RATHDRUM — An indoor sports complex will be a game changer for Lakeland High School.

With a $200,000 gift from Silverwood Theme Park, fundraising for the $850,000 fieldhouse project has approached the halfway point. Ground is expected to be broken next spring.

“I would just like to say thanks to Silverwood Theme Park,” Lakeland High Principal Jimmy Hoffman said Wednesday during a brief presentation at the school, “so much gratitude to donating this amount of money to help us get started on our project that we’ve been thinking about a lot.”

The fieldhouse, expected to be 15,000-20,000 square feet, would support Lakeland’s extracurricular activities as well as youth sports in the community, Hoffman said. It will be built adjacent to Corbit Field.

Paul Norton, Silverwood’s chief operating officer, said the theme park and Lakeland are partners.

“It was awesome to get the opportunity, when they reached out to see if there was something we could do,” Norton said. “It was a no-brainer to jump right in and help out this community. We’re not an island; we need each other’s support.”

He said with the area growing so much, kids need something to do. 

“I’d rather have them do more athletic stuff than a bunch of stuff they’re not going to be proud of later in life,” Norton said.

Hoffman said the facility will be available for use by students as well as youth sports teams and feeder clubs. Lakeland is a big youth sports community, Hoffman said, from Junior Tackle Football to wrestling and basketball, starting as young as third grade.

“Our entire community is going to benefit from this,” Hoffman said. “Our facilities are being crammed until 10 o’clock at night here in our gyms. We just need more space.”

The complex will feature an open field turf area, a full-size court and hitting facilities. It will be able to accommodate basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, golf, wrestling and more. The all-purpose facility will also provide a space for tournaments and social events such as banquets and award ceremonies. It will provide covered indoor space during cold, snowy winters and hot, smoky summer days, as well.

“It’s just a big, big wide-open multi-use facility,” Hoffman said.

Superintendent Lisa Arnold said the charm and the specialness of the Lakeland School District is rooted in community support.

“The man hours that have been put in by the Lakeland High School administrative team and the generous outpouring of support for a project like this will allow families to engage in different ways and provide a space for our kids to hone their skills and be healthy people,” she said.

    A rendering of the future fieldhouse at Lakeland High School.
  

ELKINS — After 37 years with the agency, Executive Co-Director Peggy Johnson will be retiring from Youth Health Service, Inc. on June 30, and her successor, Sarah Begg, will join the established leadership team, consisting of Executive Co-Director, Tammie Rizzio, and Director of Business Operations, Amanda Arbogast, to lead the agency.

While Johnson has spent the last 10 years serving in the role of executive co-director, her contributions to the agency in its tenure are varied. During the formative years of the agency, she served as a case manager providing maternity and parenting support and education for young women and their families.

As the community needs shifted, Johnson moved into an Early Intervention role working with little ones and their families aimed at increasing opportunities and reducing barriers to learning and developmental growth.

By the mid-90’s, the agency transitioned to providing behavioral health programs for kids of all ages, allowing her to further her specialization in early childhood, providing individual play therapy as well as group and family therapies and coordinating early childhood programming, which included the addition of Home Ties Child Development Center.

Johnson has served as the Project Director for several grant programs around early learning opportunities in participating in childcare programs in the area and the development of the child and adolescent trauma center which led to YHS being an affiliate of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

When asked about memorable moments and hopes for the agency moving forward, Johnson said, “The memories that stand out the most involve the people I have been blessed to know here – the amazing leaders who hired me all those years ago and not only mentored but befriended me as well; the dedicated co-workers past and present, so many who have become life-long friends; those caring professionals throughout our communities who supported the mission of YHS and the children we serve; the volunteers who donated their time, talent, and energy to help us; and the faces, the voices, the stories of the children and caregivers who have passed through this way.

“As I am wrapping up my last days as co-director, I am filled with gratitude for the experiences of the past and tremendous hope and confidence for the future of Youth Health Service and the important work being done here.”

Johnson will certainly be missed by her YHS family, community partners and clients; her contributions to the agency and the community at large have been forever impactful and the field of early childhood education and development, and behavioral health are better in our community because of her influences.

Begg will assume her new role on July 1 and brings with her 14 years of experience in the field. After receiving her BSW from Concord University, she went on to receive her MSW while also working for the WVDHHR CPS before transitioning to Southern Highlands Community Health Center as a Therapist. In 2015 she continued her work as a Therapist at Youth Health Service before transitioning to a School Social Worker in Randolph County Schools and back to YHS in 2022.

Begg has long had a passion for helping others that led her to social work. When asked what she would like to achieve in her new role, Begg stated, “I aim to continue the legacy YHS has of helping children and families through new and innovative processes, growing behavioral health to meet the ever increasing and changing needs of the communities we serve, and support and empower the qualified, compassionate, and wonderful staff at YHS.”

