[Vision2020] Foot In Mouth Disease

Wed Dec 7 16:34:48 PST 2005

Ben Writes:

'More generally, I believe that the vast majority of people who support this project do so primarily, if not exclusively, because it would provide much-needed playfields for Moscow's youth. If we have a mantra, it is "Build it to meet the needs of Moscow's kids," not "Build it so they will come."'

There is more to it than just kids.  Ball fields and other wholesome recreational facilities  provide constructive, fun opportunities for parents to do things for and with their kids, something sorely needed in these times.  Of course, lights, noise, etc. must be mitigated as much a possible by careful design as Bruce Livingston indicated.  

Show me a neighborhood where the sounds of children playing are not heard; I will call it a graveyard for freedom and joy.  It pains me to see the kind of selfishness that has been manifested by a few people over this still to be finalized plan when these same people could be working on improving the plan and offering suggestions for mitigation.

Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ben Twigg" <bentwigg at turbonet.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 1:19 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Foot In Mouth Disease

> Mr. Reynolds, 
> 
> In my previous post I indicated that I would be happy to respond to your
> Kevin Costner analogy, if you explained it further. I will address this,
> then excuse myself from this particular thread, since it has not been as
> constructive as I had hoped. 
> 
> As I suggested yesterday, I believe there would actually be far less than 22
> tournaments at the facility every year, and I would support restricting the
> number of tournaments at the facility.
> 
> The prospect of hosting more tournaments in Moscow is near the bottom of my
> list of reasons to support this project. Given my role in the youth soccer
> community, one might expect hosting additional tournaments to be a goal of
> mine. It isn't, primarily for the following reasons: 
> 
> 1. I believe the physical demands of playing multiple soccer games in one
> day increase the risk of injury and are detrimental to player development. 
> 2. I believe the market for outdoor youth soccer tournaments in our area is
> saturated.
> 
> This is not to say that I am completely, generally "anti-tournament," but I
> currently do not have any interest in hosting additional soccer tournaments
> in Moscow. 
> 
> More generally, I believe that the vast majority of people who support this
> project do so primarily, if not exclusively, because it would provide
> much-needed playfields for Moscow's youth. If we have a mantra, it is "Build
> it to meet the needs of Moscow's kids," not "Build it so they will come." 
> 
> Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these issues. 
> 
> Ben Twigg
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Reynolds, James [mailto:jreynold at vetmed.wsu.edu] 
> Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 7:33 AM
> To: Ben Twigg
> Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: RE: Foot In Mouth Disease
> 
> Mr. Twigg,
> 
> 
> 
> If you think going to workshops to plan how to blow taxpayers money is
> hard work then I would suggest you don't have much of a real job. Many
> of us would love the luxury of having such time to fritter away,
> especially when it involves spending other's money.
> 
> If your group really only wants more fields then why wasn't there more
> support for the new high-school and new grade-school  which would have
> had ball fields associated? Putting it with the school district also
> supplies professional supervisors for the kids instead of relying on the
> unknown potential crackpot for a coach. 
> 
> The location of the proposed complex is wrong, wrong, wrong for the
> advertised complex. How can any group of viable adults plan 300 cars to
> be congregating (and coming and going between games) in a spot that has
> a single access? Were any of you at the workshops awake? The distance
> away from the children is another obvious blunder in the site selection.
> How many children will have reasonable access to that site for their own
> recreational uses? Can you picture sending a child of say 11-12 years
> old to go play in the new complex?
> 
> If you want to personalize my comments fine but don't think for a minute
> that I am ashamed of anything I say.
> 
> The Costner analogy has to do with the predictions by the Director of
> Recreation that the tournaments (22/year he claimed) would be a great
> boon to the local economy. Costner built the field at great cost to his
> farm and the only ones who showed up were ghosts. That is exactly where
> this will lead. No way is there such a gathering of ballplayers in the
> region who are dying to come here and play ball. Pipe dream and silly.
> 
> You are correct that I am one of these co-authors of the letter. I stand
> by that letter as well as a similar letter I have written to the Council
> and Mayor. The alternative plan as proposed by the Calverts and designed
> by Rowen is a good compromise. I do not however trust the current local
> government. Their word does not hold. The 1912 building, the Alturas tax
> giveaway, and the incubator stand as monuments to their trustworthiness.
> "No tax moneys will be used for these projects".
> 
> It is of great importance to me that this complex is scaled down to the
> size of the alternative plan (giving two new ball fields for children).
> If we do this right the 2.9 million dollars could put ball fields in a
> few locations in town making them much more useful to the kids than
> jamming it all in one distant location.     
> 
> 
> James Reynolds
> 1424 Borah ave
> Moscow ID
> 
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> 
> 
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