Court of honor: Basketball court named for accident victim
Joseph Anderson couldn’t stop from tearing up Thursday evening.
Joy and sadness overcame the father as the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors approved a resolution to name the planned Community Park basketball court after Josh Anderson, Joseph and Kelley Anderson’s son who tragically died in a car wreck on El Dorado Hills Boulevard in January 2005.
“It just means a lot to us,” Kelley said. “Josh lived here his whole life and he did lots of things here. He was a busy guy.”
Wanting to do something to commemorate his 19-year-old son’s life, Jospeh went to CSD staff about a year after Josh died and quickly earned the support of Director Bill Vandegrift. “He stayed behind this (project),” Joseph said of Vandegrift, adding that Wayne Lowery, CSD general manager at the time, also assisted.
Josh, who graduated from Oak Ridge High School, participated in many CSD sports programs. They decided on a basketball court because, his mom said, Josh and his friends loved the game, playing where ever they could — on a court or in the street.
“He was a big Kings fan,” added brother Jeff.
Initially, CSD staff partnered with contractors who offered to donate time and services to build the court, which will be just north of the aquatic center, east of New York Creek. The plan was a “no cost” to the CSD, Vandegrift said, but the housing burst and following economic decline took that opportunity away.
The project stalled. About three years ago Joseph said he and Lowery walked the area where the court was planned and talked about the project, but the recession prevented any further action. Nothing was done until earlier this year when the CSD board approved a revised Community Park Master Plan that included the basketball court (the first outdoor court for the CSD) at an estimated cost of $86,000, according to Vandegrift, who also said the funds have already been allocated for the project.
Making it official Thursday, Directors Vandegrift, Lowery, Noelle Mattock and Tony Rogozinski (Guy Gertsch absent) supported the resolution to honor Josh.
“I feel a whole lot better now,” Joseph said, adding that he’ll really be happy when the dirt starts to move.
Vandegrift said he expects to break ground on the basketball court next spring.
Short URL: http://www.villagelife.com/?p=12544
This story falls on page "1"
Posted by Noel Stack
on Oct 17 2011.
Last Login: Wed May 8 16:50:02 2013
Filed under Feature Photos, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
What an honor for Joe and Kelley and siblings. Josh was an amazing young man who loved Basketball and Soccer and it’s great the community is going to honor him and his family.