School district delivers

ROGER CARLSON

There are two sayings which always seem to hold up. First: “Talk’s

cheap.”

Second, with Missouri in mind: “Show me.”

Getting to the point, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

made some promises a few months ago regarding the improvement of

athletic facilities at Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools. Today,

all you have to do is take a brief tour of Estancia’s fields to

realize their word was good.

They’re virtually finished at Estancia, but the rains have taken

their toll and work at Costa Mesa probably won’t be completed until

mid-summer. Mesa opted to wait and get its present seasons in without

interruption.

In a word, the only logical response is “Wow!”

It all began in the fall of 1965 and there is no doubt the Eagles

have never looked better, including opening day. Not even close.

The baseball field now has an eight-foot fence surrounding the

entire facility to give it autonomy. No longer will it be subject to

pirate teams using the field and leaving it in a mess. And there is a

new backstop, among other amenities.

The junior varsity baseball field, virtually chucked with a new

facility in place, leaves no room for complaint. Again, it has never

been better.

The pathetic junior varsity softball field, originally the crown

jewel when the issue was raised around nine months ago, is gone.

The replacement? The varsity took one look and decided the new

junior varsity field would be the varsity field, and the junior

varsity will take over the old varsity field.

Top soil for the baseball and softball fields at all four district

schools -- Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Estancia --

is available in abundance.

Aeration and fertilization of the soccer fields is complete and

drainage has been addressed.

The track and field area has been upgraded and fencing throughout

the athletic area, some $33,000 of it, has been installed.

Things have never looked better.

Credit, obviously, starts where the buck stops: District

Superintendant Robert Barbot.

But behind the scenes the real heroes in this endeavor start with

the original saber rattlers, Mark Gleason and Dan Oliver, the soccer

and baseball boosters presidents.

Others who belong in this category are Newport-Mesa Unified School

District Administrative Director for Facility Support Services Tim

Marsh and Estancia High Vice Principal Sean Boulton.

Overall the price tag for what has been done, and what is in the

works this summer, is in the neighborhood of $200,000 for Estancia

and Costa Mesa.

At Costa Mesa the irrigation systems have been worked on and

repairs to fencing and bleachers is complete. Still in the works is

the aeration of the fields, rebuilding the JV baseball and softball

backups, some miscellaneous fencing installations and work on the

track.

The fencing is one of the key components which hopefully will be a

big deterrent to keep vehicles off the surfaces.

It’s Marsh who is at the heart of it.

“We knew we had concerns from the community and the school sites,”

said Marsh, “and we took a hard look. It needed to be upgraded. There

was no doubt there was an inequity between the Costa Mesa schools and

those at Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor.

“A lot of things had been allowed to languish.”

There was also the issue of how to guarantee things will continue

on this level.

The answer? The district has hired four full-time staff members to

maintain sites at all four high schools, as well as a full schedule

with the elementary and middle schools.

“We intend to raise the level at all of our schools,” said an

up-beat Marsh, who predicts there will be a synthetic turf at

Davidson Field on the Newport Harbor High campus in the long-range

future.

“We’re eventually going to get there,” he said. “It’s just that we

have a lot of other issues to deal with before we get to it.”

A first-class football field with an all-purpose track is in the

$1.5-1.7 million range, and the predictions are that it will last 10

to 30 years.

“We’re not sure how much we would save,” Marsh said. “But it’s

certainly in the future.”

*

In another matter involving the Eagles, plans are being made for

the dedication of Robert C. Francy Gymnasium at the school. The

district has already approved the plan and they’re looking for an

early date in the basketball season to make it official.

Special recognition for a special man, the late Estancia principal

Bob Francy.

*

Also at Estancia the Eagles have formed a new overall sports

boosters program and their first fundraising endeavor is Monday at

the Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club where the Estancia Golf Classic

will take place at 11:30 a.m., followed by a dinner/auction at 6:30

p.m.

*

On a sad note I find myself reporting on the passing of one of

Orange County’s high school sports legends, former Edison High

athletic director Lyman Clower.

Clower, who spent 22 years as the Chargers’ athletic director,

before retiring in 1996, was always a big presence, physically and

vocally.

He passed away March 1 as a result of a heart attack. He was 66.

ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor of the Daily Pilot. He

can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].