Joe Palmer

With the City's incredibly efficient plan for bulk and brush pickup, maybe the school district could save money on its bus runs. Just have the kids stand at the curb and mom call for pickup. Bus arrives, dumps the kids at school, and heads back to get the neighbor's kid.

Temple ISD has put a blue screen around the property out front of Lamar. I assume it is so the public doesn’t see the beautiful, mature oak trees cut down for a football field. It saddens me that our school and city leaders have made this decision. Miller Park would have been so much better for the field.

Lamar Football Field
I’ve got great news and I’ve got not so great news. First, the great news. Lamar Middle School is getting a competition field! In “Texan” that’s a football field. Thank you Temple tax payers. This facility is long overdue.

Now the bad news. It will be located in FRONT of the new Lamar building on 3rd Street and W. Virginia. Remember the one with the beautiful, new library up front. Why is this not so good news? There is barely enough room to squeeze it in at that location and many mature trees will be destroyed. It’s in a residential area literally within feet of homes on W. Virginia that will be subject to lights and a PA system at night during the week. The stands are on the east side so fans will look directly into the west sun in August and September to view a game. 😡 There is not enough parking without using the street and there are no bathrooms or concessions unless more expense is involved in building them outside and those are always hot and nasty. And the worst news is there is no room for a track, not even a 4- lane one. A middle school track is used by every student on campus.

I know the leadership at TISD and know this location couldn’t be their first choice. So after weeks of sleuthing, I found what I believe to be the truth. The choice location was in Miller Park where there is already a seldom used field. Every concern listed is addressed: does not block view of the new front of Lamar, plenty of land, no trees will be destroyed, elevation is more level, already adequate parking, bathrooms, no utilities to reroute, perfect view to the north and there are no residents close by (that are alive). And the bonus, there is room for a 4- lane TRACK.

So why not build there? A reliable source said the reason it wasn’t chosen: the City of Temple would not allow it. TISD funnels 10’s of millions of State tax dollars into the city coffers through the TRZ (Tax-Increment Reinvestment Zone) each year yet they would not partner with the district to use the space? They did at Travis so why not at Lamar? What I’d like to know is why not? If you know the Mayor, the City Manager or a Council member, please see what they say and post here. These are really good people so there must be a legitimate reason. I cannot get an answer as to who actually made the final decision.

Seeing the construction fence in front of Lamar and utilities being rerouted, it’s probably too late. However, I still believe the best location for our north and east side kids to locate their new facility at Lamar is in the Park. I’d love to see it named Gene Pemberton Field just as icing on the cake.

Click here to Give now to Survivors of Chesapeake Church Legal Defense Fund by Mark and Tracy Howard We support Holly Britton Jennings, Mary Britton Laborie, and Daniel Palmer. Robert Hahn and Chesapeake Church are suing them. They shared their stories in a blog in hopes of bringing about a change in church leadership. We used to be a part of the Chesapeake community, and like Holly, Mary and Da...

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Col. Palmer

Family