Photograph by Robert Scheer
This sign celebrating Sunnyvale's Little League champs will be removed by the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Department will take down a sign in Washington Park honoring the All-Star 9- and 10-year-olds of the Sunnyvale National Little League for their 1995 championship.
The 13 youngsters, who won the Northern California Little League Championship, were each presented with a certificate from the city's mayor at a City Council meeting last August.
The wooden sign, roughly four feet square, lists the names of team members and hangs on the fence behind and to the left of home plate at Gelsick Field, the park's lighted softball diamond.
Robert Walker, Sunnyvale's superintendent of parks, said the sign was apparently posted by a parent of a team member. He said the parent did not contact the league and the league did not contact the city for permission to put up the acknowledgment.
"I'm sure it was well-intentioned and tastefully done. The city and the league agreed to leave it up until the beginning of the season in March," Walker said.
The city and the league agreed it would be taken down because the appropriate procedure for putting up signs was not followed.
"It would be nice if they had used the proper channels to properly recognize the kids. I think the concept is a good one, and we'd be very supportive of that and would want it done properly," Walker said.
He said signs could not stay up forever because staff tries to minimize park signage. Fields are not even labeled as home fields of certain teams because teams can change from year to year, he said.
If the department had objected to the idea of proclaiming the team's victory, Walker added, the sign would have been removed a long time ago, which would have been absurd.
Jamie Balga, whose children Kenny, 9, and Kristyna, 7, participate in the league, said winning a championship is a great accomplishment for these kids and that they should be honored.
"If my son's name was up there, I'd be a little offended at it being taken down. Not only do the kids play so hard, but parents do a lot, too. It's a family commitment," Balga said.
The sign is professionally done and is not blocking anything, she added.
David Rivas, president of Sunnyvale National Little League, said he is disappointed with the city's methods.
"Every single little thing must be in writing and approved. We had nothing to do with this," Rivas said.
"I asked them to leave it up until after the opening-day ceremonies," he added. He said he wants the city not to throw away the sign, and he will go through the proper channels to have it reinstalled.
"If I'd known, I would have asked in the first place," Rivas said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.