Sports Editor

May 8, 2000 10 PM

A negative event seem to hang over a place or a city until something positive has been done to erase its memory.

This Saturday, Detective Michael Foster and the Brundidge Police Department hope they can help put a positive feeling for their community back into Galloway Park, a place that has had it’s share of negative events as of late.

The department will be holding a 3-on-3 basketball shoot out this Saturday (May 13) at 11 a.m. with a $50 entry fee for all four-person teams competiting. There will be two leagues with 15-and-under competing in one and 16 and above in the other. Cash prizes, Trophies and T-Shirts will be awarded to the winners.

The park in question has been closed numerous times because of crime and was tarnished most recently with the shooting of a local teenager. This hasn’t sat very well with Foster who grew up on the park and is pained to see it lose it’s proper place in the community.

"That was my place when I grew up," Foster said. "The shootings and things like that didn’t happen back then. I’m sure we can get it back that way, but they have to see some positive things from the adults to show them how things were and how it still can be.

"It means a lot to me that it can still be a big part of the community. Now it’s closed and no one goes there to play anymore. I miss going past there and seeing kids swing on the swings or shooting basketball. Now, I don’t see them doing any of that, but I do see them coming in here," the Detective said of the Brundidge Police Station.

Closing the park felt like a necessary evil to Foster and the others in charge, but now they are looking for something more positive for the park to be associated with.

The tournament itself is just the BPD’s way of trying to give something back and also give the town at large a chance to "re-take" that close-knit community atmosphere in and around the park.

"We’re mainly just looking to get something for the children to do and to promote community harmony," Foster said. "People are always talking about how we need to do something, but nobody really ever does. We don’t have the capabilities to do a lot, but something like this is always a step in the right direction. It’s up to us to start doing something positive in this community, to start making a change."

Foster and the Brundidge Police Department hope to make this a festive day for everyone. They plan to have the street closed and put up food vendors while inviting special guest to the event.

"We got some friends of mine from the Montgomery Police Department and the Macon County Sheriff’s department coming down to play," Foster said. "The County Commissioner Charlie Harris is going to be there and the former WBC Featherweight Champion Byron Mitchell and Darryl Samon who just made the Olympic Boxing team will also be on hand."

The department is in the process of finding more guest to participate as well.

Foster likes to think this is a good way to start up the summer.

"The summer is about to get here and it will be something positive," Foster said. "If they start off doing something positive a lot of times they will continue to do it through the summer. When they start off doing negative things sometimes it can be a bad summer."