Inmate crew helping clean flood-damaged Ukiah ball fields

An inmate from the Parlin Fork fire crew takes a break from... (Brian Maneely/ Ukiah Daily Journal)

Fences pulled out, grass getting raked. The ball fields at the end of Gobbi Street are getting a good scrubbing this week and should be ready soon for games.

This week, a crew from Parlin Fork Conservation Camp is helping clean out the debris that covered the fields after the nearby Russian River flooded Dec. 3.

"It's amazing how fast it comes together when you get enough bodies here," said Reed Rinehart, president of the Ukiah Youth Baseball League, explaining that the 12-person crew was costing $200 a day. "They can't work on private property, but this is (owned by the City of Ukiah)."

On Wednesday, the inmates were helping clear a "huge amount of rocks out of the grass, which will kill the grass if we don't get it out." By the end of the crew's work day, one of the fields looked almost ready, though it still needed new fences and dirt.

"We probably need about $8,000 of soil," Rinehart said, estimating that the cleanup and repairs, including $15,000 of new fences, will total about $30,000.

The league held a work party for volunteers Saturday, and Rinehart said about 40 people showed up to help.

"People donated heavy equipment, and we were able to pull out all the concrete fence posts," he said. However, "there's just not enough (weekends) before the season starts to get everything done with volunteers."

Rinehart said fund-raising events are being planned, and in the meantime donations can be sent to the league via its account at the Savings Bank of Mendocino County. He asked that donations include the words: Flood Relief 2012.