Show Transcript
Disclaimer: The following transcript was auto-generated and may contain spelling or contextual errors.
You're watching Open Agenda. Here's our
host, Joe Venosa.
Hi and welcome back to this week's
episode of Open Agenda.
Now, actually speaking of this week,
there's quite a bit that's going on in
the community. And so, what we're going
to do today is we have a very West Side
centric episode. Um we're going to bring
on Mr. Matthew Korschgen and he's going
to join both of our friends today, Mr.
Jim Mattkins from Mardela
and Mr. Joe White from Parsonsburg,
Pittsville.
Parsonsburg. Parsonsburg, man. East
side.
>> East side. I had I I've only had half a
cup of coffee today.
Um
but we are going to talk today uh
heavily about great things going on on
the West Side. Um but we also have two
episodes that we will also push out
later in the week that deal with very
important things happening in the
community. One is of course the budget
issues that are going on with the county
right now because we were in budget
season.
And as both of you know, or all three of
us know, uh it is it is a
it is a fun and interesting time if
you're looking at numbers. Well, Jim and
I both went to the budget hearing
yesterday when we got to hear the
breakdown that also include the
Sheriff's Office, the fire service
agreement. And I think it was a very
productive meeting, but there are still
some questions that still need to be
brought up, you know, answered out out
of that.
>> I have no doubt. And in addition to
that, we're going to be looking at an
episode specifically on city issues.
It's been quite a while since we've
looked specifically at things going on
in Salisbury city government. Um but of
course a lot is happening. Uh not only
is the collective bargaining debate uh
continuing, uh but there has been a lot
of um developments recently about their
budget, um about some of the major
ordinances and resolutions that was
passed. And also, I think you'll get a
sense of uh in that episode uh a better
sense of the city dynamics with how the
council is sort of playing out now under
uh President Jackson's leadership. I got
to watch some of that on PAC 14. Did you
watch it? No, I haven't seen any of
that, but one of the one of the
interesting things that uh is probably
going to be covered in both the county
the city episodes. It's going to be the
fire service agreement, which is a along
with the collective bargaining issue
that's going on in the city. The fire
service agreement between the city of
Salisbury and the county is going to get
very interesting Yeah.
>> in the next couple weeks and there's
going a lot of attention going to have
to be paid to that. At least at the
county council budget meeting that I
witnessed on Monday was the intersection
of the city desires, the county's
desires, and the SWOT analysis that was
done two years ago.
>> And an election year. Well, and
[laughter] in an election year completes
it. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Well, we're definitely going to get into
that, but of course this episode we're
specifically going to look at sports on
the west side. Um before we do that
though, just very
quickly because this has come up in the
community. I don't know if if those of
you um have been watching about it, but
you know, unfortunately there was a
really um
in my opinion despicable act of
vandalism that occurred in Fruitland the
other day at the fields.
>> And you know, it's
when we talk about community and sports
and youth, you know, we tend to want it
to reflect the best of our society and
it's really unfortunate that um there
were and again, we don't know who's
responsible for it yet, but there was
pretty substantial damage done to the
baseball fields in Fruitland.
>> Yes. And
>> [clears throat]
>> there just is not a
thorough understanding
of
the efforts
>> [clears throat]
>> the money
and everything that's put into having
these fields having these places for
kids to play and do that. It it it's
just
>> [clears throat]
>> it's an expense that's going to have to
be covered.
>> Sure. Uh it's an inconvenience. Sure.
>> Uh but
the thought just is not there.
I guess the bottom line is there is just
a a lack of respect.
>> Yeah. When they're still in the middle
of their season.
>> Yes. So, you know, how about the kids
that this is their 12-year-old year
they're playing Little League and now
the scoreboard's been damaged and it's
going to be great to get to talk to Matt
Korschgen because we're talking about
positive things things that are growing.
But this is where we need to
take a look in the mirror and say, "Hey,
what what do we really want for the
youth around here?" Because if we can't
if we can't respect each other's prop-
property then we're we're really going
down the wrong path.
>> Well, that's well, that's the thing and
you talked about expenses and certainly
money's a part of it, but at a deeper
level to me the real cost is the idea
that whoever's doing that doesn't value
what that space is for everybody else.
