Additional Practice Field on the Way for Youth Football Team

Upper Saucon supervisors have given permission to the Upper Saucon Storm, a Solehi youth football club, to hold night practices at both the large and small baseball fields at Township Park. 

In order to ensure the safety of night practices, the Storm also got permission to use portable lighting on the practice fields. The lights also will be used to illuminate the immediate parking area.

Supervisors President Miro Gutzmirtl, at Monday's meeting, commended Storm president Bill Schaninger on the precautions, saying, “I thought this was, on your part, excellent.”

A Patch article earlier this week incorrectly stated that the Storm was denied use of Township Park as a home field due to safety concerns.  The Storm, the article should have said, already has a home field and is in talks with the supervisors to paint lines for a scrimmage field.

While the supervisors at a previous meeting rejected the Storm’s proposed positioning of the lines due to safety concerns, Schaninger said he would reposition the lines at a different orientation. The supervisors will inspect this alternative and rule on its usage at their next meeting.

Gutzmirtl mentioned that part of the Curly Horse property near Hopewell Elementary off Limeport Pike might be used as a practice field.

“There is the Curly Horse property that will probably yield an additional seven fields,” Gutzmirtl said. “When those issues come before us and the school board, we want to count on your support.”

“We can be helpful in mobilizing,” Schaninger said.

These comments reflect a growing cooperation between the relatively young team and the township.

Gutzmirtl said of his rejection of the initial line positions, “It’s not a question; we want to work with the football program.”

“They’ve done a lot for us,” Schaninger said of the supervisors in a phone interview.

To reiterate, the Storm already has a home field, and neither the supervisors nor anyone else is declaring the field unsafe. This journalist apologizes for any inconvenience that might have been caused by the inaccuracies in the previous article.