Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1030793
News From The World Of Fencing And Gate Automation World FENCE NEWS October 2018 CONTRIBUTED BY SUSAN ROSA, MARKETING DEPARTMENT, VEKA INC. In the heart of Western Pennsyl- vania lies Blackhawk High School, a place where football is an important part of the community, and a proud family tradition. Generations of Blackhawk Cougars shared their grid- iron glory on the same grass field. Since the 1940s the high school football team played on Northwest- ern field in Darlington, Penn. In 1973, Blackhawk built a new high school, in- cluding a grass field with lights behind the building and parking lot. This field didn't have the bleacher capacity to host football games, or playoff events for the sports that practiced on the field: soccer, girl's lacrosse and track. Players and cheerleaders continued to use the old field at the Northwestern Primary School, fifteen minutes away, bussed there at an additional cost to the district. Eventually, playing for years on the yard lines took a toll on the field. The deteriorating condition of the school, combined with an adverse en- vironmental health and safety study of the field, caused the district to close the entire campus out of an abundance of caution. The Blackhawk Cougars were without a home field, but then the community took action. A group of parents and alumni from different athletic groups formed Blackhawk Athletics and Activities Group (BAAG) and launched a tar- geted fundraising campaign to help turn the field at the high school into a multipurpose athletic complex. A memorial brick sale raised money, along with a stadium sponsor- ship drive for local businesses. After planning, campaigning and fundraising, construction began on the new complex in 2017. In addition to monetary appeals, BAAG asked companies for in-kind donations, and the community deliv- ered, with materials and labor. Dave Nicely, a Blackhawk alum- nus who owns Darlington-based Nice- ly Contracting, donated excavation services for the project. Nicely Contracting is a third-gen- eration earth-moving company and Dave is one of the multi-generational football families in the district: Dave, his father, John, and his son, Austin, played on the Northwestern field. Community bands together to show good fences make good football continued on page 10 Above, privacy fence donated by VEKA Outdoor Living Products and installed by community volunteers not only beautifies the multipurpose athletic complex at Blackhawk High School, it serves several important practical purposes as well. It keeps headlights from shining onto the field during Friday night football games and affecting the players' vision, as well as keeping folks from watching games from their cars for free when they should be paying admission and helping sup- port the sports programs. (VEKA Outdoor Living Products photo)