On Saturday morning, the Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department was host for a grand re-opening celebration and dedicated two new softball fields at the Jaycee Optimist Sports Complex, 1113 S. Martin Luther King Ave.

More than 40 people weathered rainy conditions as Salisbury Parks and Recreation Director Gail Elder White and Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz welcomed guests to the newly renovated Jaycee Optimist Sports Complex.

Kluttz thanked staff, the Salisbury community, the Robertson Family Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund for supporting the renovation process.

The Salisbury Optimist Club provided refreshments for the morning's festivities, and members of the Rufty Holmes Senior Center's walking club strolled just over a half-mile to inaugurate the paved trail that surrounds the facility.Family members of the fallen Jaycees, for whom the two new softball fields were rededicated, formalized the field dedications as they unveiled signs that read "Felton/Gabriel" and "Turner/Cheney."

The signs will hang over each of the two fields in memory of Salisbury Jaycees Bob Felton, "Butch" Gabriel and Henry W. Turner, who were killed more than 40 years ago in a traffic accident while traveling to a Jaycees meeting in Cooleemee, and for Salisbury Jaycee Clint Cheney, who was murdered in 1968.

City Council members Bill Burgin and William "Pete" Kennedy, Mayor Pro Tem Paul Woodson and Mayor Susan Kluttz took part in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially re-open the facility, which includes two ball fields, two three-on-three basketball courts, a play structure, bocce courts, horseshoe pits, a picnic area and the half-mile walking trail.

For further information regarding the Jaycee Optimist Sports Complex or other Salisbury Parks and Recreation facilities or programs, contact Elaney Hasselmann at ehass@salisburync.gov or 704-638-4460.

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