2014-02

Time is Now to Register for Spring Sports and Activities

It may still be cold outside, but now is the time to register for sports and activities for the spring season. Many sports and activities have begun registration for spring, including baseball, softball, soccer, track, tennis, and BMX. Our youth league programs are administered by volunteer organizations, so dates and times of registrations will vary. For more information on spring activities, click on the following links: baseball, softball, soccer, track, tennis, and BMX. Many registration deadlines are fast approaching - don't be left out!!!!

Adult spring softball registration begins in February. For those interested, you can download a softball registration packet on the adult softball web page. See the adult athletics web page for a listing of all programs.

Winter Woods Adventure

Join Cobb County P.A.R.K.S. Natural Resource Management staff on Thursday, February 13th (during winter break) from 10:00am-1:30pm for a morning exploring in the woods. There will be binoculars and magnifying lenses to check-out for your hike, a winter food tree to decorate for the birds, a make and take craft, and other activities for your family to enjoy. Dress for the weather and activities as you may get dirty. You are welcome to bring a picnic lunch. Parking and the actual entrance to the park is on Post Oak Tritt Road behind the Chestnut Ridge Christian Church. Registration is required and the cost is $2.00 per person. To register, get directions or additional information contact Karen Faucett (karen.faucett@cobbcounty.org) or call (770) 528-8803.

Tennis Apprentice Program for Adults

Cobb Tennis Centers and USTA-Atlanta are teaming up again to provide a program for beginner adults to learn how to play tennis. Sponsored by USTA-Atlanta, the 'Tennis Apprentice' program will provide instruction to teach beginner adults to play tennis and work towards the goal of competing in beginner USTA leagues. Starting the week of February 24th, students will take 6 weeks of instruction and then be signed up for upcoming USTA leagues. Teams will consist of your fellow program members and you will compete against other area 'Tennis Apprentice' program members. Students enrolled in the program will receive a free tennis racket and free USTA membership! All this for the introductory-to-tennis fee of $49 for the six weeks of instruction. For information, contact your closest Cobb Tennis Center. You can register for the program directly at the USTA Atlanta 'Tennis Apprentice' website.

New Game in Town - Pickleball

Lost Mountain Tennis Center will be offering a new program called PICKLEBALL. We will provide some equipment that includes paddles and balls. If you have your own, feel free to bring them. The goal is to introduce players to the game and to schedule some play dates!

Pickleball is a sport played with a hard paddle and wiffleball. The game combines elements of badminton, tennis, racquet ball and ping-pong, and is played on a badminton-sized court. It is played as a singles game with one person per side or as a doubles game with 2 people on each side of the net. The object of the game is to score points by successfully hitting a 3" diameter plastic ball across the net without it being successfully returned by the opponent.

Pickleball is a simple game designed for all ages and any athletic ability level. Today the sport is played by people all across the U.S. Many seniors have taken up the sport in their retirement years, but it is also played by thousands of school children and top athletes in their 20s and 30s. It is an easy sport to learn and everyone can play the game after just a short time of hitting the ball back and forth across the net. However, it is also a sport where you can keep learning new strokes and increasingly sophisticated strategies for years on end. As the sport has grown in popularity it has continued to be played in back yards, but it has also spawned many competitive tournaments across the country.

Classes for Pickleball begin at Lost Mountain Tennis Center beginning the weeks of February 24th and April 14th. For more information, call Traci Thomas at (770) 528-8525. Come join the fun!

SPLOST Projects Update

On March 15, 2011, a referendum on a four-year SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) was approved by voters. This program, started on January 1, 2012 and will be in effect through December 31, 2015. From this SPLOST, Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs will be utilizing $82,023,000 for revitalization, facility renovations and upgrades to parks and facilities. Planning, coordinating and scheduling projects are in their early stages, but you will now be able to see some of the work in progress or soon to begin. Here is a list of current projects:

These are just a few of the numerous projects that you will see in the next few years updating and revitalizing our parks' system. For a complete listing of projects and updates, see the Splost 2011 web page on the Cobb County website.

Silver Comet Trail Bridge Sections Under Repair

Six pedestrian bridges along Cobb County’s 12.8-mile Silver Comet Trail will be closed to the public this winter while Cobb County Department of Transportation (CCDOT) crews repair or replace pedestrian bridge ends over Powder Springs Creek, Lucille Creek, Noses Creek, Olley Creek, Nickajack Creek and Cooper Lake Road.

The repair work, funded by the 2011 SPLOST, will result in consecutive closures of each pedestrian bridge from January to April 2014, resulting in NO ACCESS and NO DETOURS across the bridges during construction. At the same time the pedestrian bridge work is being conducted, additional crews will be improving other areas along the Silver Comet Trail by repairing fences, drainage systems and grading.

“The repairs will preserve the original historic pedestrian bridges,” says Faye DiMassimo, Director of Cobb County Department of Transportation. “Once the work is completed, the pedestrian bridges will be reopened providing safe access to all who enjoy using them.”

Cobb County officials strongly advise the public to pay close attention to all warning signs and stay out of CLOSED construction zones, as there will be severe drop offs, some as deep as ten feet, which could cause serious injury or death to anyone ignoring the posted warnings.

Not every area under construction will be completely closed off to the public. CCDOT officials warn trail users to slow down when approaching all signs, and in areas not completely closed, and for bike users, be prepared to dismount and walk through.

More work will be conducted next spring on the trail where a rolling trail closure will occur as the entire Silver Comet trail is resurfaced. The combined projects will result in the Cobb County Silver Comet Trail looking like a new trail.

Built between 1890 and 1904, the 61.5-mile Silver Comet Trail follows the abandoned railroad line once traveled by Silver Comet train passengers traveling from Atlanta and Birmingham to New York, Philadelphia and Washington. CCDOT converted the trail into a scenic 12.8 mile paved multi-use trail in the 1990’s. The county section of the trail begins in Smyrna and travels west through southern parts of the County.

Information and project updates will be posted at www.cobbdot.org, or contact the project manager at james.hudgins@cobbcounty.org.