School open house is Wednesday

Terry Sandusky, Special to The County
3 months ago

Mapleton Elementary School will host an open house from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, for the 2024-25 school year.  

Morning session Pre-K and K students will meet their teachers from 5 to 5:30 p.m., and those in the afternoon session will meet the teachers from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Regular classroom teachers for grades 1 to 5 will be in their classrooms from 5 to 6 p.m.

The school body will celebrate the new school year together with a parade from the playground to the flagpole at 8:10 a.m. on the first day of school, Thursday, Sept. 5. All students, faculty, and family members are welcome.

Little League ends  

The Mapleton Little League has ended its season. On Monday, Aug. 12, the championship game was played between Buck Construction and Buck Farms. The game play was very tight as the final score was 1-0 with Buck Farms winning the championship. The players played hard with strong pitching on both sides and excellent defense from both teams.

The 2024 Mapleton Little League Home Run Derby Champion was Jacob Orkins (right), a Mapleton Oil Team Member. Orkins hit nine home runs in the first round of two rounds of hitting. He also was the Most Valuable Player for the team. Mapleton Recreation Director Jake Graham presents the trophy to Orkins.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)

Following the game, team and individual awards were presented to players.  The first award presented was to Jacob Orkins, who was the Home Run Derby Champion.  Jacob hit nine home runs on the first of two rounds at bat.

Then each team recognized three players on each team and all the coaches and officials selected the most valuable player for each team. Teams and those honored follow.

The Buck Farms team won the 2024 Mapleton Little League Championship with a score of 1-0 against Buck Construction. Team members and coaches are, from left: Weston Hebert, Wylder Archer, Grady Clark, Liam McCartney, Davin Bua, Collin Robertson, Madden Hebert, Ryan Clairmont, Adalie Picard, Coach Domenic Bua, Charlie McGlinn, Abbigail LaPlante, Sophie Henderson, Alexander Tweedie, Coach Matt Henderson, Coach Brad Picard.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)

Buck Farms:  most Improved, Davin Bua; Coach’s Award, Madden Hebert; Special Spirit Award, Abbigail LaPlante; and MVP, Collin Robertson.  

The Buck Construction team were runners-up during the championship game and also ended the regular season in second place. Team members and coaches are, from left: Coach Scott Young, Wilder Young, Isaiah Harvell, Jackson Brooks-Buck, Grayson Blackstone, Owen Voisine, Holden Clark, Carson Rand, Brycen Rand, Grant Eastman, James Collins, Hayden Clark, Natalie Porter and Coach Matt Porter.
(Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)

Buck Construction: Most Improved, Owen Voisine, Coach’s Award, Natalie Porter and MVP, Wilder Young.  

Mapleton Oil:  Most Improved, Miles Helstrom; Coach’s Award, Cameron Dennett; and MVP, Jacob Orkins.  

Squapan Mountain Outfitters:  Most Improved, Drake Mitchell; Coach’s Award, Lucas Chapman; and MVP, Jacob Chapman.  

Mapleton Lions:  Most Improved, Amelia Bartlett; Coach’s Award, Owen Tardie; and MVP, Sammy Chartier.  

Porter Farms:  Most Improved, Wilson Clark; Coach’s Award, Miles Donald; and MVP, Deklan Taylor.  

Langley Outdoors:  Most Improved, Evan Booker; Coach’s Award, Colie Devoe; and MVP, Jensen Larrabee.

Final team standings at the end of the regular season were:  Buck Farms, first place; Buck Construction, second; Mapleton Oil, third; Squapan Mountain Outfitters, fourth; Mapleton Lions, fifth; Porter Farms, sixth; and Langley’s Outdoors, seventh.

Lion Owen Estey and his wife, Joann, managed the Little League program for the Mapleton Lions Club.   Even from the early days, this championship game always marked the approaching end of the summer season.  

Many thanks to the kids, families, coaches, instructors, sponsors and the Mapleton Recreation Program staff. All your efforts made for another fine season. 

Mapleton Cancels Fall Soccer

Mapleton Recreation Program Director Jake Graham announced that the 2024 soccer program would be canceled due to low registration numbers and lack of personnel to effectively run the program. 

“In order to run a program that is on par with what we want to provide for our kids and our community, we need to have enough committed staff to be there and work together.” Graham said. “Right now, we don’t have enough registrations to create a full team for any of our age groups.”  

Another reason for canceling the soccer program is the planned major improvement of the Mapleton tennis courts, which will begin this fall and be completed next spring.  The tennis courts will be resurfaced and the net posts reset.  

The courts have large cracks and posts that have eroded, which make the courts difficult and unsafe to play on.  The heavy equipment required for the repairs will need to use the soccer field to access the courts and park on when not in use.  

The recreation program had planned to relocate the soccer program temporarily, but organizers thought it would be better to cancel the season for this year, Graham said. 

“We apologize deeply for any inconvenience. This decision was not made lightly, and we hope that people will understand. We live in a great community, and with everyone’s support, we will continue to provide the best programs we can for our families,” he said.

The Mapleton Recreation Program enjoys significant community support. The Mapleton Lions Club donated a new electronic scoreboard for the soccer field and a commercial pool cover for the community swimming pool to protect it in the winter.  The club has provided 50 percent of the upgrade costs for the tennis courts.   

Terry Sandusky is the Star-Herald correspondent for Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill and can be reached at 764-4916 or at starherald.Tsandusky@gmail.com.