Photo by Linda Whittington / Neuse News

By Scott Cole

LA GRANGE -- Coming soon to La Grange: basketball courts?

At this week's regular meeting of the town council, officials discussed potentially bringing courts back to the outskirts of town.

“We used to have some courts right behind the town hall here, but because of some inappropriate actions by some individuals, we had to shut it down," La Grange Mayor Pro Tempore Bobby Wooten said. "It was constantly trashed out and we had to continually clean it up every single morning. It got to be too much.

“But the more opportunities that we give our young people something to do recreationally, the less of a chance, hopefully, that they will get in trouble.”

In a town hall meeting earlier this year, the proposed site was on Charles Street. However, during this week's meeting, Town Manager John Craft said the town was looking at purchasing a site at the intersection of Kings Road and Joyner Street.

The town is looking at the property as a proposed well site, but the lot in question is too big for just a well alone. The extreme northeastern portion of the properly could be used for the courts.

The town has taken an option on the property; it needs to test the site for the well to be drilled. If the water tests -- which take about three months to process -- come back as clean, the area could potentially be the home for the new basketball courts. Craft estimated it would probably be spring before a decision would be made to build the courts.

Town Councilman Albert Gray said he is concerned about the potential site; he feels the locale is perfect, but is worried about there being no shelter.

“You don’t want a kid to be playing there out in the open and then getting overheated,” Gray said during the discussion.

Gray and Craft talked about the possibility of building some sort of open air shelter, which would include water fountains and bathroom facilities.

The council passed a motion to look into the site as a possibility as a basketball court, provided it passes the well test first.