May 5, 2000
September 12, 2000
October 2, 2000
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Volunteer Field
A newly renovated Chebeague Island ballfield will open on Labor Day Weekend, Saturday, September 1, 2001. An exciting celebration is being planned.
Soldiers based on Chebeague Island during the Second World War, many descendants of whom remain as residents today, built the original ballfield. Unfortunately, years of neglect finally brought the field's condition to the point where it had become unplayable.
The ballfield is named Volunteer Field to honor the large numbers of volunteers whose boundless and extraordinary commitments of time and energy have helped make Chebeague such a special place. Community projects of all sizes and descriptions have been made possible by our volunteers, as have activities too numerous to mention. Few communities can boast such extensive volunteer efforts.
Volunteer Field will make it possible for a variety of athletic activities to occur on Chebeague. The baseball field is regulation little league, and can be used as well for pony league and adult softball. The 100 X 300 foot all purpose athletic field area can host sporting activities such as soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and football.
The field is available to everyone from schoolchildren to our seniors. Its purpose is to provide or enable countless hours of recreation as well as to make possible the innumerable lessons that can be learned from participation in athletics. There will be players' benches, bleachers, a scoreboard and a variety of athletic equipment.
Irrigation has been installed and is run by an electronic system.
System sensors monitor the field's moisture level and automatically
stop the watering program when enough watering has occurred. When
the sprinklers run while it is raining, the system's sensors have
"told" the watering program that additional watering
is needed despite the rain. Water for the system comes from underground
tanks, which are filled slowly at night.
The Chebeague Recreation Center will manage the ballfield's activities
and maintain the field with committed budget appropriations from
the Town of Cumberland and SAD 51. The land for the field has
been made available by the school district.