Summers County Story Archives - Page 3 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Concord Soccer Teams Set to Test FootGolf Course

There is American football, there is golf, and there is the original football, which Americans call soccer. Now there is FootGolf – a combination of soccer and golf. Pipestem Resort State Park is the only place to play it in West Virginia

Soccer teams from Concord University plan to use the course on Thursday, but according to a release, they won’t be playing soccer.

FootGolf is played with a regulation #5 soccer ball at a golf course facility on shortened holes with 21-inch diameter cups. The rules are basically the same as golf except that players use their feet instead of clubs.

Concord Senior Soccer Player Cole Cloonan expects the FootGolf to help with his soccer game.

”It’s good to work on some of the finer aspects of your game such as placing the ball where you want to which is obviously very important in the game,” Cloonan said. “It’s nice to have it very convenient and close by and I just think it could help in some aspects that you might not get in soccer practice.”

Pipestem Resort State Park is in Summers County, about a 10 minute drive from Concord University. Over the last year, the park added several activity options for visitors such as GaGa Ball, Slack Lining, Remote Controlled Car tracks, Murbles and now, FootGolf.

Pipestem’s Par 3 golf course is used for the FootGolf course site. FootGolf may be played after 4 p.m. Saturdays and after 2 p.m. the other days of the week when traditional golf play typically is light. The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for youth 18 and younger or with college identification. Ball rental is $2 but requires a $5 deposit, or players may bring their own #5 soccer ball. The attire is standard golf apparel which includes a collared shirt.

The Par 3 course is typically a par 27 for 9-hole play for the game of golf. FootGolf is a par 35 for nine holes. FootGolf players share the course with traditional golf play.

Players may wear tennis shoes or indoor turf shoes, but metal or soccer cleats are not allowed on the course. There is a scorecard, and yes, cart rental for FootGolf is possible, “but it tends to defeat the purpose because the game is about the feet,” Biroscak said.

FootGolf is a game played throughout the world in many different forms, but as a sport, it is regulated by the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG). The American FootGolf League (AFGL) is the exclusive member of the FIFG and governing body for the sport of FootGolf in the United States. The AFGL is organizing tournaments throughout the country, working with golf courses to bring FootGolf to their clubs as another avenue for revenue and to develop the game further.

Construction Project Bridges Lilly History

A bridge commemorating a village settled in Summers County in 1772, is being replaced. But the project is providing more than just a new bridge for vehicle traffic.

The Project

Andy Powell, District 9 Project Engineer for the West Virginia Division Highways says the bridge needed to be replaced for safety and financial reasons.

The height and weight limits are set for trucks during the 1950’s. Powell points out that trucks are larger these days. The new bridge will be stronger and be able to carry heavier loads.

Construction crews are removing material from this hill side and will move to help build a new boat dock.

The $29 million project will also give a boost to the recreational community. The material that’s being taken basically off a mountain to widen the road will be relocated to help provide a wider boating dock area. The current lake access off of route 20 is said to have a steep angle that’s tough to navigate.

The 1200 feet long bridge is expected to open to traffic by summer of 2015, completion of the whole project is set for completion by June 30, 2016.

Bridging History

The existing Lilly Bridge was built in 1950. The bridge was built around the same time as the Bluestone Dam when about 50 families were forced to move because the federal government worried that the creation of the dam would flood the Village of Lilly, hence the name the Lilly Bridge.

According to the Lilly Family History records, Lilly was a Village at the Bluestone and Little Bluestone Rivers in Summers County settled in 1772.

“It was said that they came here with a rifle, a bible and an ax to settle this rugged area,” National Park Ranger Teena Lilly said in the West Virginia Public Broadcasting documentary “Three Rivers”.

“The graves were exhumed, families were moved, and homes were torn down because they believed that Lilly would be under water.”

Very little remains of the actual village since the Federal Government forced residents off the land. The family is left with the bridge and a monument to remember their homeland. The new bridge will keep the Lilly name.

The new bridge will keep the Lilly name.

Youth Program Provides Home Away From Home

While you would think all children would be excited to be away from school this summer, many throughout the state continue to go.

