Lightning causes damage to Franklin Park fields
Published 10:49 pm Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Storms that rolled in over the weekend caused damage to Troy Parks and Recreation fields on Franklin Drive and headaches for park officials.
A surge from an apparent lightning strike knocked out the dry transformer at Franklin Park and rendered all appliances in the concession stand useless as well as the scoreboard on the Dixie Minor field.
“Fortunately, the lighting for the fields was not affected,” Troy Parks and Recreation director Dan Smith said. “David Dickey did a great job of dealing with the issue and getting us back up and running to a point where we could play the scheduled games.”
Drinks were sold from coolers but other concession such as hamburgers and hotdogs could not be sold.
Smith said the transformer will cost around $1,000 to replace and Coca-Cola Company has been contacted to inspect the scoreboard but feels it will need to be replaced.
“It’s just one of those things that happens,” Smith said. “We expect the transformer to be fixed and everything in the concession stand back to normal by Wednesday.”
Smith said three generators were utilized to provide power to the concession stand and rest rooms and praised Dickey for his quick actions to ensure play was not delayed.
On the two field affected by the strike, all four game were played as scheduled.
Smith said there was no physical damage from the strike and that the damage was caused from an electrical surge through the power lines leading to the fields.