August 25, 2021 at 11:59 a.m.
Central School gets two new hoops
Central School gets two new hoops
Two new basketball hoops were recently installed on a paved area adjacent to the main outdoor court.
The project came in at $6,000, with the tab split evenly between the Rhinelander Kiwanis Club, the Rhinelander Athletic Booster Club (ABC), the Rhinelander Athletic Assistance Program (RAAP) and Rhinelander GM/Toyota.
Kiwanian and ABC board president Brandon Karaba, who helped spearhead the effort for the original courts at Central in 2012, said the courts still get plenty of use, specially in the summertime.
"I personally would see it be filled with two teams playing and two other teams waiting to play," he said. "Then you had middle school kids that weren't going to get to play and with nowhere left to shoot around to play except on those old fan backboard hoops that are probably at least 30 years old. So what better than to replace these old hoops and give yet another spot for kids to play and shoot around.
"Basketball is just one of those sports where you can play by yourself when the rest of the family or older brother or sister are doing something else. They can go off and play in a safe environment and just have fun."
Karaba said the idea for the additional hoops was floated by Terry Berndt, who was Kiwanis Club president in 2020, and used to serve on the board for RAAP, which had slowed its activities in recent years.
Between the two's ties, they were to quickly come up with the cash. Rhinelander GM/Toyota chipped in $1,500 that would have been used to sponsor the ABC's annual golf scramble, which was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1,500 donation closed out what was remaining in RAAP's reserves.
"A lot of people were huge in getting this done," Berndt said. "As it always has been, we just want to continue to give the kids of our community many opportunities to get outside and enjoy themselves. What better way to do this than add on to the great lit court already at Central."
Karaba added, "It just goes to show when there is a great idea presented, there are other leaders in the community like the groups I listed above, that will jump in and do whatever they can to make it happen."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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