It may be mid-July, but Hinton Area Elementary School is packed with around 20 students listening closely to their yoga instructor.

Ian says that the program has taught him how to live healthy

Instead of being stuck at home over their vacation, these kids are learning about nutrition, physical activity, cooperation and making friends. It’s part of the REACHH program, which stands for Reaching Everyone to Assist in Creating Healthier Homes.

Ian Gardner will be entering sixth grade. This is his second year in the program. He says that he was originally unsure about some of the activities, especially yoga.

“Some stretches I did here were some stretches I thought I would break some part of my body for,” Gardner says. “And today I started flexing and I was like ‘wow, this is cool.’ I mean I thought it was going to be boring and quite, but not so much.”

But it’s not only physical activity Ian is learning. He’s also finding new ways to eat healthy. The program provides nutritional foods at breakfast and lunch.

Ian says that some of the food, which he refers to as the ‘good stuff,’ came as a surprise to him.

“I learned about some green foods that I never thought I would like, like peppers and stuff, they were green, the green peppers, and orange, I never thought they would be good, they just looked weird and they felt weird,” Gardner says. “And then I came here and I was like ‘wow, it’s pretty good and it’s healthy, cause school feeds you healthy food.’”

Amanda Gill is the Summer Fun and After School coordinator for Reach Family Resource Center. It’s this appreciation that makes it worth it for people like her. She is currently going to school to be an elementary teacher.

“And to see some of these kids say, ‘wow, you care about me. You made a difference in my day and I really like coming to your program, it makes you feel important, and like you’re making a difference,” she says.

The program continues during the schools year with after school tutoring and a free meal.

And for those of you who still aren’t convinced about yoga, Ian says that it is a nice experience. “There’s all kind of neat and cool poses that almost everybody would probably like so I encourage you to try it,” he says.

Watch the yoga session

Hinton Power Boat Race Brings Participants One Step Closer to National Championship

For the third year in a row, the American Power Boat Association (APBA) hosted its annual Junior North American Championship and Pro Eastern Divisional in Hinton, West Virginia. Boats raced for their chance to participate in a national championship. Participants came from as far away as Georgia and Michigan for the event.

Race scorer Amy Pond is in charge of keeping track of all the finishes, points and recordings. The event itself, the ‘Travis Pond Memorial Regatta,’ was named after her brother who enjoyed the sport and competed in the national championship when he was a child. She says Hinton has been very welcoming to the event.

“This is one of the best races as far as community service that we have,” Pond says, referring to the RVs and radio coverage that was provided. “A lot of times, we’ll just show up in a town and the towns like, ‘oh, there’s race boats on the water,’ and they have no idea.”

Race Director Chris Johnson agreed with Pond’s positive sentiment towards Hinton.

“For one thing, the scenery is beautiful,” Johnson says. “This is a beautiful place to race, right nestled between these mountains, the water is generally perfect.”

On Friday the racers tested their equipment, tweaking for maximum speed. The real excitement, however, began on Saturday morning. People like Pond woke up early to run registration and create a schedule for the day’s events. Racers then attended a driver’s meeting where safety and rules were discussed.

On Friday, racers transported their boats for testing.

At 10:30 a.m., the actual racing began. Dressed in suits of Kevlar cloth, life jackets and orange helmets for safety, about 75 racers drove their personally-designed power boats around a track already planned out around the lake at speeds of over 50 miles-per-hour.

Laura Wheeler, 19, raced with her father. The two are from Michigan and come from a family of racers. Hinton is one of her favorite spots to race. “You can set up a really big course here, which is really nice,” she said. “Everyone here is really friendly. It seems like the town wants us to be here, and that’s always great.”

Matt Dagastiono came from just outside of the Washington, D.C. area. His love of the sport came from his time out on the water. “This is a hobby sport, everybody here is an amateur,” Dagastino said. “And mostly it’s just because of a love of boating that most of us have developed at some point in life.”

At the end of the competition on Sunday, trophies were awarded to the winners and their names were put on to a list for the possibility of competing in the national championship in Moses Lake, Washington.

In August 2016, the national championships will be hosted in Hinton. Racers from all of the 16 APBA districts will come to the Mountain State for their chance at national glory.