It was about three years ago when the Newton County Recreation Commission officially announced the concept of building a Miracle League field here in Newton County.

It had a hefty price tag for sure but, at the time we don’t think anybody who felt the project was  worthwhile had any doubt that the money would be raised and the project soon would be put into use for the 2,500 county children and adults who would benefit from its presence

After listening to presentation after presentation of the merits of the project, you could almost see the smiling faces and the cheering fans of the participants.

Then the mighty economic crash of ’08 hit us with a thud.

The big money that was available for such products went south; pocketbooks of caring people shut up tight.

In spite of that, the supporters of the Miracle League project kept plugging along, believing that their cause was a good one.

To tell you the truth we did not see this project completed for years to come; we have to admit we were taken by complete surprise on this week’s announcement that the city of Covington was willing to loan the 1.5 million dollars to this project to help see it finished.

The city council, we believe, has done the right thing. It is a win for the tax payers of Covington as an interest will be paid on the loan, and the loan will be controlled by the city as it will pay out the loan for bills that are charged against the project.

Because of this action, more than $800,000 worth of state prison labor will be donated.

We support the action by the city; we applaud the hard work and dedication of the Miracle League volunteers.

We have no doubt that, under the direction of Tommy Hailey and the Newton County recreation staff, that our soon to be built Miracle League Park will be the finest in the country.

We can see those smiling faces clearly now as some fortunate wheel chair bound child races between third and home to score the winning run as the stands erupt with appreciation.

 Let’s play ball.