>> Yes. You know what I mean? Because it's
one you can replace this stuff, but the
mentality of somebody who does that
because again, you're robbing other
people the chance to play and to and to
be there for the things that bring
everyone together. And that's kind of
why what Matthew and other people on the
Westside are working on is so important.
Because because they're they're building
rather than destroying.
>> You want to lean into what folks like
Matt Korschgen and Mark Carroll and Dan
Bailey who are who are doing
great things for the community. Yeah.
But then the the folks who are
responsible for this, when you woke up
Sunday morning after you destroyed
someone else's property, how much better
was your life? Yeah. Not at all. And and
obviously there was a lot of anger and
frustration there. Yeah. But I can tell
you I I I understand the Fruitland
Police Department is on it. They they'll
use every resource that's available to
them to bring bring these folks under
you know, to justice.
>> Yeah. Well, what we're going to do now
if it's okay Joe is I'd like to bring
Matthew Korschgen on and talk about some
of those great things that he's doing on
the Westside and sort of get a better
sense of of what's really going on out
there as far as programming and youth
sports and other community activities.
And then afterward um
I'd like to bring you back in for
segment C and then maybe you both can
dialogue on the issues.
>> Absolutely. I can't wait to see what he
has to say.
>> Cool. And Mr. Jim, are you going to
stick around with us for a little bit on
this?
>> Sure. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Westside.
Yeah. All right. We'll stick around and
we'll be back with our next segment of
Open Agenda looking at the Westside.
Welcome back to Open Agenda.
With us in the house once again is Mr.
Jem Atkins. Thank you, sir. Morning.
Morning, sir. And for Matthew Korschgen
of the Westside Neighborhood Alliance
and Mr. Korschgen, you actually have
some really exciting news about what's
been going on on the Westside over the
last few weeks, correct?
>> Yes. Yes, actually. And it's one of the
reasons why I'm here is to promote this
week. Last week we launched our indoor
soccer night. And what we're doing with
that in the fall, we plan to launch an
actual sponsored Westside team. We're
kind of throwing around names last night
for it.
And [snorts] but what we want to do is
kind of get the kids used to it because
there is no sports there now. So, we
there's not a whole lot. A lot of our
kids already travel other places. We're
trying to get it back closer. So, on
Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 Um we hosted
indoor soccer Mark Carroll of Sharptown.
They brought futsal down. And it's
played indoors in the community center
and they brought some ambassador players
down and we had a really good turnout,
but we could use some more. Okay. We're
going to need about 10 of our local kids
for us to be able to make this happen in
the fall starting in September. We're
going to play down Cedar Hill and
there's other teams in Hebron and
Pitsville and Sharptown and it's it's
they're going to come down and we're
going to go over there. Mhm. And it was
such a great experience to see to see
the community center alive with with the
children. We probably had about 13 17.
I'm sorry. We had about 17 kids come. I
saw some photos online and they were
they were it was really cool.
>> But we need more. We need more locals.
That's why we're here today. We're
trying to promote this indoor soccer
Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 in Bivalve.
You don't have to live in Bivalve. You
can live in one of the surrounding
areas. It's fine. Come down and play
some indoor soccer. It's It's of fun.
And what would I And I sorry to to kind
of ramble on this, but I'm really
excited. I was actually really
happy to see what I saw because the kids
in our area need this and they need
somewhere. And like I said last time, we
drive by these parks with these fields,
they're just empty and it breaks your
heart. And if WCA can help facility that
we can bring our resources to bring
teams and bring sports back. Yeah.
Great. I think the whole concept of just
reinvigorating a space with kids
and and and making these facilities come
alive again is the essence of of what
you you try to do in those places.
>> Yeah, and cuz you know, and it's nice
that our community has a space and it's
nice that we were able to use it and and
we just need a little more kids to come
out.
>> It's great. Mr. Jim, Mr. Westside, what
do you think about all this? I think
it's fantastic what they've going on. If
you haven't seen it, you need to and
you're a Facebook person, you need to go
on Facebook. Uh they put out a a weekly
updated calendar of the events that are
going to happen that week. I mean, the
futsal, uh it was great. The the the
best part about it was the last half an
hour
uh where the parents got out there with
the kids.
>> [laughter]
>> Did you play too, Jim?
