Scoreboard counts down to Whiteville’s first-ever home softball game
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WHITEVILLE, Tenn. — Whiteville Recreation Center will soon be the home of a newly renovated softball field. The new softball field also will be the new home field of the Whiteville Elementary Lions softball team. Many residents of Whiteville are excited for the change, hoping it can shed some new light on the community. “I think it will give us a sense of community pride [and] ownership, something that you want to protect,” said Whiteville Elementary softball coach Jerry Rhodes. Residents are also hoping the renovations will not only impact the softball field but spread onto other parts of the park, giving them a reason to pick up the trash and repair parts of the old playground. The project only took one mention by Rhodes to the Whiteville Correctional Facility and the wheels began to turn for the big renovation. “‘If there’s some way you could get that [to] happen,’ well that’s about all I had to say and they went hog wild about it. They went beyond what I asked for,” Rhodes said. The funding for the renovation comes from a variety of sources, ranging from school parents, local businesses, churches and anonymous residents of Whiteville. So far, it has been a community effort. “A lot of dollars have been put in. Very generous people have been generous with dollars and time,” said Cedric Crisp, principal of Whiteville Elementary School. The first softball game for these middle schoolers is scheduled to take place Sept. 24 at the Whiteville Recreation Center softball field.
