Parks committee introduces new director

CLOVIS - The city of Clovis introduced new Parks and Recreation Director Russell Hooper to its parks, recreation and beautification committee Monday.

And the committee assured him he'll have plenty on his plate.

Russell Hooper, who spent 13 years with the city of Dallas, joined the committee meeting on his first day replacing Mark Dayhoff, who retired at the end of 2020. City Manager Justin Howalt said Hooper started as an irrigation technician and worked his way up to become manager of Dallas' White Rock Park.

Hooper was presented with the parks master plan, a list of about 30 projects Dayhoff prioritized before he left.

The topics covered during the hourlong meeting were varied, but much of the attention went to the Pappy Thornton Museum at Ned Houk Park. Committee member Joyce Gates, who applied for the committee specifically because of the museum, spoke of the need to restore and protect the museum's artifacts.

The museum is named for Ardale Thornton, who worked part time at the city while running the Wagon Wheel Trading Post. The museum of old farm machinery and antique items he collected and restored is now stored at Ned Houk Park in a fenced facility that also houses maintenance equipment for Ned Houk. Thornton died in 1998, 15 years after the city named the park in his honor.

"It's special to me," Gates said of the museum. "I taught second grade for many years. That was one of the field trips I took my students to. I would build my lessons around things at the museum."

Gates, who retired in 1999, was floored by the disrepair the museum had fallen into when she took her grandchildren to see the museum. A pioneer-era house is now missing its windows and its sturdiness is in question.

District 1 City Commissioner Leo Lovett said many citizens aren't even aware of the facility, and not too long ago he was in that group. Board member Lisa Pellegrino-Spear said she wasn't fully aware of the museum until the committee held a meeting there two Novembers ago.

Howalt said the museum isn't covered by any historical protections, and Lovett said he would work on talking to friends who could help appraise the value of the farm equipment to prioritize what is and isn't worth keeping.

The committee plans to hold its next meeting at the museum to discuss the matter more.

"You'll need to point us in a direction," Hooper said. "We can go in that direction."

In other business at the Monday meeting:

• Clovis High Athletic Director Lonnie Baca told committee members the school would offer boys and girls wrestling next school year.

Baca said Clovis is the only 5A school that does not offer the sport.

"We did a survey," Baca said, "and we found out a lot of kids wanted that."

Had the pandemic not happened, Baca said the wrestling teams would have started this year.

• Howalt said work was progressing well on irrigation improvements at the Colonial Park Golf Course. The back nine has been closed since February to allow for the irrigation system replacement and deepening of the irrigation pond.

Golf course officials told The News if the weather cooperated, they were optimistic the work would be completed ahead of the May goal.

The course would eventually be tied in to the city's effluent reuse pipeline, so the course irrigation would not require the use of potable water. The course has always been a destination point for reuse system, as the private owners inquired about the less expensive effluent water. The city purchased the course in 2011.

• Howalt said Monday was the first day for the Roy Walker Recreation Center to open since the pandemic began, and while it was closed to the public staff took on repainting jobs and various other touchups.

Hooper said as of 4 p.m. Monday, 60 people had used the facility.

Committee Chairman and District 3 Commissioner Fidel Madrid asked about new fencing on the Roy Walker exterior. Howalt said that was on the radar, but he wanted to hold off until road construction on U.S. 60/84 concludes.

• Committee member Gilbert Salguero said the Clovis Softball Association's Umpire Tuneup Tournament was a success over the weekend. The tournament was the first that Guy Leeder Softball Complex had hosted since the 2019 Halloween Howwwl.

"Everywhere I would go to play softball," Salguero said, "everybody asked, 'When is Clovis softball going to be back?'"

• The city anticipates an August completion for its shooting range at Ned Houk Park. Marty Tressel of Clovis said a push to sell memberships would begin soon. Any member of the public will be able to use the course, but memberships will help the range purchase upfront merchandise and give members a discount going forward.

• Scott Shuman of Clovis asked the city to look into developing more pickleball courts and said there were plenty of local enthusiasts.

The city has some tennis courts that can be used for the sport, Shuman said, and any new courts or upgrades to existing courts could easily include markings for pickleball. Shuman, who is stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, wants to do everything he can to help grow the sport in Clovis while he's assigned here.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 26 at Ned Houk Park.