>> No, sir. No, sir. I I stood on the
sidelines and but it was uh it was fun
to watch and uh
but they have uh they have bingo down
there. Mhm.
>> [clears throat]
>> Uh they're looking at a cornhole
tournament.
They have historical uh presentations
and talks down there by people.
Uh yoga classes, all kinds of things.
So, you need to go on on Facebook and
look online and see what's happening
down there and go down and support these
people because they're trying to give
the community what the community wants.
Mhm. One thing I want to hit on, too,
that you mentioned, um yeah, we we have
a lot of great programs and we're trying
to bring in more and we kind of recently
hit a little bit of a snag and one of
the partnerships we were excited to
announce is with Warwick Community
College. Um we're bringing They don't
have anything out in our area. When we
contacted them, they were excited to
work with us. We said, "Hey, we're
thinking about bringing a GED program
into the community center."
>> Oh, wow. And our initial conversation
was going to be how do we do it? Can you
help us facilitate this? And they're
like, "Help you? We will do it. You get
us some people and we will bring
teachers. You can brand it as Warwick."
And and it literally they will be
enrolled as Warwick Community College
students, but the courses will be held
at the community center.
>> The only thing we need to bring is five
students. It has to be a minimum of five
students at each course.
And we have to provide the equipment and
we were hoping for a grant for the
laptops and unfortunately it didn't come
through. Okay. So, we are if it one
thing we want the community to know if
there's anybody who has a good pathway
and Jim I you had mentioned something
earlier. I wanted to talk to you about
it. If you could reiterate what you were
saying earlier,
we need about five laptops. Okay. And we
need them by July basically for us to be
able to I mean and of course Warwick
going to wait until the next
uh
until the next semester, but we're
hoping to get it started as soon as
possible because
you know, our area has a lot of need for
that and we want, you know, something
more than just
We want people to be able to have that
pride and that dignity of be of having
their GED and they actually have a
program that's a step above that called
the NEDP, which they're going to be
offering, which is a national GED
program and instead of getting a GED,
you get a diploma from the state and it
it doesn't look like a GED. It looks as
though you you can't tell the You can't
tell the difference. Basically, yeah.
Yeah. So, we need those computers. Well,
this is really interesting then that
because you know,
when we talk about not only
these kinds of community centers
generally, but specifically here on the
West Side, it certainly goes beyond just
futsal now, right? I mean and I think
that's one of the things that the public
should really know is that
this kind of a place is for everybody.
You know, it's funny as you mentioned
that a lot of people don't realize we're
a county park. And and sometimes it
feels a little provincial in the
Westside cuz we really take care of our
own. We're very insulated out there. And
a lot of what we focus on is the lives
of the West End residents, enriching
them through programs and resources. But
like with our coming cornhole
tournament, which is only a $5 entry fee
by the way, and barbecue which is coming
down the line, um
anybody in the county can come. A- and
any of our events, anybody from the
county can come. And and we welcome
anyone from any area, but specifically
to Comal County. Yeah, come down to the
community center. It is the Westside
Community Center, but it's not the our
only community center. We want everybody
in Comal County to know that it's a
beautiful 5-acre park. There's Cedar
Hill Marina right up the road.
>> Beautiful place, yeah. It's an amazing
area. Come down to our area, see what
it's about. Come to our bingo, win
money. It's actually really easy to win
money at bingo. It's only $20 admission
and an extra book is only $5. That's
That's
doubling your chances for five bucks. Do
we have a salesman at the table? Do we
do we?
Yeah, well and see, a lot of people
don't realize WSNE is a 501c3. Bingo, as
an example, is one of the only ways we
make money. We can make money through
donations, through our events, and
through grants. And that's basically it.
We don't make a single dime of profit.
It all goes back to doing things like
trying to buy laptops Yeah. and things
like that.
Um
so it really is a good cause and we try
to do a lot of good with it. And the
thing I forgot, by the way, I wanted to
mention it cuz I want to shout this out
to Joe and Mark. I was a little I played
sports as a kid. We all remember our
coaches as a kid, right? And Dan Bailey
came down, great guy, but he's a coach.
Like you look at this guy and you're
like, yeah, that guy's a coach, right?
