Softball structures were all gone.
Field remained as of yesterday.
no pics?
Are there any drawings of the plans for softball and baseball fields yet?
I was shocked this past weekend at how badly damaged the city of Ruston and parts of LA Tech's campus still are from the April tornadoes & storms. Here on BB&B, we discussed this issue shortly after it happened. We posted a few pics of damaged sports facilities, and some of us even donated money to causes associated with the storm damage. But sadly, we mostly just moved on to the next sport, etc...as time went by. Unfortunately, the city of Ruston is still severely damaged in many places, and so is the "west" side of the LA Tech campus. In addition to the much discussed LA Tech softball and baseball facilities being heavily damaged, many homes are still damaged, thousands of trees have been uprooted, and the University Park Apartments/Dorms (between Tech Drive and the Sorority House row) have major roof and other damage.
On Friday morning, I went by my old Fraternity house (KA) on Westwood Dr, and it was completely devastated. Nothing but destruction everywhere. Apparently the storm's path went right over the once proud "KA Mansion". Now there are massive holes in the side of the house where parts of the brick walls were literally missing. Just gone. There was major damage to the roof, windows, doors......EVERYTHING. That house, which has been the source of so many fond memories for so many young LA Tech students for generations, was now vacant, of course. Yes, it was vacant for the first time in 65 to 70 years. Someone had pad locked the front door. That once gorgeous and beautifully southern KA Mansion --with 14 bedrooms, a kitchen, a large chapter/meeting room, and a separate, but equally large "TV" and entertainment room-- sitting on top of the hill, was now dead. It looked condemned. That house has been on that hill on Westwood Dr (across the street from what used to be Hutchinson Athletic Dorm) since at least the early 1950's. It was horrible. It was a total loss. I'm not sure what the "insurance" situation is related to this house, but I'm guessing a bunch of 18-22 yr old fraternity boys probably didn't spend a lot of money and time thinking about insurance premiums.
All this to say, I know the city of Ruston and Louisiana Tech are still suffering badly from the affects of those April storms because I FINALLY SAW IT. As Tech fans, we naturally focus most of our energy on how these problems impact the athletic sports facilities & athletic programs. That's natural of course, because many of us live out of state and don't get to the campus very often. I for one, didn't realize the full impact of how these storms affected the surrounding community until this past weekend. But, I'm here to tell my fellow BBBer's, both the city of Ruston and LA Tech University still have a long way to go before things "get back to normal". I also encourage you to please keep these folks, their families and their local businesses, in your thoughts and prayers, as the city and the school still face a major rebuild that will likely take several years to complete.
Good info, thanks HD. Easy to move on from miles away
HD, you are absolutely right. There have also been reports that Ruston has been slow to grant permits or has refused them all together unless properties are brought up to current code. Highly illegal, but people aren’t fighting it. Just leaving places vacant.
I think maybe they are getting around to fixing some of the buildings’ roof damage. I noticed they recently put some “excuse our maintenance” type signs around.
Timeliness repair work involving FEMA and state government is apparently a SLOW pain in the arse.
Louisiana Tech University
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
Softball bleachers/ pressbox gone, soccer bleachers gone. Just passed by baseball field and it seemed like they were marking underground utilities. A couple of hard hats walking around the infield looking at the bleachers. Hopefully getting closer to something.