Hampden citizens group builds new baseball field

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There’s a big hole in the ground where the Hampden Academy baseball field used to be.

That’s because a group of group of people in Hampden and within the school district became concerned about the conditions of some of the school’s facilities and decided to do something about it.

Early in November work should be complete on a new baseball diamond for the Broncos.

“There may be some ancillary things that need to be done like putting up a scoreboard or some work around the dugouts, but we’re hoping to have it sodded and completed for the most part in about three to four weeks,” Herb Sargent said.

Sargent’s business, Sargent & Sargent, a Hampden-based contracting company, is one of many area companies involved in the project.

“There’s been a fairly large group of us that have been concerned with the conditions of many of the fields in the town,” Sargent said.

Thus, the formation last spring of the Citizens for Quality Education.

The group is a combination of parents, citizens, and area businesses. Sargent said heavy equipment for the project was loaned by companies such as Southworth-Milton of Brewer, Nortrax in Hermon, and Chadwick-BaRoss of Bangor. Underground piping was provided by Everett J. Prescott of Bangor, and Clisham Construction of Winterport loaned trucks for hauling materials.

Sargent said the group’s focus is “multi-faceted” and includes not only athletics, but performing and fine arts, curriculum, and character development as well.

The baseball field is the group’s second project. It previously built a new practice football field at the school.

“We hope to have many more projects here. It depends on people’s ability to pull the funds together to do it,” Sargent said.

Sargent said that although the group has worked on two athletics-related projects, the group is not limited to helping Hampden Academy athletics.

“We’ve been labeled as being for the athletes and we’re certainly not against them. But there are other projects we’d like to see completed.”

One is a teleconferencing center for language studies at the school. Sargent said it would require a room or building and the equipment.

“We’re trying to come up with the funds to do that as well,” Sargent said.

Senior day at Bucksport

For the nine seniors on the Bucksport girls soccer team, today will be a day of mixed emotions.

It is senior day, marking their final regular season home game and this group of seniors has been playing together since an under-12 team was formed in Bucksport in 1995.

“I’m looking forward to it, but not really because it will be our last home game. It will be sad,” defender Tara Tweedie said.

When this group of seniors departs the school, they will have left their mark. They have posted a 39-3-4 record since their sophomore season with only one regular-season loss during that period.

Last year’s team reached the Eastern Maine Class B championship game unbeaten and untied. This year’s team is sporting an 11-0-2 record.

“We have a really tight bond,” Tweedie said. “We’re all friends, so it makes it easier playing together on the field because we know what each other is thinking most of the time.”

On an individual level, Elissa Gordon has set the school’s all-time career scoring record with 54 goals.

Gordon’s father, Jack, is something of a team historian. He should be. Gordon was the girls’ youth coach and became their high school coach three years ago.

“It’s been a privilege. I use the word ‘privilege’ because they’re a great group of young ladies. I take great satisfaction in that they have dedicated themselves to this over eight years, basically,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the team doesn’t talk about winning championships. He believes what the team achieves is a byproduct of “what we do and how we did it.”

And Tweedie, who is in a “friendly competition” with goalie Brittany Damon for class valedictorian, while not mentioning the word “championship,” will say the team is playing well.

“In the past years we’ve been a second-half team. This year we’ve stepped it up and we play a complete game. We’ve become more mature, I think.”

Bangor golf team on par

When Saturday’s state individual golf championships get under way at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro, all five of the Bangor golf team starters will be among the field of 27 Class A golfers.

Zach Adair, Nick Estabrook, Tim Hardy, Steve Lucius, and Jamie Mansfield all qualified for the tournament.

“I was pretty pleased with that,” Bangor coach Rob Jarvis said. “We only had one qualify last year. That was Tim Hardy.”

Hardy finished fourth overall at last year’s championship.

“He’s certainly a contender. But anyone of them can show up and shoot a good number. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised of any of them winning it,” Jarvis said.

Adair, a sophomore, had the low score on the team with a 78 at the Penobscot Valley Championships held on Oct. 3 at JaTo Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln.

Bangor finished fifth in the state team championships held last Saturday, also at Natanis.

The championships begin at 10 a.m. and it is a shotgun start.

Don Perryman can be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or dperryman@bangordailynews.net