BY JOHN ROBERTS
I propose that Overlook Park in White Rock has an official name change to Gopherlook Park. The gopher infestation is so bad that there is no field untouched by the pests. Every single grass field is no longer flat, filled with holes, divots, and large mounds of dirt. Also, with all the dead grass look awful. Overlook is used so often by high school, youth sports/activities, and adult sports that there is no reason why this infestation should be this bad.
The County is setting themselves up for lawsuits with how many risks they knowingly put on the public. Gophers are known carriers of the bubonic plague, the septicemic plague, and the pneumonic plague. With as many youth sports/activities that take place in all the fields, you are putting your children at risk. Slim as it may be, the risk is still there. Not to mention the rattlesnakes that the gophers attract. Multiple times adult sports have been postponed due to rattlesnakes on the fields with at least one close call with a striking hidden snake. There have also been multiple knee, ankle, and leg injuries from all the holes, mounds, and unlevel fields. I believe a few have tried to get settlements from the county already.
Why aren’t these fields being maintained? Why are gophers being allowed to infest at a dangerous level? Where are all the sport league dues going if the fields are in such disrepair? I understand County Parks division is more than likely understaffed and the staff they do have I’m sure are working incredibly hard to keep up. But that doesn’t mean with the savings of not paying employees they can hire an exterminator. I’ve attached a couple of photos. I’m not sure how old the satellite picture is but all the brown spots and discolored grass are gopher damage. The other photos were taken in November and are just a fraction of only the main field and field 3.
So, when is the opening ceremony of Gopherlook Park going to happen? We can even have a Gopher King on the 4th of July when we have the public gathering there? Seems like a perfect time.