There’s no hibernating for parks and rec
By Terry Murry on Monday, January 31st, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Those who think work gets easier at the Pendleton Parks and Recreation Department in the winter should think again. Director Liam Hughes said they don’t hibernate, because there’s plenty of work to be done.
“We operate not just the parks but we have the recreation center and all of the recreation programs, which includes the after-school program which runs all the way during the school year,” he said. “Then we have youth basketball, where our staff is tied up with that program that’s got hundreds of kids involved.”
While the only organized outdoor winter activity is the ice skating rink in Roy Raley Park, Hughes said his staff is busy fixing what was broken during the warmer months.
“The parks take a ton of damage through the year, so right now the parks crew has been in refinishing all of the restrooms that are closed for the season,” he said.
About half of the restrooms are closed for the winter because they are unheated. Those same parks department workers also are doing permanent fixes to problems due to vandalism that were mended during the summer.
“We’re replacing urinals, which often get put back together with spit and duct tape during the year because people rip them off the walls,” he said. “You go back in and fix it properly in the winter.”
