Building Committee Votes to Relocate Endean Park Softball Fields for New Junior High South Project-August 11, 1972

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Resolving a sticky and prolonged site debate, the permanent Building Committee voted unanimously last night to approve the relocation of two softball fields at the Endean Park site of the new Junior High South project. The adjustment was proposed after the Recreation Department requested that the ball fields be lengthened from 250 feet to 275 feet to meet official regulations for slow-pitch softball.

Project architect Vincent A. Iannone of Korslund, LeNormand & Quann Inc. explained that one field will be shifted 25 feet and the other 100 feet to prevent the outfields from overlapping. While substantial cutting and filling will be required for one of the fields, Iannone noted that the expenses would be offset by savings on subsurface drainage.

The committee also investigated potential state review requirements, with Building Committee Chairman Ernest S. Paciorkowski confirming that Town Manager John P. Mogan assured officials the revised plans would likely avoid delays through Norwood boards regarding Hatch Act compliance, while state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) review would proceed concurrently. Meanwhile, deliberations over a name for the planned new elementary school at the burned-out junior high site remained inconclusive. Paciorkowski announced that committee straw votes yielded scattered results across a list of prominent local figures and historical names—including Harry Butters, Alec Abdullah, Shattuck, Winslow, John J. Corcoran, John F. Cavanaugh, Louise Nugent, Mary A. Dean, and Central Elementary School—prompting a redistribution of ballots for a future vote.

In other municipal and school developments:

High School Addition Review: The building committee discussed the status of the senior high school addition project following a meeting with John Blackhall Smith of the state School Building Assistance Bureau (SBAB), with school officials and Superintendent Philip O. Coakley strongly opposing the removal of auditorium-gymnasium stadium seating.
Special Town Meeting Warrants: Town boards reacted favorably to scheduling a public hearing for September 7 at the high school ahead of the September 25 special town meeting, which will feature warrant articles for high school preliminary planning funds and a zoning article for elderly housing along Washington Street advanced by Planning Director Charles Thomas.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger

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