Looking for a solution to keep kids safe

To the editor:
    It has came to my attention that there’s a serious issue concerning the co-existence of Little League and the Houlton Softball Association. It seems there have been several complaints made about the homeruns being hit by the softball players that land in the Little League fields.
    I understand the concerns the parents may have, but this is simply not a new issue. There have been homeruns hit into the other fields since the beginning of time so to speak. I can remember Mike Fitz hitting bombs over the lights back when I was playing Little League and I’m 32 years old.
    Ben Drew, president of Houlton Area Little League, has taken his complaint to Bernie Reece, head of the Houlton Rec Department. I found out this morning that Bernie has requested that we move our game times back to a later start time to appease the Little League and their concerns.
    The average person, and most Little League parents, are quick to throw blame to the softball player. Putting myself in their spot — and I will in a few years be one of those parents — I can understand where they’re coming from. However, our softball league used to be huge in comparison to this year’s six-team league. Part of the reason for the drop in numbers obviously is that not many kids are sticking around after graduating high school. This has caused our league to become old in age. I would guess the overall average age to be around 30-34, when you factor in all players. Most of the players have to juggle work, softball and family.
    I know many of us have jobs that require us to be to work very early in the morning. (4 a.m. for myself). Moving our start times to 7:30 for the first game of the night is going to put the later games deep into the night, probably ending around 11 p.m., even later on a three-game night. This is just unacceptable for most of us. If these times changes were to be put into effect, some would surely drop out of the league, which is dying as it is.
    We as an association, brought this problem to the attention of the town and its officials. We also offered to split the cost of netting with the Little League during a meeting with Bernie back in 2007 I believe. Little League has offered to chip in $200 this year for netting. $200 is not going to cover the cost of much anything these days.
    What is the solution? I’m not sure. Let it be known that the HSA has been proactive on this issue and we want to work for a solution. We just don’t want to be forced into something that is going to destroy what’s left of our once floundering league. We also don’t want to automatically be looked at as the villains!
John White Jr.
Houlton