Saturday, January 23, 2010

Setting WHAT record straight???

Setting record straight on WB

In response to Jeff Milburn's letter of Jan. 19: Yes, Winchester Baseball does start practice for most 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds in mid-March, with games beginning in April. The season culminates in late May/early June with playoffs and the World Series.

What Mr. Milburn does not mention is the 300 T-ball and machine-pitch players who are ready to start as soon as the spring season ends! Anyone familiar with Jim Barnett Park knows that there are a finite number of fields being used by Shenandoah University, Handley High School, Parks and Rec programs, and Winchester Baseball. Therefore, it is necessary to split the programs into three distinct parts (spring baseball, T-ball/machine-pitch, and fall ball).

I take issue with Mr. Milburn’s insinuation that WB does not treat all children equally. All-star teams are picked by a panel of coaches and, unfortunately, only the most skilled and dedicated players are taken. These players, and their parents, devote much time, travel, and expense to represent the Winchester area in state, regional, and even national events!

Since Winchester and WB are in the process of trying to secure a World Series event at Jim Barnett Park, I can only assume that Mr. Milburn’s letter constitutes nothing more than a “stir of the pot”!

Todd McNemar
Winchester




OK, please respond even further Mr. McNemar ...

please set the so-called record more straight why don't you ... as several attempts have been made to get answers to the following since October 2009 but WB officials still remain silent because the perception is that they do not want to open up Pandora's box!


If anything Mr. McNemar, the motive is to get ALL of the facts out on the table for City Council to review so they can make an informed decision about the City Taxpayers dollars if it should be spent or not on this World Series during these epic budget constraints we are facing.  How can that be stirring the pot?

  • - How many kids are playing in Winchester Baseball for the ages of 8-12yrs old?
  • - How many kids are Winchester City residents
  • - How many kids are Frederick County residents
  • - How many kids are Clarke County residents
  • - How many kids are Warren County residents
  • - How many kids are Shenandoah County residents
  • - How many kids are from WV

Are there not ALL-STAR teams practicing in the Armory during December, January and February?  How can this be fair and equal if the ALL-STAR's are pre-selected before the season even starts?

Lastly ... how much is the player fee per kid and where do you reside Mr. McNemar ... within the City of Winchester or Frederick County?  If you reside in the County of Frederick which anyone could assume you do based on an address of 1342 Cedar Grove Road with a zip code of 22603 (click on the link to view map) ... then why don't you contact your Board of Supervisors and ask them to kick in some cash for this event?  If this address is not correct, then a correction will be made.

Please respond Mr. McNemar as the nearly one-thousand unique readers of The Pub would like to view your response.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I can't answer for WB on numbers of players and where they are from. I was VP TBall and Rookie for 5 years. During that period of time we went from 175 kids to over 300. Although, most were from Winchester, there was a large number of Frederick County kids and a few from some of the other localities.
The batting cages at the armory were shared with Shen. University and attendance usually depended on what coach was willing to supervise. Most coaches would bring players from last years all-star or regular season team.
Looking for a "Pandora's Box" in WB will be a futile search. You may not agree with the way it is run, but you can't argue with success. I am
as proud of WB today as I was 5 years ago. There are lots of selfless, dedicated, people in that organization!
Since you know that I am a Frederick County resident,and you obviously live in the city, here is the problem as I see it. I see Winchester/Frederick County as a "community" while you catagorize it as "us" and "them". I am proud to say I'm from Winchester while you would have me say Frederick County. Imagine what would happen if the 70,000 county residents did not eat and shop in Winchester! What would happen to your tax assessment? You can't build a wall around Winchester and charge admission! The tax base for Winchester and Frederick County depend heavily on each other.
Finally, WPRD/WB is asking for 273,000 dollars to fund required improvements so that they can host a World Series event. The revenue generated by this event may or may not cover costs, as I have seen several financial models. However, the improvements will allow WPRD/WB to host future events as well. There is a good chance that positive revenue will be generated for the City of Winchester and surrounding community. I'll bet that the "flower pots" in the middle of Cameron Street cost more than that, with no hope of generating any revenue!

Sincerely,
Todd McNemar
WINCHESTER

P.S. Thanks for posting the link to my address, I will now be able to find my way home!

THE PIBBSTER said...

For the record, the address was located in the phone book which is public information. Thank you for confirmation that it was accurate.

Where are the WB's IRS990's?

If these financial documents were posted on the Winchester Baseball website, then would not that help support the mission of transparency?

As a "non-profit", I am confused as to why WB would not post their financials via their website.

Should not the parents, contributors and donors be more informed of where all the money is going?

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