Herald photo Ziegler Field in Oakridge will be getting new LED lighting in time for the 2024 football season.
By DAVE MCGRATH/for The Herald — Beginning Tuesday, May 28th you will see work being done on the baseball and football fields.
The wooden poles supporting the lights on the football field are being replaced. The poles have exceeded their useful working life, and several have failed recent structural integrity tests. The poles that failed are infected with a 70-year beetle. It is just a matter of time before the other poles fail.
We have made the decision to have sixteen poles around the football and baseball fields removed. Four poles supporting the latest in LED sports field lighting will replace the ones on the football field. The goal is to have all work completed by August 30th.
This project is a cooperative effort involving MUSCO Lighting, the school district, Lane Electric, J. Davidson & Sons Construction, On Top Construction, and Oregon Coast Tree Company.
There are no lights at the baseball field. The existing poles from when the cross beams rotted off and lights fell onto the field will come down. We are removing all the poles around the baseball field.
Dave McGrath is the interim superintendent of the Oakridge School District. McGrath has been chosen to be the full-time superintendent when his contract goes into effect 1 July of this year.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
