PINE ISLAND, Fla. (WINK)\u2014The crack of a bat and cheers from the dugout signal a sense of normalcy at the Pine Island Youth Baseball League.<\/p>\n
For many families, it\u2019s a sign of progress after the devastation of Hurricane Ian. But nearly four years later, parents say the fields are still far from fully recovered\u2014and in some cases, unsafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wish I had shade in the dugout\u2026 it\u2019s so hot,\u201d said Silas, one of the young players.<\/p>\n
Parents and league supporters point to several ongoing issues at the facility, including a missing dugout roof, lack of shade over the bleachers, and damage to key structures like the batting cage, storage shed, and score board.<\/p>\n
Rogan White, a parent with a child in the league, says the conditions raise serious safety concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost specifically, injuries to the kids in the dugout without there being a roof overhead, foul balls hitting into the grandstands,\u201d White said. \u201cThere have been a number of very close calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
White says the concerns go beyond discomfort\u2014he believes the county is taking on unnecessary risk by delaying repairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were to defer paying my taxes, I know that there would be quick repercussions,\u201d he said. \u201cSo why should the county be allowed to defer the maintenance?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel White, another parent, says while her child loves playing in the league, the conditions are hard to ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want what\u2019s safe for our children,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re a little forgotten out here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also noted the impact goes beyond Pine Island families, with children from nearby Cape Coral participating in the league and using the park\u2019s facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t just affect Pine Island,\u201d she said. \u201cIt affects a broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parents say they\u2019ve been raising concerns for years, hoping for clearer timelines and faster action. Some say they would even be willing to fix the issues themselves if allowed.<\/p>\n
In response, Lee County says it is still working through widespread damage caused by Hurricane Ian, which totaled about $40 million across roughly 100 park sites.<\/p>\n
County officials say their initial priority was to reopen facilities safely and are now moving forward with longer-term repairs.<\/p>\n
According to the county:<\/p>\n
A contractor has been issued a purchase order for the replacement of the dugout roof, and officials are awaiting a schedule for the work.<\/p>\n
Quotes have been received for shade structures over the bleachers, with a purchase order expected within one to two weeks.<\/p>\n
The county is still in the process of obtaining quotes to replace the damaged storage shed.<\/p>\n
While those updates show progress, families say what they\u2019re still missing are clear timelines\u2014and urgency.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, kids like Beau are focused on what they love most about the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to hit it to the outfield and run all the bases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But for parents watching from the sidelines, the focus remains on making sure that game is played safely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINE ISLAND, Fla. (WINK)\u2014The crack of a bat and cheers from the dugout signal a sense of normalcy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[102614,209,211,210,2238,28,356,5382,104861],"class_list":["post-235098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-baseball-field","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-contractor","tag-florida","tag-lee-county","tag-pine-island","tag-pine-island-youth-baseball-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}