In the News: Restoring field a community effort

After stepping down as president of the Newberg Youth Football program, Barry Albo often found himself watching the grass grow this summer. But it wasn’t because he wanted to take some time off and just relax. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Freed of his former responsibilities, Albo chose to tackle a problem that would impact both the Newberg High School and youth programs: the struggling football field at the high school.

Last summer, the athletic department brought in three experts to examine the field, which turned out to be both diseased and bug-ridden.

Efforts were made to get the field into shape just before the 2010 season, but wet weather last fall accelerated its deterioration throughout the season to the point that the youth program wasn’t able to use the field on Saturdays.

Albo put the onus on himself to remedy the situation and reached out to athletic director Tim Burke, NHS Blue School principal Dan Malone, Newberg Booster Club president Ron Wolfe and incoming Newberg Youth Football president Ryan DeLashmutt.

But that was just where the community effort began.  After raising around $6,000 for the project, Albo enlisted his friend James Millroy, owner of Millroy Golf Systems, and Chehalem Glenn golf course grounds supervisor Casey Creighton to lend their expertise.
Soon after, John Hockett of Marion Ag Service, Inc. provided seed and fertilizer for the project at cost. Marion Ag is a regular provider of materials every July just after the rodeo in St. Paul when local farmers plant grass inside the rodeo stadium that serves as the Bucks’ home field.

“We’re used to everybody pitching in and making a good field, so when Barry came up with the idea, I was sure we would be able to do it,” Hockett said. “So for Marion Ag to jump into that is a no-brainer.”

Working mostly in the evenings and using equipment lent by Chehalem Park and Recreation District, Millroy led the effort to aerate the field, top dress it with 200 tons of sand, apply gypsum, and fertilize and seed it.

Millroy also devised a maintenance plan to promote growth and the project was finished in about a week, just in time for Newberg to host the Special Olympics Oregon Summer State Games.

Unfortunately, bad weather on the final day of the events tore up some of the field, but it has bounced back since then and appears to be thriving ahead of NHS’ Sept. 9 home opener versus McNary.

“It’s leaps and bounds better than what it was last year,” Newberg head coach T.J. Tomlin said. “Last year, with the bugs and the fungus, there were just holes everywhere. Now it looks so much fuller. I’m really happy. They did such a good job with it. We owe them a big ‘thank you,’ because it was a lot of work.”

Burke said that he has tried to save enough money in the past to do similar maintenance, which is recommended twice a year, on an annual basis, but that it would have cost about $9,000 this year.

“It was a really good example of a community effort with a bunch of people getting together,” Wolfe said. “Millroy and Marion Ag donated a lot of material, a lot of time. They brought tractors and did the spreading. They did that free of charge and just gave us the labor.”

Although not the curmudgeon type, Albo became so invested in the field that he was shocked at how much time he spent just watching the grass, which will see its only action before the home opener at the Blue and White scrimmage Aug. 27.
It got to the point where he began feeling a bit like the old man that defends his lawn from neighborhood children and found himself fighting the urge to yell at people: “Get off my field!”

But the strongest emotion he felt through the whole process was gratitude to all of the people who offered their help.

“You can’t thank those people enough,” Albo said. “We put together the group and they did a great job. Millroy doesn’t even have a son that plays football. His first child will be in high school next year for the first time. You take people like that, that care and know the right thing, and it makes a huge difference. Other people see that, get excited and jump on board. That’s what you have to have.”

Seth Gordon, the Newberg Graphic