Ballpark and swimming pool thoughts

Straying from the story line again, the Memorial Auditorium coverage is going to have to wait a week because the prospect of a gift such as the Ball Park needs to be addressed.

After reading my comments concerning the pool a few weeks ago, you may have been under the impression that I was not supportive of the Ball Park. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many times over the years of this column, I have strived to bring attention to the fact that McCook & Red Willow County’s population happens to be some of the most giving people in the United States.

Why do I say that? It’s my personal opinion that our area would be lacking almost 90% of the facilities we are blessed to have without the gifts to future generations that have been made since the birth of our community/county.

Taking a moment to list some of them (and not in order) I have added each because in every case a gift of land, money, accessories or labor brought the project to fruition. The Temple Building, Carnegie Library, Memorial Auditorium, Saint Catherin’s Hospital, McCook Community Hospital, McCook Public Library, McCook Methodist Church, Saint Catherin’s Church of Indianola, Museum of the High Plains Historical Society, McCook Public Pool, Kelly Park, McCook Junior College (now McCook Community College) and its facilities, Weiland Field, J.C. Ballpark, Felling Field, McCook Dog Park, the original YMCA, today’s YMCA, the first official school house in McCook, McCook Kiplinger arena and associated buildings, Anderson Cancer Center, Graff Center….how many should I list?

Because we are such a giving community, and because when a person gives to a project they become personally involved in it being successful, while I support the sales tax issue (as long as it has a sunset clause), my fervent hope is that we can raise the funds for a majority of the cost of both projects as an additional gift to the future of McCook and the surrounding area.

How would we do that? First we must recognize that many citizens do not have the means to make huge donations in one lump sum. Secondly, we must break out portions of each project with estimated costs so that people can designate (if they wish) what they want to donate for, be it benches, bleachers, trees, press box, sound system, back stops, diving boards, lockers, dugouts, score boards, fencing, etc.. As an example, while the entirety of the facility should carry the name of its founders, another donor may want to give the expense of developing one field and want the field named after a parent. The field has to be named anyway, why not open that option to help fund the project?

Quite obviously this process is not as easy as expecting sales tax to carry the burden, but given an opportunity, my belief is that many people will want to come forward with gifts large and small given a means by which to do so. The vision of a new swimming pool and Benjamins’ dream of a sports complex can both be expanded so that it becomes everyone’s visionary dream and why not?

My thanks to all the dreamers who came before us, and to the dreamers living here today. You can’t beat Southwest Nebraska or the people that choose to live here.