Candy cane hunt, Santa coming to downtown
♦ Free events are lined up Saturday for the district’s holiday open house.
Free trolley rides with Santa and a candy cane hunt on the Town Green are among the family friendly activities on tap Saturday during the Downtown Rome Holiday Open House.
Rome Floyd Parks & Recreation is sponsoring the third annual free candy cane hunt for children ages 10 and under. Executive Director Kevin Cowling told the advisory board Tuesday they’ll be putting out 13,000 candy canes for the quickie event.
“It starts at 1 p.m.,” Cowling said, then added with a smile: “If none of you have been to a candy cane or Eas- ter egg hunt before, the children go through like sheep. There’s nothing left in the area. So expect it to be done by 1:11 p.m.”
The free trolley rides, also based at the Town Green, will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — with a pit stop while Santa headlines the candy cane hunt. The trolley can hold only 25 people at a time, so organizers are urging parents to be prepared for lines. Cameras are encouraged.
Free parking at the Third Avenue deck next to the Forum River Center and Town Green also will be in effect. The city’s parking office is making the slots on levels 2 through 4 free throughout the holiday season, beginning Friday.
In other actions, Cowling told the Parks and Rec board he’ll be looking at earlier start dates for youth athletics next year. Plans are to shift the league starts back a few weeks to ensure all the games are finished before the grounds are too wet.
“We know November is the rainy season, the hurricane season,” he said.
Youth football teams are ending their season today and Saturday with games at the Boys & Girls Club. Cowling said the recent rains have flooded both of the Riverview Park fields.
Due to weather cancellations, some parents will see a credit for missed games.
“There won’t be too many of those, but one team only played seven games out of 12,” Cowling said.
Board members briefly discussed the growing difficulty of getting enough referees and umpires to officiate at youth games. A big issue is the conduct of parents in the stands.
“It’s gotten so extreme,” Cowling said. “We do have good parents but ... some, you have to spell out everything for them.”
Glenn White, who represents Floyd County Schools on the board, said the Georgia High School Association is running into similar problems of attendees targeting officials with name-calling and threats.
“Especially the younger people are saying, ‘We’re not going to do that for $100 a night,’” White said.
Meanwhile, work has started on resurfacing the pool at Northside Swim Center. Cowling said the pool has been patched in spots over the past decade but there’s too much damage now and the surface has reached the end of its lifespan.
Crews are stripping it down to the concrete and will finish it with Diamond Brite, which is expected to last eight to 12 years. The $63,000 repair is being funded with $40,000 from the city of Rome’s annual allocation and an additional $23,000 from the county.