He's got the persona, he's got the
demeanor. But they were really really
great with the kids. It was so
play-oriented
with indoor soccer, this futsal. And it
was so that I don't know if the kids
realized they were working on their
skills. I really don't. And that's what
I like to see. It was a bunch of kids
out there humping it and like sweating
and you know what I mean? It was a bunch
of kids having fun, laughing, playing,
and not realizing they were really
laying down the fundamental skills for
soccer. Yeah, that's what you want with
with youth sports.
>> Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, so many
teams these days, like your kid has to
be the next superstar, and you have to
if you don't start at 4 years old,
you're going to fall behind, and there's
a traveling team, and that's not what
we're looking for necessarily.
>> No. No, not at all.
>> Yeah. And I And I'm glad you brought up
this one fact that, you know, even
though you have a wonderfully uh and I I
I don't want to say insulated. I'm going
to say tight-knit community.
>> Absolutely. Uh because you're connected
to other things, but it really is a
jewel of our county to be out on on the
west side, you know, some of my Believe
it or not, some of my best memories with
my son when he was 4 and 5 was at the
height of COVID when everything was
closed down, and we would go out to
Cedar Hill Park and the marina and just
hang out, and it was just a wonderful
area to explore, and to just Again, the
nature is just incredible there. And so,
you really have at your fingertips some
wonderful resources. And so, hopefully,
uh
we can get a little bit of uh assistance
with the laptops and to make some of the
programming, you know, uh expand. Yeah,
and our big Our only Our biggest problem
is we're not on the main road, either.
And there's just, you know, Ninnigret
Road is the road in and the road out.
And if you When you're passing Cedar
Hill Park, I always tell people there's
a marquee after the second entrance. If
you look left, you can see our building.
>> Yeah. But a lot of people come to us and
say, "We didn't even know you were
here." And again, it's a county park.
Come down and see us. Yeah. We're there.
Amazing.
Mr. Jim?
Yeah, I don't know. It
>> [clears throat]
>> It's hard to hard to top Matthew when he
gets talking about it. I mean, it It's
good. Uh I think one of the things he
hasn't mentioned and and
>> [clears throat]
>> when we had him on the show before, one
of the the priorities was that the the
building needed a new roof. Yeah. Had a
lot of lot of water water coming in the
roof when it rained, which it hasn't
done lately, but
uh
they're getting a new roof. And the
executive and Parks and Rec and the
County Council have all gotten together
and and put the bid out and the bid's
been taken care of and and they're going
to get a new roof. So, uh we won't have
water inside the building destroying
other things in there. May 21st is when
I believe they're going to I mean, I was
actually shocked with the time frame
that I thought July maybe. May 21st
they're going to start it and uh we will
see slight interruptions in programs,
but they're giving us only a couple week
timetable on that. Well, they're trying
to get it in before the uh in this
fiscal year before
>> It's a lot of work. It's 70 years old.
Uh the old roof and hopefully I mean,
this is going to solve a lot of problems
for us. That's great.
>> And and by the way, that was really
great of the county to do. I I want to
go on record and say thank you to the
council uh for that. We got a pretty
unanimous vote on it and um you know, I
they were unaware of how bad the
situation down there was and they really
came together, mobilized and for us to
get it bumped up from 2029
to this year was great. That's
wonderful. It's wonderful when good
things happen to good people.
Absolutely.
They're they're the community down there
is really uh
is getting together and I think that
it's at the point now where it just
needs to
people need to know about it. The
knowledge needs to be out there of
what's going on down there at that
community center.
Uh they're they're growing and and doing
good things. I mean, they can't go
and make it all wonderful in in 1 year.
Sure. It's been it's been ignored for a
lot of years, but they're they're taking
one step at a time and they're getting
things happening down there. Clearly,
yeah. Clearly. Clearly, just a few steps
go a long way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
It's we're rolling. Beautiful. Well,
it's always good to hear good stuff. So,
what I'd like to do is um I'm going to
bring Joe White back on and I'd really
like to get his perspective more broadly
about how the kind of things that you're
doing on the west side with youth sport
and community engagement and how those
kinds of trends uh help not only the
county more broadly, but really help
communities like yours not just sustain
themselves, but
become more plugged into the wider
community.
Um so, what do you think about that?
Absolutely.
>> We'll be right back with the next
segment of Open Agenda.
