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Logan addresses softball league complaints

The Logan Township supervisors at their most recent meeting agreed to pass along neighbor complaints about a girls softball league to the Mill Run church that owns the league’s primary ballfield.

The letter to the Cornerstone Fellowship should “in the strongest possible terms” warn the church about the allegations of problems with parking, property damage and confrontational behavior, according to supervisors.

“Parking alone is horrendous,” said Danielle McConnell, who lives in Altoona, but who has family living near the field on Old Mill Run Road. During games, “it’s a constant battle” to get through the gauntlet of vehicles, and sometimes players’ relatives “stand in the middle of the road and scream at us,” said McConnell, one of a delegation of four at the meeting. The parking also creates safety concerns because the vehicles could impede emergency-vehicle access, McConnell said.

There has also been damage to at least one house from flying softballs, she said.

The league is working to ease any problems, said its president Dustin Ott by phone, when told of the complaints.

“Between us and the church, we’re working on an agreement where we can come to terms to rectify the situation,” Ott said.

The league plans to schedule additional time between games to avoid parking overlap; it has instructed families to park in the church parking lot and to avoid areas of concern along the street, Ott said.

Before the season, in response to similar complaints last year, the league increased the height and length of a fence to help keep balls from leaving the field, said former league President Dominic Fasolo.

“It is our goal to have a solid relationship with the community,” Ott said. “We plan to do whatever is necessary to have a successful league.”

The neighbor who initiated the complaints last year was confrontational to him and to parents of players almost from the beginning, Fasolo said.

“What is so bad that you don’t want kids playing softball and thriving?” he asked rhetorically. “We want these kids playing sports instead of video games or who knows what on the streets.”

Moreover, the league activities last only from April to August, he said.

McConnell said she used to play in the league 15 years ago, when “there was more respect.”

“Now it’s a different crowd,” she said.

The past four years, it’s gotten worse, said another female member of the neighbor delegation.

The church needs to be pushed to void its contract with the league, said the woman.

“I’m not sure legally we can,” as it’s a private agreement, replied Supervisor Ed Frontino.

Still, if the league or the families connected with it are doing something illegal, the police can deal with it, said Supervisors Chairman Jim Patterson.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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