By: Brandon Ussery

Jonathan Neal was named Valley’s new Director of Parks and Recreation. He comes from Munford, Tennessee, where he served as sports coordinator and athletics manager for the city. Neal takes over the position from Laurie Blount, who served as the director for 15 years.

During his six years in Munford, he was no stranger to work. His responsibilities ranged from park maintenance to organizing both youth and adult recreational sports leagues. Through his efforts, he has increased the enrollment of the youth flag football league from 60 in the Spring of 2021 to 270 participants this Spring. Neal’s dedication to the betterment of communities is shown through recruiting initiatives and the training of both staff and volunteers as referees for recreational sports leagues.

A better position and a fresh start bring him to the Valley area. Neal is no stranger to fresh starts. When he moved to and began working for the City of Munford, the only person he was acquainted with was the person who interviewed him for the position.

Since then, he developed working relationships with everyone and garnered the respect of those he supervised. The choice to migrate to the Valley was not done lightly. Here, he saw an opportunity to grow with the City of Valley and to be of service to the community.

“I have seen growth and the potential for growth,” Neal said.

Hopes for the department include plans to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the department and look for feedback from the community as to what it wants and where it wants to go. Neal said that he has no desire to undermine or discount the accomplishments of the department prior to his arrival.

“I’m not coming in to do it my way or the highway,” he said. “I’m coming in to serve the community.”

He clarified that he is not coming into the position as an authority figure, but as a fellow member of the community, trying to create a happier atmosphere.

Neal strongly believes in teamwork and what can be done through collective efforts. He asks that the citizens and communities of Valley actively work with him and the Parks and Recreation department to improve both the quality and the quantity of amenities.

“It’s the community that we’re serving. It’s the community that we want to better, and it takes people in the community to do that and work as a team,” Neal said.

He calls on the community to point out blind spots that may not be otherwise noticed. Having safe places for children to play is one of the top priorities for any parent, and Neal recognizes the importance of this priority.

Neal comes to the Valley on June 2, 2025, and looks forward to joining and flourishing with the city as one of its own.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 
A PROCLAMATION

During National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, we celebrate the foundational role that physical fitness and sports play in helping us to live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.  Through sports, fitness routines, and staying active, we have the opportunity to improve our health, strengthen our communities, and build a brighter future for our country. 

For far too long, our Nation has failed to prioritize the health and well-being of the American people.  This negligence has come at a devastating cost.  As a result, the United States lags behind other developed countries in life expectancy, chronic disease prevention, and overall public health outcomes.

This era of indifference ended when I took office.  I was proud to appoint Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services to urgently confront and stop this crisis.  I also established the Make America Healthy Again Commission, tasked with ensuring Americans have access to nutritious food choices, while addressing the root causes of childhood chronic diseases.  With public health as a cornerstone of my Administration, we are forging a future where the American people are healthier and stronger than ever before.

Engagement and active participation in sports, especially among our youth, is vital to fostering a culture of health and physical fitness.  My Administration is committed to ensuring that our sports and competitive spaces remain safe, free, and accessible for future generations of Americans.  In my first term, I signed an Executive Order to nationally expand children’s participation in sports, promoting physical activity, fitness, and the academic and social benefits of healthy lifestyles.  I was also proud to recently sign an Executive Order to keep biological men out of women’s sports, ensuring our female athletes are free to compete and excel on a level and fair playing field.

Together, we are building a healthier and more flourishing Nation, one that champions physical fitness and well-being, empowering every citizen to reach their full potential and excel in all aspects of life.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.  I call upon the people of the United States to incorporate physical fitness and sports participation into their everyday lives.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

DONALD J. TRUMP

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The Miracle League, which offers opportunities for young athletes with physical limitations to participate in baseball, is coming to Tyler.

The Miracle League is partnering with the City of Tyler to open up a field at Faulkner Park. The field is expected to open on June 14 and will feature an exhibition game along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by former MLB players.

Advertisement

LIST: Businesses open on Memorial Day in East Texas cities

The field will be tailored to allow athletes with a number of different kinds of physical limitations to enjoy baseball. In order to make the field more accessible, the bases are flat and smooth, preventing tripping hazards. The field is also designed to allow athletes in wheelchairs or other kinds of physical disabilities to compete on the field.

The games will also be conducted on a buddy system as they will pair each athlete with a ‘buddy’ who will help them navigate the game. Each player’s ‘buddy’ will be an athlete from a local high school or college who will make sure the players are safe and having a good time while allowing parents to set back and enjoy the game while getting to know other parents.

Advertisement

What are the top 5 safest cities in Texas?

The process of bringing the Miracle League to Smith County began in 2020. The project was headed by Casey Bryans, the President of the Miracle League of Tyler. The Miracle League is especially meaningful to Bryans due to his own son participating in the league during his youth.

After getting the opportunity to watch his son compete in the Miracle League, Bryans now wants to provide that opportunity to East Texans.

“Our desire is for every child who can play on a traditional baseball field to play on our field,” Bryans said. “There are literally thousands of kids in Smith County who can play on our field.”

Advertisement

Bryans emphasized how the league will strive to create a sense of community in Tyler for families who want to provide their children with a chance who may not have the opportunity in the past to compete in youth sports and be a member of a team.