Thanks for sticking around with us here
at Open Agenda. Back with us in the
house is Mr. is Mr. Matthew Korschgen
from the Westside Neighborhood Alliance.
And coming back again, Mr. Joe White.
Thanks for having me back on. Hey,
there's no better guy for youth sports
and uh these community issues and then
so, we have a meeting of the minds here.
>> I appreciate you saying that. I'm
definitely, as Matt said earlier,
Dan Bailey, Mark Carroll, they are the
soccer coaches. I Well, you've got some
pretty good credibility in in that
world, too, I would say, but I really
enjoy it, but at the same time to watch
I went down to their first soccer night
last Thursday. I did not coach the kids,
but to watch the community come out,
some kids
who I mean, they were shy at first and
he talked about Dan getting the kids out
there.
As much of that is other kids got the
kids out there.
>> Yeah. And once you start to make those
connections, Yeah. we've all won, you
know, no matter what the score of the
game is at the end.
The the the the ability of other kids to
model behavior, we we know there's
that's nothing new, but to see it in a
game in sports is always wonderful
because it kind of it sort of takes it
away from the coaches and the adults and
then it makes it about the kids again.
One thing I have said many times, people
have heard me say is usually the adults
can ruin it.
>> Yeah. So, we can just let the kids do
the kids thing. They'll make it great.
>> As a teacher, I couldn't agree more.
Well, definitely. And to what he was
saying, there's one girl in particular I
remember, one little girl who came and
the BASTA kids all came with their
guards, their shin guards, their shoes,
their jerseys and it was a little
intimidating to some of the community
kids who showed up in their clothes. And
she was shy and she was scared, but you
know, she came and I don't think her
parents made her come and they were able
to get her out onto the pitch and
at the end she was laughing and having a
good time and making friends and that's
why you do it right there. Like
literally she she had an opportunity to
really learn why you play sports and you
know,
I don't know. You just think if she
hadn't been there, she hadn't made that
effort and if they hadn't taken the time
because some people would just let her
be like, oh, you know, she's just she'll
she's having a tough time or whatever it
is. But no, they worked with her and
they let the kids work with her and it
didn't take much to get her out there
laughing and having a great time. Mhm.
We've seen this in Pittsville. I started
coaching with Dan Behilly as Matt was
mentioning in Hebron. And we needed some
more teams to play and and you know,
being from the east side, I wanted to
engage our part of the county as well,
my part of the county I should say. Mhm.
In the rural aspect because you there's
just not a lot of programming out there,
actually maybe there's none in a lot of
respects.
So when we started four years ago now,
we started from the bottom and worked
our way up. And it was the kids who then
invited their friends out.
>> Mhm.
That's what really got it
the ball rolling and now we're to a
point where some of our what used to be
fifth and sixth and seventh grade kids
are now getting into high school.
They've gone through our referee
training so they can help out with the
second and third grade kids reffing. I
mean, these aren't certified refs.
>> Yeah. But you start to get that
community spirit
>> and mentorship. and I had a a one kid
who's a wonderful soccer player and
great kid. Hard to coach sometimes
because his skill level is really high,
but maybe he's still learning the game.
He's getting about be about high school
age and he helped me out last year with
one of my division two kids, which is
teams, which is second and third
graders.
And he says, boy, it's hard coaching.
And I said, "You don't say."
>> [laughter]
>> But it's it's such a joy, you know? But
it was great cuz now he can take that
back to his own life and say, "Okay,
maybe I need to pay attention a little
more."
>> Well, that's the other part of it, too,
is that, you know, it helps
frame things for younger kids just
getting, you know, social skills, having
fun, just doing something. But then to
your point on at the on the back end of
it, those older kids learn other skills
that they're going to take, hopefully,
to the rest of their lives. I I've hired
a lot of people in the businesses I've
owned. And one of the questions I ask in
an interview is, "Do you play any
sports?" And I don't say, "Are you
good?" I don't say, "Do you play on
varsity?" Do you just play? Because if
you've ever been a part of that team and
that team effort, then you're you're
much easier to coach as a as a manager.
>> Sure. And it really folds in. What I was
so impressed with with with the Westside
Community Alliance and Matt's
organization is the holistic nature of
what they're doing. Mhm. And I really
hope that that's the message that
resonates out of this episode is we're
talking about futsal because in soccer
because that really brings the community
together in some ways that a lot of
other activities don't.
