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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 3, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 2, 2005 Schedule misunderstanding blocks Little-League parade for Central Point players By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Opening ceremonies for the spring Little League season today will be without a popular parade for the first time in recent history. Dozens of upset parents on Friday placed calls to the City Administrator’s Office, only to learn that Central Point Little League had failed to comply with a city policy requiring two weeks’ notice for hosting special events. City Administrator Phil Messina said his hands were tied with such short notice, though the city denied the application with "much regret." "I’m sorry but when somebody drops off an application at noon Wednesday for a parade on Saturday morning, that doesn’t give us much time to work with," said Messina. He added the two-week time frame is required in order to schedule public works and police personnel to ensure a safe event. In addition, the parade route — from Crater High School to the ball fields on Hanley Road — would have crossed jurisdictions and required the city to coordinate with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Advertisement Little League officials requested a special events permit March 16. The application was signed by League President Terry Wood on March 24 and submitted to City Hall on Wednesday. Wood said on Friday that the decades-old tradition was simply, though sadly, a casualty of misunderstanding. "The person setting up the parade had misunderstood when they took out the permit and gave them the date that we needed the parade to happen," he said. "They assumed the city would get the ball rolling � which we learned could not happen until the permit had been turned back in." At least three parents voiced anger toward Little League officials for an e-mail in which the city was unfairly blamed for the mix-up, but they declined to speak on the record. Messina said he spoke to Wood on Friday and hoped to avoid similar incidents in the future. Messina said information on the application would be made clearer and that he hoped the Little League could reschedule the parade. "If the board wants to do a parade for the end of the season, the city will spring for hot dogs for the players," Messina said. "We don’t want bad feelings and we feel bad the kids don’t get to be in a parade. It was just poor communication and we’re hoping to make sure it doesn’t happen again." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s