Parks and Recreation director briefs Valley City Council

BY JOHN BRICE

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

VALLEY — Recent public events organized by the Parks and Recreation Department were highlighted by Recreation Director Jon Neal as he addressed the Valley City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 26.

"I want to bring light to the great Memorial Day service we had yesterday at the Community Center hosted by the American Legion," he said. "We were able to shine light on two gentlemen who recently passed, Mr. Sammy Newton and Mr. Lanny Bledsoe. Both were very active members in the American Legion. It was a great service. Council Member Andrews talked and gave a good message there, so I thank him for that."

Neal shared updates on the Historic Langdale Mill Farmers Market for this season. 

"The farmers market has been a great success the past two Fridays," he said. "Friday, June 5, will be Tomato Sandwich Day, which is a big event. This year, we are doing something a little bit different. Everybody who gets a sandwich will also get a bag of chips if they want it. They also have the option to get a B.L.T. with some bacon there."

Neal also updated the council on the upcoming Valley Parks and Recreation youth baseball.

"All Stars was supposed to start tonight, but unfortunately we got rained out," he said. "We will see if we can get it going again tomorrow. Our 6U, 8U, 10U and 12U boys teams will be playing over the next two weeks between our location here in Valley and out at Beauregard in Lee County. Last thing is our last Movie in the Park is this Saturday. It is a throwback to 'The Goonies,' a callback to the old school if anybody wants to come down to the park and see it."

Neal also reminded the city council of the pool opening for the summer.

"We are really rolling into the summer," he said. "Summer pool months start this Saturday. We are doing a deep clean of the pool on Thursday and Friday. Big things [are] happening in the recreation world."

In other business

 • Council Member for District 6 Jolanda Barnes made note of Memorial Day as well. 

"I just want to take the moment to recognize Memorial Day," she said. "We know that it is the unofficial start of summer, but also we want to continuously show our gratitude and debt to those who gave their lives in service to our country. Also, as we piggyback off of that, we pay tribute and honor those families and those veterans that are still remaining because this month is also Mental Health Awareness Month. We want to continuously be mindful of that." 

• A resolution was approved for the retired employees lump sum payment — act 2026-608.