By MARK DOMEIER
Columnist
Months long construction nearly complete
When Jeff Reese was varsity baseball coach at NRHEG, you could count on two things: a competitive baseball team and a picture-perfect ball diamond. It was not uncommon to see Reese out working on the field at any time of the year. In fact, he used to joke that his wife Carol always knew where to find him.
However, since Reese stepped down some years back, the field which is now named after him and his late wife has fallen into disrepair. Weeds encroached on the cut areas of the infield, the pitching mound was deteriorating, and the playing surface became uneven, causing strange bounces and ricochets from hit baseballs.
In addition, the backstop fence was getting to a point where safety would soon not allow play to continue. Plus, the third base dugout and the bullpens on both sides also had fencing issues, as well as stability concerns.
For many years, the main problem standing in the way of field improvements was the question of who was responsible for maintenance. NRHEG used the field for school baseball, the Quad Cities Baseball Association used it for summer baseball, and the city of New Richland owned the park on which the field sat.
Finally, all three entities got together and started outlining some responsibilities and where the money might come from to get the field back to a place to be proud of for anybody associated with baseball in the area.
With rent money from the school, park funding from the city, and both monetary and labor contributions from the QCBA, the plan finally came to fruition this summer. The groups identified what needed to be done and crafted a plan. That plan was constantly in motion, as the people involved kept discovering new ways to do things as they got deeper into the project.
The city hired Luke Dobberstein to bring in his machinery and expert knowledge on landscaping the field. He was joined at different times by city maintenance worker Eric Hendrickson, NRHEG activities director Dan Stork and his son Jake, as well as board members and some players from the QCBA to make the plan a reality. They were also joined at different times by Reese himself, there to provide the details that are important to making a baseball field accurate and beautiful.
One of the first things done was to rebuild the pitching mound. It was discovered that the mound was actually three inches too short, based on regulations. A mixture of clay and red rock was used to reformat the mound to rule. This also included a 3X5 foot flat surface around the pitching rubber, an area that will have to be constantly repaired to keep it the way it should be.
Using a laser level, the workers made sure home plate was reset the way it should be, and they also redid the area around the plate, including the walkways leading there. They then turned their attention to the greater infield.