But there's so much more going on there.
I saw it. The board they have out front
talking about the the sewing classes and
you see their their some of their sewing
projects up. I'm sure there's other
get-togethers down there that aren't
just a yoga class or congratulations on
having the the mindset on education Mhm.
because how could you change not just an
adult's life? Say you have a a
20-year-old who had a a child at a young
age and they didn't finish high school.
Mhm.
You offer an opportunity for that
20-year-old to complete their education.
You're you're helping that 20-year-old,
no doubt, but are you helping that
3-year-old?
>> Mhm.
And and and I've seen that in my own
life
around a lot of the same kids I've I've
helped coach. Once you start to bring
everybody up,
the whole community whole community
benefits.
>> Mhm. And
Pittsville and Willards, we've we've
started using fields that weren't being
used anymore.
>> Mhm. That those towns have been so
wonderful to our program, you know,
offering us the ability to use the parks
and the lights, helping us get some
equipment when we've needed it. We've
gotten a lot of our own, but they've
been there to support us.
And then as they're finishing the
Mason-Dixon Sports Complex, I've been
engaged with the town of Delmar for the
last couple years, and they've been so
open. We're hoping to bring the same
program there because although the kids
who live in Delmar have a wonderful
little league. I mean, it's great.
And they can go play rec soccer over at
Winterplace. This gives them an
opportunity to stay in their own neck of
the woods in the fall to to practice
soccer as well. Yeah. You know, and
something people don't realize, a lot of
parents, you know, there is a commitment
from parents that we need, and that can
be hard sometimes. But uh I we every
Wednesday we do pick-up basketball for
adults. Wednesdays 6:00 at the center by
Valmyron. All are welcome. Um and it's
free.
And so when I was talking to them a
little bit, I was like cuz we had the
this whole thing became, you know, we
had some kids come sometimes, and they
were a little intimidated. They didn't
realize a lot of these guys that come to
this have been coming to the center
their literally in their entire lives.
They played basketball together their
entire lives. They're good, and they
know each other well. They play like a
team. So we had like, you know, a
12-year-old would come, and he be a
little outclassed. Anyway, so when I
said to one of them what we were
thinking about doing, he literally said
to me, "Well, do you guys need
volunteers?" That's awesome. And I was
like, "Well, sure. You know, why do you
ask?" And he said, "Well, I used to play
soccer, indoor soccer here growing up."
And he's played basketball, and they
used to have a camp there and
everything. And he's like, "That meant a
whole lot to me."
And I'm paraphrasing here. He said, "I I
want to give back. I want to help out."
And he said, "You know, I have my own
kid now and to be able to give that
experience to them." He said, "That's
why I'm still here, still coming back to
basketball because this place will
always be a wonderful place to me and we
want a new generation to grow up with
that kind of love for our area and for
this programs and you know, it's not
just sports like he said so it cuz I was
another thing was talking to those very
guys were like, "Well, you know, what
else that They said, "You would be
surprised the adult illiteracy in our
area. And one of the biggest problems is
these kids that grow up in our area are
very disconnected. So, but they have to
be bused all the way to Salisbury, they
go to Bennett. Yeah. And so the kids
over there, they're not from there. They
don't So, they don't
>> Yeah, there's a little bit of
ostracization.
>> We have a very hard time with that. So,
so we said to them, we were like, "Hey,
we brought in a class. Do you think you
Yeah, and they said, "Yeah, absolutely."
And we said, "You know, any way we can
help enrich the lives of our residents,
that's what our mission is.
Whether it be sports for their kids,
whether it be you know, cuz that's
another thing getting these people out
here. I want to see the entire community
coming out when we have these games at
Cedar Hill in September because we're
going to. Nice. Uh I want to see the
community coming out and cheering on
their neighbors' kids and and coming
together and everybody just being
I want to get back to a place where I
feel like we were I keep people say this
a lot but it does feel like pre-COVID.
After that everything changed and I want
to get us back out there in the
community together and I want to enrich
our lives and help us in any way we can.
You know, you you talk about that
disconnect going from Bivalve over to
Bennett.
But in the meantime, if the kids are
coming up and playing against other kids
in Hebron and Mardela
there won't be that disconnect by the
time they get there. Or even if there
is, they're like, "Well, you know what?
