Damaged Youth Facilities to be Repaired

Two athletic complexes that were damaged during the two fall storms that rocked Connecticut will be repaired just in time for the spring softball and baseball season.

The batting cages at Posypanko Park on Hawkins Road – where local children practice their hitting and pitching skills – and a large swath of the softball field at  on Oxford Road were damaged during and the .

Oxford Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Gatto has been working to get money to repair both, and it appears she has succeeded. On Wednesday, the town’s insurance company approved a check for the town for just under $3,000 to repair the batting cages at Posypanko, the cost of which will be about $3,100; Gatto said she will take the rest of the money out of the Parks and Rec budget to complete the repairs. And, she said Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Association, or FEMA, has indicated it will give Oxford the roughly $3,000 that it will cost to repair the softball field at Center School. Gatto is hoping to get a more firm commitment within the next week or so from FEMA.

Both of the athletic complexes should be repaired by the time the spring softball and baseball season rolls around in late March and early April, Gatto said.