By Tabitha Evan Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — If you’ve ever driven Highway 55 in front of Moore County High School (MCHS) around baseball season, you know it’s close quarters. On Monday, the Moore County School Board decided to investigate adding a fence behind the visitor’s side bleachers at Jim Burton Field due to parental safety concerns.

During the meeting, Director of School Chad Moorehead told the Board that he’d received an email from a parent concerned about safety, and in particular small children darting into traffic on Highway 55.

Director Moorehead stated that based on the email, the main concern revolved around children darting out, playing, wrestling, and potentially not paying attention so close to the busy road.

According to a drawing that Director Moorehead provided to The Times after the meeting, the right-of-way for Highway 55 extends to the back wall of the visitor dugout on the baseball field. That right-of-way also shifts closer to the fields just beyond the restrooms.

Currently, the visitor’s bleachers sit approximately seven feet wide – leaving little leg room for the first row of seating if the bleachers were placed between the new fence and the backstop.

However, Director Moorehead stated that there is an area behind home plate that could hold the bleachers allowing visitors to bring chairs to sit close to the dugout in the area where the bleachers are now.

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Potential safety concerns versus project costs

Director Moorehead estimated that the project would require around 400 feet of six-foot fence to cover the distance from the dugout to the entrance to the fields from Highway 55. He also estimated that the cost would be between $10,000 and $15,000 based on past projects.

He added that he liked the idea of adding a fence because it would allow the entire MCHS campus to be enclosed but felt concerned about the potential costs.

“I like the idea of a fence that extends the entire length of the property for school security, but I am not certain that a fence just near the baseball and softball fields is worth the cost,” Director Moorehead stated after the meeting. “A fence that extends from the dugout to the opposite end of the campus would have the school campus almost completely enclosed and more readily secured from outside traffic if the need were to ever arise.”

His recommendations for the project if the Board decides to move forward would be to add a walkthrough gate close to the dugout for player access to the visitor dugout from that side of the field. He also added that there would need to be at least one more walkthrough gate closer to the softball field to allow foul balls to be retrieved from beyond the fence.

“I would propose halfway between the baseball dugout and the entrance into the softball/baseball fields from Highway 55,’ he stated.

He also feared that adding the fence might create a false sense of security for parents at the games who are not actively supervising the children they have brought to the game, as there will be gates and the ability to walk around the fence.

“The baseball and softball fields are not public parks or playgrounds,” he told us in an email. “Adults who bring children to after school events are responsible for actively supervising the children they bring to the event.”

Possibility of asking the state to add a guard rail

During open discussion, School Board member Kaleigh Hatfield, who is also the wife of Metro Sheriff Tyler Hatfield, stated that from a public safety perspective, she was also concerned about the possibility of a car exiting Highway 55 and into the crowd.

“I wonder what the possibility would be of asking TDOT to add a guardrail there for added protection,” she said. “In the event that a car did exit the road, a fence won’t offer much protection.”

With that the Board tabled the issue to give Director Moorehead time to investigate that possibility.

If you have opinions either for or against the fence, the Moore County School Board meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. The location varies from the Board of Education Building to the MCHS Library. The next meeting will take place on Monday, May 12. To be added to the agenda to speak during public comments, contact Direct Moorehead’s office at 931-759-7303. To view current or future agendas and a copy of the current Public Comment policy, click here. •

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