By Jeff Wootton
Hello Yukon! I’m Jeff Wootton and I have the great opportunity to serve on the city council as your vice mayor. Randy Anderson, the owner of this paper reached out to me and asked what I thought about having a small article about things that are going on here in Yukon and my thoughts on it. I plan on discussing the history of Yukon, current events and future plans. So today we will talk about the past, present and the future in this first article. So a little about me, I was raised right here in Yukon, Oklahoma!
One of the many things that influenced us growing up was sports. So I started playing little league baseball when I was eight years old. I played all the way into high school and had the great opportunity to win an American Legion state championship in 1997. I absolutely loved playing the game. I was taught that baseball is more than just a game but a way to learn how to work together with people, how to work hard towards a goal, and that failure is always a possibility. In little league I played right here in Yukon on the baseball fields at the community center.
I have a ton of great memories learning baseball and fun times playing with and against friends. Fast forward 30 years later, and now I have the chance to teach my son, Van the game that my Dad taught me. Van has also grown to love baseball. He is now seven and plays on the Oklahoma Shockers baseball team here in Yukon. He’s a lefty just like this old man and he even plays on the exact same baseball fields that I played on as a child. Although it is special to watch my son play on the baseball fields I was raised on, it shows how Yukon’s sports complexes have not been updated in thirty years.
As a community, we must always be trying to find ways to make our city better. I believe we need new baseball fields, a sports complex, and a community center that the next generation of Millers get to enjoy as much as we did growing up.
Other neighboring communities that are relatively the same population size as ours, have recently built and updated facilities. I believe it is time for Yukon to take the next step in improving our community. Cities that have built all-purpose community centers benefit from their tremendous value. They promote community, good health, and provide safe places for children, teens, and adults to enjoy.
Yukon just recently made a trail connecting Dickenson Park to Lake Overholser and with the new trail developed, the hopes are for more people to get out and exercise while enjoying our beautiful city. I believe the next step is for the city to make some major renovations to our existing community facilities and with improvements we can bring more money back into the community.
I know when we go to other cities to play ball that we spend money while in that town. Yukon is missing out on tax dollars by not having a complex that can host baseball tournaments.
I will say while watching my son play on the exact same fields does bring back so many memories, I would love to see my son and all Yukon families be able to enjoy new and renovated complexes and create memories while the city of Yukon benefits from the tax dollars that pour in from travelers spending time in our great city.