The community may express their well wishes and congratulations to both Johnson and Begg by sending cards to Youth Health Service ATTN: Ms. Johnson/Ms. Begg 971 Harrison Ave. Elkins, WV 26241.

Community

Matt Nelson, center, chairman of the Crawfordsville Friends of the NRA presented donations to Lori Roe, left, from the Montgomery County 4-H program, and Eric Small, right, of the Crawfordsville Gun Club. Roe received $5,100 for youth shooting sports and Small received $7,000 for youth training and shooting sports.

Photo Provided

Posted

Thursday,
June 12, 2025
5:00 am

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Soccer may be considered the unofficial national sport of the Netherlands, but Staten Islander Dex Zimmerman — who holds dual American-Dutch citizenship — is set to don the iconic Oranje for the Dutch U12 national baseball team at the upcoming Youth Baseball European Championship hosted in the Czech Republic.

Zimmerman, who will soon graduate from PS 60 in Graniteville and move onto IS 72 in New Springville, is currently in Europe for a scrimmage against the Belgian national team on Wednesday ahead of the European Championship, which begins on July 2.

Dex’s path to international baseball began about four years ago, when his father, Todd, reached out to a coach from the Dutch program to explore opportunities for Dex to get involved. At the time, he was told Dex was too young — but now, he’s ready to take the international stage.

“Out of nowhere this year, the same coach reached back out and told us they were having a tryout; we went a little less than a month ago, and he made the team,” Zimmerman proudly said of his son’s accomplishment.

Though he primarily serves as a pitcher for the Dutch squad, Zimmerman is also effective at shortstop and center field — a testament to the versatile skillset his father helped cultivate during his years as Dex’s coach, prior to his transition to club coaching with the New York Prospects last year.

“He’s a very humble boy,” Zimmerman said of his son’s attitude despite his talent at such a young age.

“We started playing baseball together when he was around 1-year-old, and I try to keep him humble, but that’s something he’s always had in him,” Zimmerman continued.

Zimmerman has firmly established himself as a young talent locally, but his father acknowledged that competing on the international stage will bring a new set of challenges.

“While he’s playing for the Dutch team, the field is 46 feet from the mound to home and 60 feet between the bases; those are dimensions similar to Little League, but when he’s playing travel ball for the Prospects, the field is definitely bigger,” Zimmerman said of one of the ways Dex may need to readjust his game while playing in Europe.

Dex will also get the chance to meet his Dutch national teammates for the first time, as this marks his debut traveling abroad for competition. While some cultural differences may arise, his father is confident that Dex —fluent in both Dutch and English — will form friendships that last a lifetime.

“They’re not into the small talk like we are,” Todd said with a laugh.

“He’s a little bit of an outsider for now; they’re a little bit different than us, but he’s a social kid,” he continued.

In addition to reconnecting with his Dutch roots, Zimmerman is also contributing to the global growth of baseball in real time — a role his father finds especially meaningful with the World Baseball Classic on the horizon next year.

“We’re really into that competition,” Todd said of their own fondness of how the WBC has promoted the sport globally.

“The Netherlands is ranked seventh in the world currently, since they also include Aruba and Curaçao. Andruw Jones is the head coach of the Netherlands and has recruited guys like Xander Bogaerts and Jurickson Profar to play for him, so it’s a very good breeding ground for baseball,” Zimmerman said of the nation’s senior team.

While Dex still has a long road ahead to reach that level, his involvement in the global baseball community is already laying the foundation for a lifelong love of the game — and a chance to see the world through it.

“He’s really looking forward to it,” Todd said of Dex’s excitement ahead of the tournament.

“It should be a really interesting experience getting to interact with different countries and hear different languages; he’s just really always loved the game of baseball, the fact that they took a chance on somebody from New York was really cool. They want him to stay with it for the long haul,” he continued.

The Dutch U12 team will kick off its 2025 European Championship campaign when it takes on Ukraine in Hluboká, Czech Republic on July 2.

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech guard AJ Bates has been selected to join Athletes in Action Basketball for an international tour this summer, traveling to the Czech Republic from June 28 to July 11.
 
Bates will be part of a select team comprised of student-athletes from eight college basketball programs across the country.  The team will compete in exhibition games against the Czech Republic’s U20 and U23 national teams while also participating in outreach activities, including a one-day youth basketball camp and coaching clinic.
 
Athletes in Action is a faith-based organization that partners with college athletes across the country, organizing sports tours and leadership training experiences aimed at fostering personal development and global impact.
 
As a freshman for the Bulldogs this past season, Bates appeared in 29 games with four starts.  He averaged 4.6 points per game, including four double-digit scoring outings.  Bates also contributed 57 rebounds, 49 assists, and 22 steals.
 
The two-week experience will offer Bates the chance to sharpen his skills in a competitive international setting while representing both Louisiana Tech and Athletes in Action abroad.
 
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