ROCHELLE — As the harsh winter weather warms up a bit, progress is being made on several baseball diamonds in town.
Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District leaders committed $150,000 for new fencing at seven different fields, including the Rochelle Little League complex, the Helms Athletic Complex and at May School.
The old fencing was torn out late last fall by Little League volunteers and after a lull due to sub-zero temperatures the past few weeks, things are coming together at the various facilities.
“We have a ways to go, because we are working on several different fields,” explained Jeremy Johnson, of Creative Fencing in Belvidere. “But we are moving more quickly now and will definitely be done before the April 1 deadline.”

Johnson and co-worker Herb Erd, along with company owner Don Johnson, were busy at May School last Thursday putting in brand new fencing on three diamonds.
“This is all new here,” Johnson added. “It’s going to be a nice upgrade.”
According to park director Roger Bunger, the park district is currently working out an intergovernmental agreement with Rochelle Elementary School officials involving the use of the fields by the Little League program.
“We are just finalizing some long-term use agreements between the school district, the park district and Little League, which is an affiliate group,” Bunger explained. “Little League upgraded the infield playing surface at the May diamonds and now the new fencing is really going to improve these fields.”
Bunger said that the upgrades will not only make things nicer for the local Rookie League and T-Ball teams, but it will also make the diamonds playable for higher-level league games and open up the possibility of Rochelle Little League and Rochelle Rampage organizations hosting bigger tournaments.
In addition to the three fields at May School, Bunger added that new fencing and backstops will be going in on three of the four fields at the Rochelle Little League complex and at the senior field at Helms North. Three new scoreboards are also being installed this spring and work is planned on the dugouts and press box/storage areas.
“Our new capital committee identified a big need to improve the baseball facilities throughout town and committed $150,000 toward these projects,” he explained. “Working together with the school district and Little League to make this happen is a good example of small town organizations joining forces to get the most bang for the taxpayers’ dollars.”