“This is about an opportunity for kids who may not have had the opportunity to be in a team in the past,” Bryans said. “An opportunity for them to come together and make friends. An opportunity for parents to come together and watch their kids have fun.”

The league hopes to provide more than just baseball to the athletes. It wants to provide them with purpose and fulfillment while also raising awareness across East Texas.

“Baseball is great, and we were so excited we were going to play baseball, but there is so much more than that,” Bryans said. “We have the opportunity to build friendships, relationships and just bring awareness to athletes in Texas.”

Advertisement

Those who want to look into signing their children up for the Miracle League or seeking to volunteer can learn how the Miracle League website.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.

The North Country spent part of the Memorial Day weekend gathering hundreds of athletes for race day around Cumberland Bay.

The Lake City Running Festival returned for its third straight year. Close to 400 athletes from around Northern New York gave it their all to complete the course from start to finish.

“Mentally, I told myself I was going to do this the past year,” said Peter Reynolds from Chateaugay, N.Y. “It was a really good feeling to say I finally did, and now I’ve done one bucket list item to cross off.”

Participants got to run or walk in a 5 kilometer (KM), 10 kilometer (KM) or half marathon. Everyone started and finished at the Plattsburgh City beach, while running right alongside Lake Champlain. Those who participated in the half marathon ran as far as the U.S. Oval Park before finishing their 13.1-mile loop back to the city beach.

Julia Ennis, a participant from Plattsburgh, N.Y., participated in the 10 KM run and said she enjoyed taking in all the sights the course had to offer.

“Overall, a lot of fun,” Ennis said. “The trial, everything along the water was awesome … I really enjoyed all the bystanders cheering us along the way.”

While the fans brought their energy to the athletes, the Lake City Running Festival knew the importance of also keeping the energy levels of their runners high. Volunteers were scattered across various mile markers providing Gatorade and water to keep everyone moving. One team who dedicated their time to support was the Lake Champlain Waves, a local youth swim team which features middle and high school athletes from all over Clinton County, N.Y.

“We’re here to support our local runners,” said Maddison Mero, one of the volunteers from the Lake Champlain Waves Swim team. “It’s super important. We don’t want anything bad to happen to them on their race. We want them to be as comfortable as they can running or walking.”

The Waves are one local team who was directly impacted by the race year after year. Proceeds collected from the Lake City Running Festival are donated to North Country Health and Wellness (NCHW) an organization which provides scholarship funds for local youth athletes to support their financial needs to compete for sports clubs and teams like the Lake Champlain Waves.

“We really want to help some low-income kids that might not be able to afford to do club sports,” said NCHW president Hayden Reidy. “They might not be able to afford uniforms or anything like that for school sports, so we give scholarships to those kids to help them do those types of things.”

At the conclusion of all the running, an after-party featuring food and music took place at the Plattsburgh City beach. Adirondack Foord Therapy provided the snacks which accompanied live music performance by Abi Allen, a local musician from Peru, N.Y.

“It just keeps people here a little bit longer,” Reidy said. “Keeps them outside, gets them more active.”

Reidy, who has been the Lake City Running Festival director for the past three years, hopes to bring back the race for many years to come. It all comes down to more new runners signing up and returning runners coming back, who are on board with supporting an important cause.

“It makes it even better,” Reynolds said. “Helping the kids out and doing stuff for a good cause, that’s a big part of it.”

It’s a cause that also hits home for Ennis. The former Plattsburgh State women’s soccer goalie knows how important fundraising events like these are to supporting a sports team.

“As a former athlete myself, I understand how much fundraising helps,” Ennis said. “Donations and support really help the young athletes … any opportunity I have to give back to them is awesome.”

The Lake City Running Festival is expected to make its return to Plattsburgh in 2026.

With summer right around the corner, some Chicago teenagers on Saturday were calling out city leaders over a plan to allow police to impose so-called “snap curfews.”

Although a final vote has been delayed until next month, the City Council has advanced an ordinance that would allow Police Supt. Larry Snelling to declare temporary curfews anywhere in the city for up to 3 hours on as little as 30 minutes’ notice in an effort to stop teen takeovers.

Police could declare the curfews when any gathering of 20 people in public “is likely to result in, substantial harm to the safety of the community or others, or substantial damage to property, or substantial injuries to a person, including participants, or in a manner that otherwise presents or causes, or in a manner that is likely to present or cause, substantial harm to public health, safety, or welfare.”

Critics have said the ordinance is unconstitutional, and would subject Black and Brown teens to over-policing, and open the city up to lawsuits and police misconduct payouts.

The BRAVE Youth Leaders, an anti-violence youth program at St. Sabina church, said the city instead should provide more extensive youth programs instead of focusing on tightening curfew laws.

St. Sabina Academy alum Alexander Smith said youth curfews “may seem like an easy answer to the problem of youth violence, but in reality they are a temporary solution; one that only addresses the symptoms, but not the cause of the issue.”

“What truly makes a difference is meaningful community engagement. We need to invest in youth programs that have mentorships, that teach youth life skills,” he said.

St. Sabina was hosting a “peace carnival” and youth basketball tournament over the Memorial Day weekend.

Organizers said such events give teens a place to safe place to gather and interact with positive role models.