BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The athletic fields at Tug Valley High School were once again inundated by floodwaters backing up from the Tug River. The muddy water completely covered the football, baseball and softball fields.
This has happened in the past when flooding has occurred in that part of the county. The fields have been flooded multiple times since the school was open in 1987, after the consolidation of Kermit and Lenore High Schools. (Unofficially, the football field has been flooded five times.) This is the highest it has gotten since the school was built. Water got up to the steps leading up to the front entrance of the school, which is built up on a higher plain.
The Carl Parsley Athletic Complex, which serves as the dressing rooms and coach’s office for the football team, was nearly covered by the cold, mucky water and was severely damaged.
Head football coach Hady Ford surveyed the damages a couple of days after the water receded and took some photos and videos.
As the school assessed the situation, Tug Valley High School principal Doug Ward provided an update on recovery efforts.
“We ( the school district) are in the process of securing professional assistance for our facilities and our Maintenance Department will assist in our recovery,” Ward said. “We will evaluate our concession stands and restrooms when we can make access.
“We suffered erosion from the waters upon initial viewing, but the full extent of damages will be made in the coming week,” Ward added. “We will be provided resources for clean up and repair. Our goal is to play softball and baseball at our facilities.”
Ward said he has been in contact with athletic director Clyde Farley and is working with him on plans to get the facilities ready.
Meanwhile, longtime Tug Valley athletics booster Randy Lackey emphasized the community’s resilience in the face of recurring challenges.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last,” Lackey said. “Ideally, we would have turf fields like other area schools to mitigate flood damage to the playing surface. But we are a resilient people and we will overcome and play our home games at TVHS this spring and fall.”
With the spring season approaching, softball and baseball practices are right around the corner. Spring workouts for the football team are also scheduled for later in the spring. Amid preparations for the upcoming games, TVHS softball coach Rocky Hall emphasized that the community’s well-being remains the primary concern in the wake of the flood.
“Ultimately, we have been really concerned about the families affected by the flood. Our hearts and prayers go out to them. Our problems at the field are not priority issues,” Hall said.
“In my initial survey of the field and facility I am hopeful about being able to practice and play on the field.
“We have been very fortunate with the TV softball field. The river did not deposit a huge amount of silt and mud on the field so that is a plus. It is similar to what happened back in 2021. We should be able to have it playable in a few days once we get to work on it. We will need some Turface, but overall we should be able to get it ready for play,” an optimistic Hall added.
“We went down a couple of days before the water got up and moved everything from the concession stand to the press box upstairs. That saved a lot of things and equipment. We did have a few tools in our storage buildings down the left field line. We should be able to clean up and use most of those tools. We had a split AC/Heating unit in our concession-press box building that got flooded and was destroyed. The HVAC is an expensive loss, but we can improvise and adjust to that loss,” Hall said.
“The dugouts and benches will need to be cleaned as well. It will take a little work when the time comes, but it could have been worse. We will probably need to replace a few things like our chalk machine and paint machine. We will probably need to raise some money for Turface for our infield. Overall we are blessed. The football facility was devastated and I hate that for the coaches and players. We were lucky and will need to do a little physical labor to get everything ready, but God has blessed us to be able to do that,” Hall concluded.
First-year baseball coach LeeAnn Blankenship said she expects to be able to get the field and dugouts ready and play home games this season.
“We will clean it and play as soon as we can. We are just focused on our students and their overall health and well-being at this time. One of our players, Austin Smith, had floodwaters in his home. We want to support our athletes and all the families in our surrounding area. As soon as the floodwaters went down, it snowed on top of that. We know there is damage to the field, dugouts, outdoor batting cage, concession stand, bathrooms, and other facilities around the field,” said Blankenship.
“We love baseball, but more importantly, we thank the good Lord for no loss of life amongst our players or their families. We will come together and get it ready to play ball. We have been in ongoing conversations with Tug’s softball coach, Rocky Hall,” she added.
“We will all work together for our girls and boys for them to have the best season possible. Our principal, Dr. Ward, and our athletic director, Clyde Farley, have reassured us that we will play ball and that they will help us every step of the way. We have had support pour in from our Kermit Middle School baseball coach, Jeff Varney, his players and parents. They have voiced they will help in any way possible. Offerings of help have come from Tolsia High School also. Baseball coach Robbie Conn has voiced that his players and their families are prepared to come with helping hands when we are ready and able to start the cleanup process,” Blankenship added.
Coaches are confident the fields can be cleaned and repaired so that practices and home games can be played in the 2025 seasons at the TVHS facilities.