I didn't know any of the kids and played
in Hebron or Mardela either, but I got
to know them and Exactly.
>> you have this competition that's not
friendly necessarily during the game,
but it's friendly after the game and
there's camaraderie. I think that that's
that that's that's huge and I agree with
Matt.
We got to get out of this post COVID
mindset and I've seen this in business
too.
COVID is over. So if we're staying in
the COVID mindset it's out of a choice
or we can make a different decision and
we can choose not to be in that COVID
mindset and as a taxpayer in this county
if we're going to spend $130,000 on a
roof
I want it to be for a
facility that's getting used and that
can be used. Why would we want to have
to put a a roof on something that no
one's using but we have to have
programming and hats off to you all for
just jumping right in cuz I know it's
only been a couple years that you got
started.
>> Yeah, almost 3 years now. But you're not
you're you're not trying one thing.
You're trying many things and
if you're if cornhole doesn't work maybe
barbecue chicken does or vice versa.
>> And the cornhole too that was actually
an interesting discussion because
originally we were thought well maybe we
could grow this into like you know the
outrigger tournament or flounder pounder
something like that and we're like no.
That was the decision behind the entry
fee for cornhole tournament will only be
$5 and it won't be a huge purse because
of it because we're not looking to make
it into a cornhole tournament in that
sense. We're looking to make it like a
family barbecue. You come you have a
burger you play cornhole with your
buddies you enjoy the park and you have
a nice day. There'll be live music
things like that fostering a sense of
community the gym night I was at an open
gym. You know what? It was freezing cold
out and we wanted to give the residents
a place where they don't have to get a
membership. They don't have to pay money
just come and play basketball and have
fun and it's only 2 hours. It's not a
big deal
and that's trying to be your mindset low
cost and everybody's welcome.
Well, you know the whole premise of this
is essentially you know it's one thing
to have a building but it's the people
you put in the building that matter and
I think that's what you've done in in in
a very short time to reinvigorate it and
and I think and I think as we get into
the spring and summer
as you've talked about you're going to
see the manifestations of of all those
efforts. So, that's so. that's off to
you. I think everybody should take
Matt's challenge and get down there for
one event and see if they enjoy it. Get
on the Facebook or get on our website
www.westsidenow.org
or just Westside Neighborhood Alliance
on Facebook and we post like you said a
weekly schedule and if there's anything
you'd like to see, if you're going to
come, if you're going to bring your
friends, if people are going to come,
reach out to me, come to one of our
events and find me. I am at almost
everything we do
and say hey, I I would love to see
pickleball. I would love to see
you know, we have a bird lecture class.
What if you did bird watching on site?
Whatever it is, we love your feedback.
Write us a DM on Facebook. It doesn't
matter because like you said, it really
is our focus is the Westside residents.
I get that but the community center is
for the entire county. It's for
everybody. Beautiful.
Well, gentlemen, thank you for this
awesome stuff and again, to the public,
good things are happening on the
Westside. Keep a watch. Thank you.
All right, thanks for joining us. We'll
be back very soon with a new episode of
Open Agenda. Take care.
In the midst of budget season when so many contentious issues are being dealt with, the non-profit Westside Neighborhood Alliance (WSNA) maintains its focus on providing youth sports programs and a variety of community activities for residents of western Wicomico County. WSNA is based at the West Side Community Center in Bivalve—a county park boasting an indoor multi-purpose sports court, rock climbing wall and elevated stage, in addition to 5-acres of wooded land and open space. WSNA recently launched a weekly indoor soccer (“futsal”) night for kids, and is making plans for a sponsored west side team that will compete against teams from other communities beginning this fall. WSNA is also working hard to expand programs that can be enjoyed by the entire community (and beyond), including bingo, corn hole tournament, historical presentations, yoga classes, community BBQ and even a GED program in cooperation with Wor-Wic Community College. Nestled between the Nanticoke and Wicomico Rivers, the rural west side of the county offers the best of the Eastern Shore, with several waterfront parks, historical sites, natural areas and abundant outdoor recreational opportunities. For more information about WSNA, visit them on the web at https://westsidenow.org/ or on Facebook at “Westside Neighborhood Alliance.”
