MEL TOADVINE From left are Lee County Commissioners Brian Hamman, John Manning, Frank Mann and at right Cecil Pendergrass participating. in the ribbon cutting for the extension of Veterans Park. In the middle is Lehigh resident Mohamad Yasin, who has fought for a cricket’s field. Looking on are some others who attended the ceremony.

It’s official. The expanded Veterans Park was celebrated Dec. 5 with a ribbon cutting ceremony with several people attending.

Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann was the emcee of the half-hour ceremony which attracted a large crowd of 30 or more people. In the background were the new additions and extended play fields.

Mack said he was proud of what has happened to the new extended Veterans Park because it is in his district. Other members of the Lee County Commission were on hand including the newest member, Brian Hamman. Others included John Manning, Cecil Pendergrass and Cecil Pendergrass.

Mann called the additions to Veterans Park one of the largest in Lee County.

“There are more things here at this park than any other park in the recreational system in all of Lee County,” Mann said.

MEL TOADVINE Holding down papers due to the light winds are Commissioner Frank Mann, left, and Roger Desjarlais, Lee county manager. Giving a speech is Orville Hall, a member of the advisory board with the county’s park and recreation department.

He pointed to Mohamad Yasin of Lehigh Acres, who was sitting in the audience section held outside and jokingly said the park behind Mann was especially for Yasin, who has asking county officials to consider a park for cricket players.

“You’ve got your park, Mohamad,” Mann laughed. The park area behind the speakers can also be used for soccer and other sporting events, but there was a special emphasis put on cricket because there is so much interest in Lehigh.

Mohamad with his two grandchildren just smiled with pride. Finally, he said later, we got what he asked for and he appreciated the county for it.

Mann noted with pride that the additions to the park were all paid for through impact fees.

“This is your park and it’s all paid for,” Mann laughed.

MEL TOADVINE A view of the park shows new picnic areas.

Lee County Commissioner John Manning called it a tribute to the people who work and play in Lehigh Acres while Cecil Pendergrass, and Brian Hamman agreed that the park provided something for everyone.

One of them even said the new dog park was one of the best looking parks in all of Lee County.

Also on hand were Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais and David Harner II, who heads the Parks and Recreation Department for the county.

Orville Hall, a cricket player himself, and a member of the advisory committee for the parks and recreational department of Lee County, came to the microphone and told those attending that cricket was the world’s number one sport with soccer following second. Many residents from Lehigh Acres who have moved here from the Caribbean have wanted a cricket field for a few years now and through Mohamad Yasin and Orville Hall and others, the dream has become a reality.

“We have a lot of folks who love playing cricket, Yasin said. “We have lots of games that lead to championship tournaments.”

MEL TOADVINE Mohamad Yasin of Lehigh shows how to play cricket to two of his grandchildren after the ribbon cutting last week making the dedication of the new extension to Veterans Park on Homestead Rd. The two grandchildren are Imran Appadoo and Anjlia Appadoo.

The extension of Veterans Park is composed of 82 acres and it surrounds Veterans Park Academy for the Arts school and winds back to the Lehigh Acres Middle School.

These latest improvements known as Phase IV include a dog park named Paws 4 Duty, a handball court, and a multipurpose field which will be used for cricket, flag football, soccer and other sports. Picnic tables are located throughout the park.

Also on hand for the event were both Colleen Via, a supervisor with Lee County Parks and Recreation and Betsy Clayton.

While the sun was bright and temperatures were nearing the upper 70s and warm, a light wind blew causing two people, Commissioner Mann and County Manager Roger Desjarlais to step forward to hold papers down while Orville Hall of the advisory committee, read a prepared speech lauding the efforts of the park and offering highlights about the game of cricket.

Hall told the group he realized that most of them might not be familiar with the game of cricket. He pointed out some historic facts about the origins of cricket in the U.S.

MEL TOADVINE Dog Park at Veterans Park is said to be the nicest one in all of Lee County.

“Cricket was played in the USA long before baseball. One doesn’t have to look very far to understand why cricket would be the forerunner of baseball. The game was started in England, and was brought over by the founding fathers, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and several of the others played cricket and were all students of the game.

“It was even said that, when the founding fathers were trying to find a title for the leader of the free world, John Adams quipped, ‘if the leader of a cricket club can be called a president, so can the leader of the United States of America,'” he said.

Hall told them if they wanted to familiarize themselves more, they could come out on any given Sunday afternoon “to see the batsmen, bowlers and fielders doing their thing.”