POWERGRAMS

29 a bowling alley and skating rink combo with concessions," says Tina Covington, a former Mobile Press-Register reporter who grew up in Bay Minee and works for the city. The rink and alley are along Highway 31 but residents enjoy recreational facilities from one end of the city to the other, under the direction of Kelly Johnson, who was born and raised here. Johnson runs seasonal programs for soccer, soball, baseball and football involving more than 1,200 kids. Other children and adults play at 10 top-notch parks. There are soball teams, dance and exercise classes for adults, bowling leagues and a horse arena on the outskirts of town. A $3.5 million sports complex is set for construction between the high school and middle school that will have four soball fields, three soccer pitches, three tennis courts and parking connected by a new road away from the main highway. "This will open up a whole new avenue for Bay Minee," says Covington. Nearby is the city swimming complex sporting an Olympic-size pool alongside a zero-entry children's pool. There are four slides, as well as water sprayers and geysers at the pools that oen host swimming competitions. Tennis courts are next door, as well as a universal playground ideal for children with disabilities and in wheelchairs. The city has a skate park, and a dog park will soon open behind the tennis courts. A few streets over is a full city block where there's another kids park with a splash pad, misting rings, and geysers and cannons that shoot water. The adjacent wooden playground was built by volunteers aer the community raised $130,000 for materials. While most all children use Halliday Park and O.C. Waters Park for baseball and soball, Blackburn Park is a shaded area for picnics and family gatherings. Rex Courtyard is the open remnants of a former movie house now used for free Friday movies, weddings and civic events. Ulmer Park is named for Seaman Vincent Ulmer who died when the USS Stark was aacked by Iraq in the Persian Gulf in 1987. The Bay Minee native had served two years in the Navy before his ship was struck by two missiles without warning during a peacetime mission, killing Ulmer and 36 other sailors. Johnson's staff uses two city vans and two buses to bring children to the parks, bowling alley and skating rink, as well as a summer camp for 5-to-12-year-olds at the rec center. They enjoy an inflated slide inside the rink, but perhaps the most popular place is Ice Cream Alley, where kids gather around bright green tables and yellow chairs to eat frozen treats. "There's a huge crowd in here almost every day," Johnson says. "And they like ice cream." Quincy Compressor A world map at the entrance of one of Bay Minee's biggest industries makes the bold Delta Elementary School second-grader Haven Mathes bowls at Strike City Lanes. Children play at Kids Park Splash Pad.

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