Quick Thinking Helps Save Softball Seasons

Clymer Central School’s Board of Education discussed multiple areas of the spring sports season during their latest meeting.
P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

CLYMER — As the spring sports season revs up, Clymer Central School’s Board of Education discussed updates with the modified softball team and some equipment such as the bleachers, scoreboard and the temporary softball fence.

Giving the athletic director’s report during the meeting for Clymer’s Athletic Director, Daniel White, Superintendent Beth Olson said at the beginning of the season it was planned to have a joint modified softball team with Sherman Central School, as the schools are both currently together for a junior varsity and varsity softball team. This is a conversation the two schools have been having since the fall.

“When we met in January the numbers were high,” Olson said. “We had that conversation. We then talked again in February, they were low and we didn’t think it was going to be an issue. Then, the first day of softball came and they were high, meaning we could make two teams.”

When talking with Section 6 in February, they said the schools would not be able to create another schedule if the schools were to break into two teams because of the schedule that was already made. This problem was fixed after Panama no longer had a modified team so a new schedule was able to be worked out. Clymer’s team will follow the old schedule and Sherman’s picked up two Panama girls and will take over what was the Panama schedule for the year.

Following the sports theme, during his report, Business Official Jarrett Wiggers talked a bit about new bleachers to go out behind the school.

“The bleachers are on site,” Wiggers said. “They’re starting to assemble some of them but they have to wait for the concrete to fully cure before they start attaching anything. So, we’re just in a waiting phase there but I think they did say by the end of the week they would have those installed unless they run into any hiccups, but it’s been really smooth so far.”

The bleachers were funded through the American Rescue Plan grant. Wiggers also mentioned that out back in the softball field the temporary fence has been put up and was ready when Clymer hosted its first game on the field on April 19 against Cassadaga Valley.

One other spring sports issue that the board discussed at their meeting was fixing the baseball scoreboard. Olson said it was working at one point but is currently shorting. A replacement and other options is costly and the board does not currently have the funds. Board President Ed Mulkearn suggested having an electrician look at the current scoreboard and see if anything could be done. The scoreboard is wireless and it may end up needing to be hardwired. Olson said she will have an electrician called.