City, state and federal sites offer many facilities, activities

Published 12:01 am Sunday, March 4, 2018

Between four activity centers, seven parks and various sports facilities, the City of Meridian offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities for its citizens.

Meridian Parks and Recreation Director of Operations Alicia Jordan said each facility and park is in good condition and has plenty of offer people of all ages who want to get out of the house and spend time doing fun activities.

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“All of our buildings are up-to-date,” Jordan said. “They’re not brand new, but they’re very functional and have been upgrades in different forms and fashions.”

Since quality of life is high on the list for potential businesses, Jordan said it’s important to show those businesses that Meridian is a great place to live in terms of recreational opportunities.

“The city places a high priority on recreation,” Jordan said.

Thomas Adams, the athletic director for the parks and recreation department, said recreation gives residents an outlet to enjoy themselves in ways that enhance their quality of life beyond work or school.

“Recreation plays a very important part in our lives,” Adams said. “It not only gives adults and kids opportunities to exercise, but it also lets them have a better quality of life outside of their normal routines.”

The Velma Young Center is located at 2400 16th Avenue and includes a TV room, a multi-purpose room, recreational games and activities and special events, according to the city’s parks and recreation website. Arthur Harris, director at the Velma Young Center, said the center’s activities schedule includes the following:

• A morning walk from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m.

• Speed and exercise classes for adults.

• Two Zumba classes.

• Open gyms for children and adults.

• Two General Educational Development (GED) classes offered in partnership with Meridian Community College.

In addition, the city is also operates the Frank Cochran Center, located at 1725 Carousel Drive, which is mainly used for rentals and special events, according to the city’s website. The most well-known community center, though, is the Meridian Activity Center, formerly known as the Senior Citizens Center. Located at 3300 32nd Avenue, the activity center is open to people ages 21 and older and is equipped with conference rooms, classrooms and a dining area that seats 75 people comfortably, according to the city’s website.

A ceramic studio is featured at the activity center. It hosts basic ceramics classes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment on Wednesdays. The activity center also features a fully equipped kitchen, billiard room, snooker room, exercise room and lending library, according to the website. Leisure activities such as sewing, bingo, bridge and computer classes are offered, and adults can also go there to read. The activity center offers different programs throughout the year.

Many activities offered

The city’s various parks offer plenty of facilities to participate in sports recreationally. Highland Park, located at 1720 Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Drive, offers basketball courts, carousels and playing fields for baseball and kickball. The Q.V. Sykes complex offers baseball and football fields, and the Sammie Davidson complex has both softball and tennis courts and can also be utilized for walking trails. Northeast Park is home to both softball and soccer fields and tennis courts, and there is also a walking track around it. Phil Hardin Ball Park has four baseball fields and one practice field and is used for summer baseball leagues, and James Chaney Park has a playground and kickball/baseball fields, and the city is in the planning stages to upgrade the park to include basketball courts.

Ben Arthur Davis Park is located behind 15th Avenue Baptist Church and is home to one basketball court. Bonita Lakes Park, though located in the city, is operated through the Public Works spectrum. It offers walking trails, picnic facilities, boat ramps and fishing. Finally, the city is home to Lakeview Golf Course, located at 2633 Lakeview Golf Course Road. It’s an 18-hole course open to the public that offers leisure golf for people of all ages.

The City of Meridian offers a number of sports leagues throughout the year for both children and adults. Adams said the city services approximately 377 youth that play in its various basketball leagues that began in December and run through the middle part of February.

In addition to youth basketball, the city hosts other sports leagues that include the following:

• An adult men’s basketball league that features 12 teams from Lauderdale and its surrounding counties. This league runs from December until early February.

• An adult women’s basketball league that begins March 6, as well as a 35-and-older men’s basketball league that begins April 6.

• A co-ed medicine ball league, which is a new addition, and a volleyball league.

• A women’s kickball league that begins in August.

• A Magnolia baseball league for children ages 6 to 8 that begins in May and runs through the end of June.

• A summer youth basketball league for ages 10 all the way through high school that runs from June until the first part of August.

• A high school volleyball league that begins after spring break. Games are played at Northwest Middle School.

• Cheerleading and flag football beginning in September. Cheerleading is for girls ages 5-12, and flag football is open to boys and girls and is divided into leagues for ages 6-8 and 9-10.

• An adult softball league that runs from June until mid-July. This league is described as more of a commercial league that has several churches participate.

Okatibbee Lake

Recreational opportunities aren’t limited to the city limits. Collinsville is home to Okatibbee Lake, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Okatibbee Lake is 3,800 acres in size and offers outstanding crappie fishing, according to Scott Payne, the assistant site manager. Catfish fishing is also popular in the spring, Payne added, and it’s also become a “decent” bass fishing lake.

“It was never considered a good bass lake, but it seems to be getting a lot better,” Payne said.

The lake is also home to a campground with both water and power hookups, and there are four beaches that are operated during the summer. In addition, the lake has a water park operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District. The Pelican’s Cove Marina offers boat rentals, dry storage and some wet storage boat slips. The marina’s peak season is in the summer, when the food bar concessions open. Peak boating season is from May until July or August.

“Once school stars, it starts dropping off,” Payne said. “When you have almost 4,000 acres of water, it’s hard not to get a boat in it.”

Most of the recreational opportunities at the lake involve water, but there is also a 6,000-acre wildlife management area that allows for hunting during the various hunting seasons. It’s operated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

“It gives you a good opportunity to disconnect from the devices,” Payne said of what makes the park so attractive to visitors. “You can fish and hike while you’re camping and just enjoy nature without the phones ringing or fingers working the screen.”

Clarkco State Park

Clarkeco State Park is located 15 miles south of Meridian off of Highway 45 and features a 65-acre lake as well as camping and other outdoor opportunities.

Tony Fleming, who manages the state park, said the park is a result of the Civilian Conservation Corps that operated during the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It’s busiest during the weekends and summer, and people sometimes find themselves passing through on their way to the beach and staying, Fleming said.

“As far as getting outside and enjoying nature and exercise, this couldn’t be better,” Fleming said. “We have hiking trails all around the park, and you can’t beat it. It’s 815 acres, and it’s just a neat place to come and enjoy mother nature.”

The lake features fishing and boating, and though the park no longer offers paddle boats, people often bring their own kayaks, Fleming said. Bass, catfish and bream can be fished at the lake, and while the park doesn’t allow jet skiing, it does allow skiing.

The park also offers a splash pad for young children, a playground, tennis court, playing fields for baseball and softball, a nine-hole disc golf course and 43 full hookups for campers. There are also cabins that range in prices from $70 to $95 a night. There is a store that sells items for campers, and Fleming said the park is working on getting fishing bait in the store by the summer. The park is also considering expanding its beach area.

More than 73 million people per year visit American state parks, Fleming said, which generates $23 billion to the economy.

“People need to utilize it and use it,” Fleming said. “It’s a good way to get away. When I was a little boy, when we came to Clarkco, it was like we came to the beach.”