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Foul Ball Complaints Shut Down Baseball Field
POSTED: 10:07 am PDT May 11,
2008
UPDATED: 8:30 am PDT May 12,
2008
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Complaints over foul balls pelting homes in a northeast Portland neighborhood have led the city to shut down a baseball field.The Hollywood Little League recently upgraded the Hollyrood-Fernwood baseball diamond for playing, but neighbors said too many foul balls have been hitting their homes, causing a safety hazard.Neighbors said they were OK with the field when it was used for T-Ball. But three weeks ago, the Hollywood Little League started using the field for baseball games.Since then, neighbors said they've collected buckets full of foul balls that have sailed into their back yards.
"Many of these are hitting our homes with a lot of force," said neighbor Chris Altenhofen. "It's only a matter of time before there's a personal injury or a broken window."Hollywood Little League said all it wanted was a field to call its own. Organizers said they went through all the proper protocol with the city before putting in the upgrades. They said they had no intention of leaving neighbors out of the planning process.Kenny Dirk said the league assumed the city would communicate with neighbors. "We went forward with the assumption that everything was OK and that was being all cared for," he said.The little league said it's willing to put in more safety features if it means they can continue to play on the field.For now, the city has stepped in and closed the field until further notice.
Neighbors' Foul Ball Complaints Shut Down Little League Park
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