By Mark LaRocco

RIVER HEIGHTS -- It is time for some revisions to the soccer field, say two River Heights residents. Jeremy Larsen and Rick Hendrickson told the City Council Tuesday they would like to fix up the baseball diamond in order to make the soccer field safer. The diamond sits right on the north end of the soccer field at Heber Olsen Park.

"We want to get new goals and fill in the holes where the bases are," said Larsen, who proposed this as his Eagle Scout project.

Larsen and River Heights soccer coordinator Rick Hendrickson told the council that the baseball diamond is unsafe because the bases are just holes in the ground. Also, the pitcher's mound rises off the ground too high for no good reason, said Larsen.

Other than T-ball, there are no baseball or softball leagues played on the field anymore. T-ball does not even require the base paths to be a specific length, said Larsen. They just throw down plastic mats and use them as bases.

Soccer is a different story, said Hendrickson.

"Last spring, 142 kids played [in the league]," said Hendrickson. He added that 32 more children play in the fall league, and River Heights is their home field.

Another problem with the current situation is the old, rundown goals. They sag in the middle, break apart easily, and feature nets that are several sizes too small, said Larsen.

"The new goals will not break apart--they will stay together," said Larsen.

Public Works Supervisor Kent Parks said one reason the goals come apart is for winter storage. Goals that do not disassemble take up more storage space. He agreed that it needed to be done, though, and said he would make room for better equipment.

The council said it would be a useful project and allowed Councilwoman Mary Yancey, in charge of parks and recreation, to have the final say.

"Give me a drawing of what you want to do--I want schedules and dates of start and finish and we'll see what we can do to help," said Yancey. "I think it's a wonderful idea."

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