports budget that may be short changed with budget cuts by hosting monthly youth dances, snack bar operations and registration fees.

"The Supervisors have used Recreation funds to purchase two homes on Zucksville Road and to refurbish one of them for an office for our new Recreation Director. The other home I have no idea what the plan is for that.

"The Supervisors have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on architectural drawings for an Amphitheater that may not even be built.

"Tot lots have been built without proper consent or budget approval.

"A census was taken on what the township residents wanted to see our town add and the number 1 item was a pool, the Supervisors said 'Never going happen.' Why? Why go thru the expense of putting out a survey to the township if you have no plans on listening to what the public wants?

"There are many things that are unorthodox that are currently going on in the township, this is not only about Youth Sports.

"Some thoughts to ponder: Why allow all the building of homes in the township? Four bedroom homes bring families, not retirees requiring 'passive recreation', families with children, children that grow and need organized outlets to help keep them busy and out of trouble..."