Nice going, Ms. Frazier!
And we hope a “PLAY BALL!” will work at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Third Ward Council Member Lanette Frazier has been working to turn an old ballpark — Bush Field — into something that the community can be proud of and use. She has kept her eye on the ball, ahem, and people and organizations are starting to take notice and support what she’s doing.
At a recent news conference, Graphyte, a new company in town, handed over a giant check for $25,000 for the project.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“This is not about me or one person,” Frazier said, “but all of us coming together in the community to leave a legacy for children.”
She’s right, in a way. After all is said and done, kids will be playing on that field and not thinking a thing about why it’s there or what it took to make it be there. But it does take leaders to make all that happen, someone with a vision and the wherewithal to see things to completion.
The sports complex is envisioned having a baseball field inside a football field — with lights — as well as a basketball court, skate park and walking trail. Each council member gets $25,000 to make improvements of their choice in the community. Frazier kicked in her funds, and Glen Brown Sr., also a third ward council member, contributed $15,000 from his allotment.
The project is expected to cost about $2.6 million, with Frazier saying she is applying for a $250,000 matching grant.
There is much left to be done. But Frazier is making it happen, bit by bit, and it certainly doesn’t hurt when businesses jump on board the way Graphyte has done. Thanks also to BRAVE, Pine Bluff’s chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, which donated Bush Field for Frazier’s effort and is working with her on the project.
Some day, all this hard planning and fundraising work will pay off. Having a working sports complex will be a point of pride for that neighborhood and for the whole city, and it’s projects like this that raise the quality of life in our town. We look forward to the day when the ribbon is cut and the fun starts happening.