From the Bench: Long-Time Problem that's Big-Ticket Project Strikes Wayne Jamison Field Complex Again
By Jeff Toquinto on September 03, 2023 from Sports Blog
It is not new. In fact, at least since I have been following Bridgeport High School sports closely it goes back to the days of Lindy Bennett and Mark DeFazio heading things up at the school situated along Johnson Avenue.
It was a project that they hoped would get addressed at Wayne Jamison Field. It was a project that future principals and athletic directors 
Matt DeMotto and Mark Jones talked about as well. You can officially add new Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Tom Sears to the list. It is a project that everyone was reminded about yet again this past week.
Matt DeMotto and Mark Jones talked about as well. You can officially add new Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Tom Sears to the list. It is a project that everyone was reminded about yet again this past week.
Not once, but twice.
Millions have been placed into the redoing of the Wayne Jamison Field complex – and that encompasses the field, the track, and we’ll add the baseball complex – and it looks fantastic. And as most know, a very sizable piece of that financial pie was paid for by the residential and business community that always looks to give back.
Although I am certain there is a list of things still looking to be done, needing to be done, or even fixed, there is one item that probably is a priority that will not get taken care of next. I am also fairly certain it is going to be a high-ticket item that is going to require involvement by the community, the Board of Education, and even the City of Bridgeport itself.
There is, and has been, a substantial drainage problem at the Jamison Field complex. Understand, this is not the problem of sustained rains that leads to Simpson Creek rising and occasionally flooding the field. Unfortunately, that is a topography problem at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Rather, this is a result of what the BHS athletic program saw Monday and Tuesday of this week. Quick, torrential downpours overwhelmed the drainage. The result was a flooded field house, flood walking areas, and a general facility not entirely safe to play in.
As a result, they did not play. On Monday, Sears said the flooding arrived with the rains at halftime and a junior varsity football contest between the Indians and Buckhannon-Upshur (BHS would get the win) was called at the intermission.
The halftime break was not needed to cancel games Tuesday. A back-to-back bath of heavy storming, this one even more severe, 
prompted the cancelation of the soccer matches involving the boys and the girls against Fairmont Senior to be postponed to a later date.
prompted the cancelation of the soccer matches involving the boys and the girls against Fairmont Senior to be postponed to a later date.
Sears reported Monday there was no damage of significance after the first event outside of cleaning up water that blasted through the buildings at the complex. Although I did not get back with him after the second one, I assume the same held true after rainstorm number two.
Typically, most of the heavy damage and cleanup is required when the storm drainage is joined by an overflow of Simpson Creek. That typically brings mud and other harmful problems to the field. That was not the case here.
Even with that being the case, it is a problem. Storm water, likely including some traces of sewage and who knows what else, is not something good to have filtering into buildings and areas where students and the public congregate.
I know that. You know that. The BHS administration knows it too.
“The administration is looking at it, as they have in the past, and we would certainly like to have a solution, particularly when you see that much rain that fast. It’s the most I’ve been told we’ve seen in several years,” Sears said Monday.
Sears may be new to the job, but he is not new to knowing what a problem of this nature entails. He spoke as past administrators have spoken about it.
“This type of project shapes up to be an expensive endeavor, and it will require working with the county office and their maintenance department as well as the city,” said Sears. “I can’t tell you when something will be done or even if something will be done, but I can tell you, without a doubt, we hope to be able to get something done.”
As noted earlier, public discussion of this issue dates back to years, perhaps decades, of my coverage involving Bridgeport. I can recall,
but cannot find, discussion at a past Bridgeport Sanitary Board (now Bridgeport Utility Board) meeting talking about the issue. During the discussions, there was talk about drainage issues coming down Johnson Avenue causing part of the problem.
but cannot find, discussion at a past Bridgeport Sanitary Board (now Bridgeport Utility Board) meeting talking about the issue. During the discussions, there was talk about drainage issues coming down Johnson Avenue causing part of the problem.
That could be good news. That could be bad news.
The good news is if part of the issue is coming off of Johnson Avenue, the State of West Virginia could get involved. Johnson Avenue is a state-controlled roadway and having access to state funds would be a huge asset if a project could ever get moving forward.
The bad news? Route 50 and Main Street is also a state road. As you saw during Tuesday’s storm event, a long-known drainage issue that is the state’s responsibility has been festering for years. Despite studies and preliminary matters on it, there has been no concrete word as to when it will get fixed.
The issue on Route 50 beyond the storm drainage? The same as it is for the Jamison Field complex – money. Or in this case, the lack thereof.
Even with that hurdle, if a problem can be identified and it can be done, even at a cost higher than hoped, I have faith it will get done as one of the next major projects. After all, it is what this community has done and will continue to do.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows BHS junior varsity players, from left, Aidan Carlson and Jack Brunett departing after Monday's game was scrapped. Second photo shows the water by the Thomas Harvey Memorial Field House. Top two photos courtesy of Traci Welch Moore. Bottom aerial photo from April of 2018, shows massive flooding from sustained rains the caused major havoc to the entire complex. Photo courtesy of Gary Anderson.
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