Earlier this month, the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation received the first portion of a large monetary contribution to assist with a planned improvement to Marland Heights Park.

The Weirton Rotary Club has pledged up to $50,000 to redesign the existing tennis courts at the park, including new fencing, resurfacing, and lining, to go from two tennis courts to one tennis court and four pickleball courts.

The check presentation held at the park included members of the Rotary Club, officials with the City of Weirton and Weirton Park Board, and representatives of the Weirton Pickleball Association, which first proposed the project as a way to meet the growing needs of the sport in the community. That check was for $25,000, with the remainder to be paid at the end of the renovation.

This is a good thing on multiple levels.

For one, pickleball has been taking off in our area, with several of our communities setting up indoor courts or temporary outdoor setups. The association has noted their regular gatherings routinely see a few dozen people, with as many as 70 or 80 showing up on occasion.

Weirton Parks has organized a spring tournament the last few years, which sees good participation.

Now, there will be dedicated area for those who wish to play.

Of course, it took one of our local community organizations stepping up with the funding to make it happen, and that’s something people need to remember.

Many of the comments on social media when the announcement was made were appreciative of the endeavor, welcoming the investment as it would enhance the recreational offerings of the community.

There also were others asking for a focus on other areas of the city’s parks to make similar investments.

In particular, one comment I noticed was to now take care of the courts at Starvaggi Memorial Park.

Trust me when I tell you, the Weirton Park Board is well aware of the issues with those tennis and basketball courts, as is the Weirton Pickleball Association which has been using the courts for a lot of its activity in the warmer months.

Some of you may recall it wasn’t too long ago the Park Board made an effort to resurface those courts because of ongoing issues. Ten months later, cracks began forming in the new surface. The Park Board payed almost $100,000 to mill, pave and resurface those courts, and it didn’t even last a year.

It’s, unfortunately, not a matter of maintenance, but of makeup – that is the composition of the ground located below the courts themselves.

As with much in our area, the land under the courts, and other areas of Starvaggi Park, includes slag and other fill materials put there by one of the community’s industries. To get a good surface, without any problems, would involve a great deal of excavation, which means a lot of money would be needed.

Many of us would agree investment is needed in recreation (and other areas), not just in Weirton, but in all of the towns and cities in our region. We’re still very much rebuilding from an era where everyone relied on one or two major industries to take care of our needs, and figuring out how to manage approaching those projects with reduced resources.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone else with deep pockets will step up to help. But, if not, it’s going to take some time and effort to take care of everything everyone wants.

(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @CHowellWDT)