Our Town Fort Oglethorpe Ringgold: Cricket

Despite the efforts of some, this issue has never been about cricket, or any other sport / event. The issue has always been about whether a violation of the Fort Oglethorpe city Charter is present. Events like Labor Day at the Post and the Fourth of July celebration all bring focus and activity to the circle. They enrich the community by bringing families and visitors together. The residents are 100% behind these events. Additionally, these events require no permanent structure to be erected in their support. The event takes place, everyone has a great time, and the polo field is left intact with no permanent footprint remaining. Conversely, the installation of a concrete slab is not temporary and does leave a lasting mark on what remains of the polo field. Left unchecked, these seemingly minor infractions of the Charter will lead to the entire polo field being permanently lost.

The framers of the Charter meant for there to be no ambiguity between the “spirit” of the Charter, and the “letter” of the Charter. That is the purpose of enacting a Charter, so that subsequent bodies are not left with the conflicting task of interpretation. It is clear that when the framers used language such as, “shall be preserved in its present condition for the use and benefit of the general public and no future construction or obstruction of any sort be allowed in said circle”, both the spirit and the letter of the Charter are not only clear, but point to preserving the polo field. Clarity comes in the phrase, “of any sort”, whether the construction is significant, or seemingly, insignificant. Administrations, appropriately, are not left to decide on what is significant, and what is insignificant. Again, that is the purpose of enacting a Charter with such explicit language.

No one is arguing that recreation is not important. To the contrary, as members of the LFORA, my family is heavily involved in LFO recreation throughout the year. We would welcome cricket as part of the suite of activities offered and played on the polo field. I applaud the efforts of Mr. Patel in bringing cricket to our community, and hope that play continues. Groups should feel welcome and fortunate to be afforded such a space to establish and participate in such recreational activities. That is what the framers intended. However, the framers also intended for there to be no permanent footprint constructed as part of the activity. Cricket (or insert any sport / event) has never been the issue and never will be. Some would prefer to deflect the argument toward race, culture or any other xenophobic label. The issue at hand is the clairvoyant forethought that the framers had in preserving the polo field for future use and promoting community activities. Let’s stick to the issues directly affecting the Charter and not cloud or degrade the conversation with cultural overtones. It is neither productive nor civilized.

WDEF completely missed it on this one. Rather than rightly focusing on the construction of a concrete slab in the middle of a Federally Protected site, the reporter chose to rely on lazy journalism and erroneously direct the conversation toward a specific sport and its participants.

Listening to this news cast and specifically the comments from the Fort Oglethorpe Mayor, you would be led to believe that the residents who oppose the cricket pitch on Barnhardt Circle are against the sport of cricket and might be biased by the race or nationality of the cricket players.

I am a resident of Barnhardt Circle and would like to respond to the mayors comments. 1) The city placed a concrete pad on a Nationally registered historic landmark (National Registery # 79000702). 2) In placing the concrete pad the city violated their own city charter. In 1975 the City was sued to protect what remained of the Polo Field. The outcome of that lawsuit was that the City petioned the State Legislature to add a paragraph to the City Charter (paragraph 7 - 14) that states that there "shall be no new construction or obstruction placed upon the Polo Field". 3) Had the field not been protected in 1975 the area where the players were playing would have been an asphalt parking lot and there would not have been any grass for the Cricket Players to play upon. 4) The residents of the Circle all thought that Cricket was an exceptionally great sport to be played upon the grass field and none of us harbor any racil bias against the players.

The sport, the participants and especially the race or nationality of the participants has nothing to do with the opposition. We just want to protect our homes and heritage.

Ed Parrish
309 Barnhardt Cirlce
Fort Oglethorpe GA
cell# 423-413-6496