To the editor:

Pickleball friends, it is time to make our voices heard! Our sport was arguably the fastest growing participatory sport in Great Bend this past year. So much so that there needed to be a fee to play at the Rec facilities. I’m not grinching about that nor the decision to spend over a million dollars to put turf on the sports complex (which should have been done when they built it), nor the money spent on new lighting at Vets (been needed for a long time), or the upgrades to the tennis courts. What I am concerned about is how our pleas for outside courts are constantly and politely ignored with plenty of reasons to wave us off.

In this past Sunday’s Tribune was an insert about our community’s progress. In it were the seven goals for the future. Number six is our area goal. Wait, we are not in it, but outdoor basketball courts are. We are not asking for much. Just marking a couple of the tennis courts would be a start. If cities around us can have permanent pb courts, so can we.

Contact your city council reps (constantly), go to the Rec Commission board meetings. It’s time we were heard!

Steve Dayton

Great Bend