Franklin Dee Pugh, Sr.
October 13, 2023
Terrebonne General Health System Is Honored for the Third Consecutive Year for Digital Excellence as a 2023 Digital Health Most Wired Recipient
October 13, 2023
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and Brandon Nurris with the Louisiana Office of State Parks presented Thibodaux’s Mayor Kevin Clement with a grant award of $250,000 through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for a Miracle League Baseball Field in Peltier Park.
Miracle League Baseball Fields are specifically designed for special-needs children with a range of disabilities, from mild to severe, to allow them to play baseball. “About 8 years ago, when I was Recreation Director, we started a Baseball Heroes program just for special-needs children and their parents,” explained Mayor Clement. “We brought out members of local high school baseball teams, members of our Recreation Department, and more to help the kids learn and play baseball. The community really welcomed it with open arms and the program began to grow, but we didn’t have a proper field for them to play on–especially for those in wheelchairs who could not comfortably access the fields we were using. We applied for this LWCF grant to build a Miracle Field for the kids, and were honored to be chosen as one of the recipients.”
Peltier Parks’ new Miracle League Baseball Field will be the first of its kind in Lafourche Parish, and will serve disabled and handicapped children not just from Thibodaux, but those all across Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary, and Jefferson Parishes. The City of Thibodaux‘s Parks and Recreation Department is actively striving to ensure its programs are “accessible to all, regardless of disabilities, and this proposed project will help to better accommodate handicapped players.”
“Seeing these kids having fun during Baseball Heroes was one thing, but the real joy was watching the moms, grandmas, aunts, etc. who were sitting in the stands watching their children,” explained Mayor Clement. “We realized that we need to keep supporting and growing our handicap-accessible programs in any way we can for these families.”
