SACCO: No more excuses in Waynesboro, just lights

Excuse David Van Covern if he almost “fell out of his chair” when he got the news.

Excuse him if the director of Waynesboro Parks and Recreation can rattle off the dollar amount like it’s tattooed on his forearm.

“$124,694,” he says.

Again. Again. And, yes, again.

“$124,694.”

Excuse him if he wants to tell the story 100 times, repeating himself as he goes through it.

Telling you how Bob Gunther, the chairman of the parks and recreation committee, came to him with a copy of the grant form that eventually led to his announcement Wednesday that Waynesboro, finally, will be getting some lighted baseball fields.

No excuses necessary for the long suffering Little Leaguers of the River City who, for years, have seen communities smaller than this one enjoy the purest of pleasures — playing ball under the lights in the summer. No excuses necessary for anybody who can’t wait to grab a bag of popcorn, buy themselves some peanuts and Cracker Jack and sit back under the warm electric glow and the fading dusk sun.

No excuses, just a sigh of relief.

So excuse Van Covern for being giddy. For wanting to get the word out and for wanting to tell the world that this news is “absolutely one of the highlights of my career.”

It should be.

And it’s all thanks to Gunther bringing something called the Baseball Tomorrow Fund to Van Covern’s attention and his quick turnaround of filling out the application — “a fairly in-depth application,” he called it — a few weeks before Christmas to make the deadline.

Excuse him for waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

“In late February or so, [I] got an e-mail from the Baseball Tomorrow executive director,” he said.

Cathy Bradley wanted to come to Waynesboro for a site visit.

So excuse Van Covern for feeling pretty good about things when he heard that news and she came to visit. And excuse him for waiting again. And waiting and waiting until, finally, his excitement and “impatient self” took over and he sent an e-mail to Bradley about a week and half ago asking, “Remember us? What’s going on?”

Excuse Van Covern for getting nervous when he got a notice saying his e-mail to Bradley had been deleted without being read. Or when Bradley called and the tone of her voice scared him.

“She’s very professional,” he said.

But through that professional voice, Van Covern got the news he had always wanted to hear.

“$124,694,” he said.

Again and again.

It’s going to mean a complete transformation of North Park to a Little Leaguer’s dream. Through the Baseball Tomorrow Fund’s partnership with Musco Lighting Inc., the Park and Recreation Department will see a close to 20 percent savings on lights.

Heck, Van Covern and company even going to install the lights themselves with the help of Dominion Power, digging four holes and setting four pre-fabricated concrete bases.

“Pre-engineered poles, with lights on top of them, slip right over the concrete bases,” Van Covern said. “Neat stuff.”

Neat indeed.

No more political mumbo-jumbo. No more old-fogeys complaining about the kids.

Just lights and no more excuses.

“Finally,” Van Covern said.

Indeed.