Some would say the ball fields on the north end of Empire aren't remarkable, just typical diamonds used by young people for organized and not-so organized baseball and softball games.

Tom and Teletha Penny are part of a group of volunteer baseball and softball coaches who want to upgrade the fields - and make them user-friendly.

THE BENCHES at the Empire ball fields will become
enclosed dugouts following construction work
later this summer.

The couple have children playing in the county Summer Youth League this season. While the ball diamond at the Village of Empire’s North Park is serviceable there are no dugouts.

“We have a bench with a three-foot high fence in front of them. There is no roof and little protection if a ball is hit in that direction,” said Tom Penny, who played baseball on the same fields when he was growing up in Empire. With his own children playing there, he and his fellow baseball and softball coaches at Empire are trying to provide new dugouts for next season.

At its April 22 meeting, the Empire Village Council allocated $5,600 from a memorial fund to the parks and recreation fund for materials to build four new dugouts on the ball fields at the North Park. Tom and Teletha Penny made the request to the council, stating there is a group of parents working to make baseball and softball a priority again in Empire.

Teletha Penny, coordinator for the county youth league, said having new dugouts will help attract more children to summer league baseball or softball. “We want to make the fields a little more attractive to help generate some interest in the program,” she said.

The original plan for building the dugouts was to get funding from the village, secure permits, and the get the structures up before the start of the season.

“It didn’t quite work out as we planned,” Tom Penny said. Part of the village council’s approval was contingent on village Department of Public Works supervisor Leonard Shalda reviewing and approving the plans. Shalda did his part quickly, Penny said, but securing the land-use permit and getting the building permits from the county took longer than the group figured.

“By the time we had all the necessary permits in place, it was one week before games were supposed to begin,” Penny said.

One of the best parts of the process, according to Penny, is the way people around Empire and associated with the league have stepped up to help out.

“When we needed plans drawn up for the dugouts, Dale Scheiern of Cedar, an architect, volunteered. He doesn’t have children playing on our teams, but he offered to help. That is really great,” Teletha Penny said.

Some of the funds from the village were used to improve the equipment players and umpires use during the game. “We needed to get some new catcher’s gear and stuff for the umpires because it is really hard to find people willing to officiate a game, especially in old, worn out gear,” he said.

The last day of play for the summer youth league is July 26. Penny said he and a group of volunteers should be at the ball fields on the following day to dig holes and get ready to put up the dugouts.

“We’ve got some guys who are builders who will be leading the effort during the actual construction,” Penny said.

Both of the Pennys said having new dugouts built at Empire’s ballfields is something they and a lot of parents have wanted done for a long time. “Next year our players will have a roof over their heads, that will be nice,” Tom Penny said.