LEETONIA SCHOOLS Work under way on athletic fields

The baseball team has played its home games in Salem for two years.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- With construction of Leetonia's $17 million school complex completed, school officials are giving more attention to developing athletic fields.
First on the priority list are the softball and baseball field, Treasurer Larry Syverson said. The softball and baseball teams were displaced because the fields were in the construction zone.
For the past two years, boys played baseball home games on fields in the Salem city parks system, and girls played softball on fields at Washingtonville Elementary School. The district has since sold the Washingtonville property.
The new fields will be built along Butcher Road on the southeast side of the school property, he said.
Seeding approved
At a special meeting Wednesday, the board hired Athletic Turf Development of Garfield Heights to seed the field for the softball area. The cost is $16,500.
Syverson said the baseball field will be seeded later for $19,400.
He said school officials would have preferred to seed the baseball field first because there is more outfield area to be seeded. However, the seeding can't be done until Evans Excavating of East Palestine finishes preparing the sites, and the softball field will be ready first, he said.
Syverson said if there are problems with the seeding, such as heavy rains or other problems, the board can also have the fields sodded.
The board will have a special meeting Oct. 23 to hire an architect to develop plans for fencing, bleachers and dugouts of the baseball field; and at the regular meeting Oct. 30, the board will hire an architect to plan development of the football field and track.
He said the board plans to demolish the old high school building and sell the 3.6-acre corner lot, including the football stadium property. The property can't be developed, however, until the new football field is ready for play.
Syverson said other concession stands, a gazebo, basketball and soccer areas are also being planned, but the work will be done as money is available.
He said school officials have been setting aside permanent improvement levy revenue for athletic fields development since 1998, when school officials learned the state would fund the new school.
About $520,000 is available in that account, he said.