May 15, 2021
Lee Fuller
The Weaver baseball, softball, and t-ball programs have been the subject of much debate and conversation of late, but one thing that everybody seems to agree on is that the program is a a great service for the children of Weaver. Weaver, like many communities, has a parent run and led youth program. The parents are overseen by an elected board through a nonprofit organization. The current elected president of the nonprofit is Chris Marturello. The Calhoun County Journal spoke to Chris about the current organization and what he hope to see the program grow into. Chris stated he is trying to model the program after other local groups where there is one organization that is the umbrella for all Weaver youth sports. He would like to see one collective board that is consistent year to year. Currently the different sports are separate and often change leadership from year to year. Chris wanted to stress that there has been quite a bit of debate about the ownership of the fields and he wanted to publicly clarify that the City of Weaver does not own the fields. Per the Alabama Geographic information system (GIS) the owner is the Calhoun County Board of Education (CCBOE). The CCBOE then gave the property to the County Commission; however ownership is still listed with the BOE. Because the ownership does not fall under the city’s purview the upkeep and management falls to the parents and community volunteers. When we spoke to Mayor Wayne Willis he stated that the Weaver baseball program has been a parent run organization for 45 years and while he wants the program to succeed and thrive as it has done for years he “cannot ask for the Weaver tax payers to fund activities that are parent run and led”. He did go on to explain that as Mayor he and the city council has to weigh the costs of all budgetary items and precedents that can be set with each decision made. If the City of Weaver took over this program then how do they say no to other parent led programs that currently exist or may form.
The program this year has taken a hit on many fronts. The number of youth players this year was lower than normal and this may be because of COVID. The equipment shortages have been an issue that the board members are trying to remedy as well. The other large issue they are facing are the water leaks that have created havoc with the fields and the bathrooms facilities. Mr. Marturello called upon the board’s vice president Mr. Donny Dunn with Dunn’s Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing to get a quote on the exact price to fix the water issues once and for all. The material costs were quoted at $2046.45. Mr. Dunn has made the offer to donate all labor costs. Mr. Marturello did reach out to the Weaver Public Works Director, Joey Conger, regarding the costs; however because this is not city property they were unable to assist with this cost. Chris then reached out to Calhoun Commissioner J.D. Hess. Mr. Hess along with State Representative Randy Wood have agreed to cover the cost of the water repairs as well as getting new light poles for the facilities. When we reached out to Commissioner Hess he explained that his district included Saks, Weaver, Alexandria, and Cedar Springs. He knew about the bad leak and wanted to help. He reached out to Randy Wood as well for help securing the funding. Mr. Hess also stated he is “always willing to help anybody who also helps themselves”. He said that this baseball program has always worked to improve and fundraise so he was glad that he and Representative Wood could help with this expense.
Once the water issues are fully resolved the other financial hurdle will be the equipment needs. To address this Chris and the other board members have started a Go Fund Me account. The goal is to raise $1,500 and they have currently raised $755 at the time of this articles release. Any funds raised will go directly to batting cage nets, L screens, new portable mounds or material to resurface old ones, new wood planks for bleachers, and if there are excess funds those would go to other items needed for the overall park such as painting materials, a new deep freezer, two sets of drive gates, a walk through gate, and a couple of chalkers as they are currently using one for all four fields. Donations can be made directly through the go fund me account, via checks made payable to WBFY, through Cashapp at $Weaverbaseball, or through PayPal @Weaverbaseball2019. Any check payments should be mailed to PO Box 515 Weaver, AL 36277. Chris wanted to state that no funds will go to a specific individual. They will all go to the program and the specific needs listed. He wanted to also take a moment to thank J.D. Hess and Randy Wood as well as all the parents and volunteers. He also stressed this program isn’t about him or any specific individual. This program is about the kids of Weaver. It always has been and it always should be. He hopes the community can pull together to help the kids.
