Not Too Keene

Well, Anne Arundel County Parks and Rec. are up to their same old tricks again. You may remember these folks from such bungled ballfield efforts as the Smith Farm on the Broadneck Pennisula. Dennis Callahan and pal Jack Keene are once again intent on trying to jam playing fields in the wrong place, when a far more intelligent alternative exists elsewhere. In the case of the Smith Farm, the old Nike site existed, flat and cleared only a few miles away. In the current case, where Callahan and Co. are trying to put fields on the environmentally sensitive Franklin Point Park, 477-acres of pristine wilderness in Shady Side, a dry, flat, and underutilized, site exists nearby.

Delegate Bob Costa (R-Deale), is seeking funds from the State to do a feasibility study examining the option of putting fields at the capped Sudley landfill site. Re-developing landfill sites into open space parks and fields has been done all across the country, and truly represents smart growth, taking advantage of an otherwise "wasted" resource.

The creative solution proposed by Costa also has the support of the president of the Shady Side Boys and Girls Club, Pete Medhurst, who originally supported efforts to puts fields at Franklin Point.

Perplexingly, though, County Executive Owens, and Jack Keene seem to have major reservations about even exploring the viability of the Sudley site. Let's hope they get on board with Costa's plan and drop the environmentally-irresponsible idea of putting fields at Franklin Point.