Marshall park may host Civil War dig (Updated 12:30 p.m. March 12)

Dave Nelson of Marshall said the purpose of the dig is to confirm where activities happened around the time of the battle.

Greg Wolk of the Missouri Civil War Heritage Foundation said the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil War is a very timely reason to conduct the dig. Wolk said it is hoped that the war's sesquicentennial will bring a "wonderful amount of tourism over the next five years."

He added, "We can't afford to miss this."

The proposed site for the dig is on land north of Eastwood Street, which is where Confederate troops were located during the battle. The archaeologists would use the northeast corner of the park as a staging area and possibly would excavate there as well.

But, the damage to the ground will be minimal, Wolk said. Metal detectors are used to find artifacts, and then just a small area is dug up and subsequently replaced.

Parks Director Jeff Stubblefield said he would go to the city of Marshall to receive approval for the dig, which is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8-11. But, he said, "I don't see any problem with that at all."

In other business, Recreation Supervisor Lori Godsey said the park is making efforts to plan more summer activities, now that Marshall School District Superintendent Craig Noah has announced major cuts in summer school.

"We realize the need out there," she said. "We are trying to look at some ideas and things to take care of our kids."

Godsey said she hopes to extend the park's day camp schedule to provide a fun and safe place for kids who would otherwise have attended summer school.

Also in her report, Godsey said the park will be hosting two big events this coming year: Spring Fling and Santa Fe Trail Days.

Sign-up for summer baseball, softball and T-ball continues for about a week and a half more, Godsey said.

There are 23 sponsors for summer ball this year, she said, which means "all the teams pretty much will have a sponsorship."

In his report, Stubblefield said the park will host an auction Saturday, May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. to sell 17 Yamaha golf carts and other equipment.

"Then we can reinvest that into the stuff that we need," he said.

Stubblefield also said he has received two full bids for the park basketball courts, ranging from $60,000 to $100,000. His ideal project will include two 42- by 80-feet courts with three additional hoops to the side, all inclosed in a fenced area. There will also be benches and coin-operated lighting, Stubblefield said.

He said he wants to meet with the board facilities committee to discuss options before making a decision.

"I'm not going to jump right in and do it; I want to be sure and to it right," he said.

Board members Scott Fann, Wayne Crawford, Olive Malter, Harry Ming and President Mike Lamberson were present at the meeting.

The board will meet again Wednesday, April 7, at 5 p.m.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net