The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

The fan experience at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn baseball and softball games will be a bit different next year.

The school board on Monday agreed to purchase new baseball and softball scoreboards for $50,142 from Daktronics, Inc., of Brookings, S.D. Because there's a six-month lead time, Superintendent Patrick Carlin said it was important to get the scoreboards ordered now so they could be installed before the summer sports season begins.

"We're not talking about anything extravagant," Carlin said. "Those are the ones with immediate need for replacement."

Carlin explained the existing scoreboards at the baseball and softball fields "are a motherboard away" from becoming useless. The software is outdated and obsolete, and the district would not be able to replace the motherboard should the current one fail.

According to Board President Scott Vollink, the location of the two new scoreboards will be the same or similar to their predecessors. If they're installed too far east, the setting sun will make viewing them difficult during evening games.

As per the board's request, the two scoreboards will include a pitch count tracker instead of a hit/error option. With pitch count rules dictating how long pitchers can throw in baseball, Vollink believed fans would appreciate being able to track where a pitcher is at during a game.

The scoreboards will include panels for sponsors to purchase as well.

"I think there will be a high interest from local businesses," Carlin said regarding the sale of sponsorship spots.

The current baseball and softball scoreboards were installed in 2007. According to previous discussion, life expectancy of their replacements is approximately 15 years. Software will be updated at no cost; however, the district may need to replace computers every five or six years.

Additionally, Daktronics submitted mockup options for a new scoreboard at the football field – one with a video screen and one without. The board took no action on the matter.

• Hires, resignations, open positions

The board accepted the resignation of custodian/bus driver Jason Vander Berg and hired Pete Widvey as his replacement.

Carlin noted the district is in dire need of substitute bus drivers right now. He said no applications have come in for the open positions, and high school Principal Nate Hemiller has had to fill in lately when no subs are available.

"If we have anybody in the community that could help us out, we could really use you," Carlin said.