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T'jack plans should soon materialize By KRIS HENRY Frank and Cheryl Behnke aren't quite sure what to think of the Southern Oregon Timberjacks' reported departure for Vancouver, British Columbia. Having been the host family this past season for catcher Gerald Laird, the Behnkes were offered a rare insight to Class A short-season baseball. The experience was an enjoyable one, but the rumored prospect of a new organization taking root in Medford also is appealing. "It's sad to see the Timberjacks leave," says Frank Behnke. "Southern Oregon is a sports town and we could use a professional baseball team in this town. "But after three years of the Timberjacks saying they're going to leave, I think that can cause some ill will toward the community. It would be nice to have a fresh organization." The Behnkes will have to wait a few more days to learn exactly what Timberjacks president and majority owner Fred Herrmann has in mind for his team and Medford. The Timberjacks have scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Miles Field to discuss the future of professional baseball in Southern Oregon. The Medford press conference apparently will be the second for Herrmann and general manager Dan Kilgras. Herrmann was quoted in Tuesday's edition of the Vancouver Sun that he and Kilgras will be in Vancouver, B.C., for Thursday's press conference with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Herrmann and the Vancouver Parks Board have reportedly settled on a lease agreement that will allow the TJs to use the stadium vacated by the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians for the 2000 season. Besides the official local announcement scheduled Tuesday, speculation is Herrmann may have information on a replacement team for Medford. When Herrmann flirted with moving the Timberjacks to Vancouver, Wash., three years ago, the Medford resident said he would work to ensure Southern Oregon maintained its alliance with professional baseball. Kilgras reiterated that statement Monday when reports of the relocation to Canada first surfaced. Jordell Hasha supports that faith in Herrmann. "I'm quite sure that he'll be able to bring a team in," says the assistant groundskeeper at Miles Field and TJs' group ticket sales representative. "Everything, as far as I know, is that it's going to be status quo. The people here aren't going to go without professional baseball." That bodes well for Hasha, who has no desire to move any further north than Medford. Until told otherwise by Herrmann, Hasha intends to continue his groundskeeping duties at Miles Field. One group seemingly unaffected by the Timberjacks' status is the Miles Field Renovation Project. "We really don't have that much interaction with the Timberjacks," says Gary Miller, director of the $5 million renovation project. "I didn't know about the move until I read it in the paper (Tuesday)." Miller says his group will move ahead as planned, with or without a professional baseball team at Miles Field. "From a project standpoint, we just always assumed they were going to leave so it's business as usual," says Miller, adding that Miles Field is primarily a community and youth facility. "Over 75 percent of its use is by high school, legion, Babe Ruth or recreational baseball teams," he says. Miller hopes another professional team will replace the Timberjacks, but that prospect has little affect on the renovation project that is currently in the last of four four phases. The project began in 1997. The renovation project has accounted for about $2 million worth of improvements at Miles Field, including a new scoreboard, home team clubhouse, field lighting and paving of the parking lot. The final phase is the most involved and includes a major renovation of the stadium's structure. "The key thing is we need to construct the stadium, and that's what we're working on right now, developing those plans," says Miller. "We need to get a design which will enable us to determine the investment needed to construct the stadium." Miller says his group doesn't have a timeline for the project's completion, but two community meetings have helped develop an initial wish list for the stadium. The design phase is still undergoing tweaking by Miller's group, its architect and local contractor Batzer Construction. Once renderings are completed, Miller said fund-raising will begin to complete the project. A new facility will be a welcome sight for Cheryl Behnke, especially if it helps house a professional baseball team. "The Timberjacks are a great incentive for the children and nice thing to have in the community," she says. "We don't have a lot of things like they have in the bigger communities like Portland, so it's nice to have something like that in the area." As with most of the Timberjack followers, Cheryl Behnke and her husband, Frank, are interested to see what Herrmann has to say on Tuesday. "We were looking forward to hosting someone next year. It's a good, wholesome family thing," she says. "We would have gone for it again, but now we don't know what's going to happen to our Timberjacks." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.