Batting 1,000 Watts  

By Erica Jackson

As the sun starts to set over Flynn Park in Kings Park on Tuesday evening, the children’s league players finish up their last innings and clear the softball fields. Next up at bat is the 40 and over Men's league.  They’re stretched and ready to play. The only problem  — they can’t see the ball.

“At first I thought I was getting older and my eyes were going,” said Thomas Morissey, of Commack, but then he said he realized that the younger guys couldn’t see the ball either.  “We would just be looking at each other, trying to see where the ball went,” he said.

Pat Ahearn, of Commack, also thought his eyes were starting to go until he realized the problem wasn’t his eyes, but the field lights, which he says are too dim and angled incorrectly.

“The lights should be higher,” said John Telep of Ronkonkoma.  “I worry that someone can get hurt, if we can’t see the ball.”

And the problem isn’t just at Flynn Park, said Morissey, who has been playing softball in Smithtown for the past 28 years.  “It’s always been an issue at all the parks, but it’s becoming more dangerous.  We can’t see the ball.”

The players all understand that with games sometimes going on until 11:30 p.m. the lights could be a nuisance to neighboring homes, but Telep offered:  “Perhaps the town could put up some gates with screening that could block the lights.”

Morissey, Ahearn, and Telep all play for the Bombers, a Tuesday evening team that is part of the Smithtown Softball 40 and over Master’s League.  The league is run by Al Chandler in conjunction with the Town of Smithtown Recreation Department.

Chandler,who has overseen the softball program for the past 15 years, says the 40 and over league is the largest growing segment of the program.  “They’ve been playing for so long, that now they are just getting older,” said Chandler.  “We have more forty and over teams than ever before.”

In fact, Chandler said, this season, he had to create two leagues and 17 teams to accommodate all the 40 and over players.  There are 9 leagues and 70 teams all together in the program, which kicks off every April.

Morissey said the players have all spoken Chandler about the light problem. He said, “The people that run the league have gone to the town, but nothing has been done.”

Chandler confirmed that he has been to the town and struck out.  “We have been going through this since we’ve been running the league. The lights at all the parks are not high enough. They need to be at least fifteen feet higher.”

Chuck Barrett, assistant parks director for the Town of Smithtown, says that he has not been made aware of the problem with the lights.  He said, “We have not received any complaints to my knowledge.”

But despite “not receiving any complaints,” he said the town put new lamps in at Flynn park three years ago, which he says are more energy efficient.  “I believe they use the same wattage as the lamps at the other parks, which have been there for thirty years.”  He added that the1,000 watt bulbs on all the lamps are replaced frequently. 

Barrett offered to help work out a solution, possibly by repositioning the lights at Flynn Park.  “They should call the parks department and we could come down there one evening and make some readjustments.”