With a grant from the Blue River Community Foundation, Shelby County Babe Ruth will finish off a fence-replacement project it started in recent years.

With a $20,000 grant, all three baseball diamonds at Donald L. Johnson Park will have new fencing from the end of the dugouts and all around the outfield.

“About seven or eight years ago we did a grant to replace some of the fencing, from the front of the dugout around home plate to the other dugout,” said Mark Tackett, President of Shelby County Babe Ruth.

The new grant will finish off replacing the fencing around the three diamonds and add to the overall look of the ballpark which services more than 500 kids.

The outfield fence on diamond  No. 1 was damaged in 2022 when a tree from a neighboring property fell after a storm rolled through the area.

“It fell right by our scoreboard. We were lucky it didn’t get the scoreboard,” said Tackett.

The grant covers nearly two-thirds of the fence replacement cost and the organization is working with a fencing company to reasonably cover the remaining costs.

Tackett expects the fence replacement to start and be completed in November.

“I am really looking forward to freshening up (the fences) and not having that rust showing,” he said.

The summer league regular season is now complete. Postseason tournaments started Monday and run to Friday’s scheduled championship games.

Registration is already underway for the Fall League, which will begin the first week of August, according to Tackett, and finish before the Shelbyville school system’s fall break.

For registration information, go to shelbybr.com.

The Blue River Foundation Community Grant process awarded eight more grants in addition to the Shelby County Babe Ruth grant.

• Arts for Learning Indiana – Awarded $7,117 for interactive programming at Southwestern Elementary School through dance, song, craft and visual expression.
• Morristown Community Development Partnership – Awarded $35,000 to support an all-inclusive playground at Morristown Park.
• Purdue Manufacturing Extension – Awarded $21,500 for the Manufacturing Skills for Success Pilot Program (MS4S) through Shelby County Community Corrections and Probation. This program provides justice-involved individuals with a foundation of manufacturing knowledge with the goal of providing them the skills necessary to gain full-time livable wage employment in manufacturing.
• Shelby Community Band – Awarded $15,000 to support the purchase of new percussion equipment that will allow the band to continue to provide free concerts to the community, give more opportunities for individual music expression, and explore new opportunities in connecting the community with music.
• Shelby County Players – Awarded $20,000 for Performances on the Plaza, a program that will provide local musicians and artists the opportunity to showcase their talents in downtown Shelbyville.
• Shelbyville Parks and Recreation – Awarded $20,000 to support installation of emergency call lights along the Blue River Trail System.

The foundation, in conjunction with Major Health Partners, also funded two organizations with applications that aligned with the mission of both foundations.

• Morristown Elementary School – Awarded a total of $6,500 for the All Kids Bike Program geared toward students ages 3-7. This program teaches children to ride a bike in a fun way which improves overall fitness, introduces healthy activities to children during their early years, and provides an opportunity for students to learn something at school they can later do together with friends and family that’s free and fun.
• Shelby Senior Services, Inc. – Awarded $7,638 for Hypertension Control Program that is aimed at improving hypertension self-management through small group educational sessions. This program helps develop short-term and long-term action plans to improve heart health.

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