Editorial: River City Park doesn't need a renovation

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It's about fifteen till noon with a heat index of 89 degrees and a steady breeze to combat the humidity. I'm on my weekly trek through River City Park, taking photos of the construction progress, and I'm reminded that although all the hype is around the new projects in the park, the existing features are already worth the trip.

I parked by the Jerry Adair Baseball Complex, named for one of Sand Springs's greatest athletes, and rebuilt just a few years ago thanks to countless community donations and volunteer hours after a devastating tornado.

It is the West Side Alliance 3V3 tournament weekend so the soccer fields are packed. This is normal for Sand Springs. The WSA is one of the largest and most active soccer programs in the state.

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The shaved ice banners are flying and the splash pad is open. A massive contribution from the Rotary Club and the nonprofit concession stand ran by WSA volunteers offer one of the best places in Sand Springs for kids to cool down and hang out.

Once you pass the hubbub of the Inez Kirk Soccer Complex, the park begins to quiet down.

The River City Trail winds along the river and with a little TLC along the shoreline, the park could easily be the premier viewing destination of the Great Raft Race 

I'm passing The Great Lawn and the new playground facilities now. For now the great lawn is a great mess, but soon enough it'll be a beautiful site to host concerts, festivals, and other community gatherings.

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I stop at the playground to snap some pics and do a little playing of my own. It has been a year since Pokémon Go debuted, but it has managed to maintain its appeal for those of us who spent our childhood playing the games, collecting the cards, and watching the show. I battle the Gym located in the playground, then continue walking and hatching Pokémon eggs.

The restrooms are being updated and modern art is littered along the perimeter of the lawn. A minuteman stands to watch over the grounds, the mascot of Sand Springs. The amphitheater is exciting. I look forward to many great concerts here.

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Once you pass the great lawn there's a boat ramp to the rive. The dam is open and the river is running. Not as uncommon as it used to be, but still a treat compared to the sandbars we're so used to. 

Volleyball courts have been here for ages, the Horseshoe pits have been relocated, and a Thunder Cares Basketball Court is being built.

I'm getting into the back of the park now. The Will Ramsey Softball Complex, the rodeo arena, the BMX track, and the disc golf course. Round Up Club volunteers are currently painting the facility in hopes of reversing a City Council decision to demolish it at the end of the season. The new disc golf course is nice. I've played it a couple of times now. 

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I have reached the end of the park where it terminates beneath the Arkansas River bridge. The trail goes up the levee and meets Katy Trail allowing you to go into Prattville or back to Tulsa. The trail system will take you all the way to the new Gathering Place and beyond, though I don't see why anyone in Sand Springs would need to go that far when we have such a beautiful park right here.

Though the new additions are welcome, and the park has always had its flaws, the bones of the park will be the same in September as they were a year ago. Packed soccer, baseball, and softball fields. Tulsa's only BMX track, a uniquely wooded disc golf course, nearly a mile of river shore, playgrounds, a splash pad, and a well-paved and shaded trail. 

The $6 million renovation will bring improvements and additions to Sand Springs's flagship park, but a simple Saturday morning stroll more than shows that River City Park doesn't need a renovation to be one of Sand Springs's greatest assets.

Pokemon Go! Machop nest confirmed in Sand Springs River City Parks

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

I have been hearing rumors for weeks of a Machop nest at River City Park in Sand Springs and finally got to confirm Sunday morning.

The flagship of the Sand Springs Parks Department, River City is the "Gathering Place" of Sand Springs and can frequently be found packed with families and sports teams any day of the week.  

The park features a nine-basket disc golf course with alternate tees for eighteen holes. There's a (mildly overgrown) horseshoe pit, a skate park, a splash pad, boat ramp access to the Arkansas River, numerous great fishing holes, and a large stretch of scenic paved walking/biking trails.

The park's Inez Kirk Soccer Complex is home to the Sand Springs Soccer Club recreational league and the West Side Alliance competitive soccer league. The Jerry Adair Baseball Park is the home of the Sand Springs Little League and boasts some of the nicest facilities in the region. The Will Ramsey Softball Park, Case Community Center, Sand Springs Round Up Club rodeo arena, and Sand Springs BMX Association are also found in the massive park.

The soccer complex, ballparks, community center, and park entrance are all Pokéstops and the playground is a gym. However, due to the sheer size of the park, it's not a good place to go without a solid stock of pokéballs. The stops are spread out with zero overlap and unlikely to be lured on a normal day. 

Case Community Center

The Pokémon selection is solid, however. It's not as dense of a hunting ground as downtown Tulsa by any means, but it beats your average neighborhood park by a long shot. The best spot for diversity is the Case parking lot. As soon I pulled in, I was confronted by Diglet, Nidorina, Pidgey, and Ekans. After circling around the building I added a Tauros and Eevee. From there I went to the baseball park and found Exeggcute, Zubat, and multiple Krabby. Magikarp and other water type are throughout the area.  For the Machop nest, you have to travel all the way into the park to the BMX track. Some will spawn as far out as the disc golf course, but the deepest concentration is within the BMX fence. No worries though; the track has free admission for spectators! Head over to www.sandspringsbmx.com for their schedule and enjoy some racing while you hunt! 

A great opportunity to do some hunting will be on Labor Day when the park is swarmed with participants and spectators of the Great Raft Race. River City is the launching point for the race and there will likely be hundreds of spectators playing and I would be surprised if there's not at least one or two lures running. ​

Did I mention the outstanding concessions stand that's open all week long raising money for the soccer leagues? It's located right next to the splash pad and serves an above average array of food and drink including the famous Harper's Hut gourmet Shaved Ice!

So whether you're just working towards the elusive Machoke or Machamp, or you want a fun area to enjoy some fresh air with friends or family, River City is a five star destination for any Pokémon trainer!

Pokémon Go! Sapulpa's Davis Park

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

If you're a Pokémon Go! addict like me, you're always looking for the best new places to gather supplies, battle for gyms, and catch the elusive monsters needed to complete your Pokédex. 

Follow along with my Pokémon Go! series to discover the communities around you and save yourself the trouble of visiting useless hunting grounds.

Today I visited Davis Park in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Located on the corner of Taft and Maple Street, this fifteen acre neighborhood park boasts four Pokéstops and one gym. The quaint, semi-wooded, walking trail is a winding and enjoyable venture with lots of cute friendly squirrels and ample seating.

I counted no less than a dozen benches and picnic tables throughout the park, as well as two pavilions, an old-school playground, a beautiful creek, and a full basketball court. There is also a baseball field, but it's not cut short enough and would be rough to play on. The playground features classic equipment that we all know and love; not the newfangled contraptions that look like they belong on the set of 50 Shades of Grey. 

While this would be an excellent park for a family outing or afternoon walk, it is NOT a good hunting ground for Pokémon trainers. Throughout my pleasant walk along the half-mile paved trail, I encountered only a single Pidgey and nothing else. You do have to walk the entire trail to reach all the Pokestops, and there is no overlap.  

So leave the phone in the car for this one and just enjoy the outdoors! 

Monsters have invaded Sand Springs and Millennials are loving it

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The streets of Oklahoma have been invaded twice this week. First by monsters, then by Millennials.

Many parents may have thought their pokemon days were behind them once their child grew up and moved out, but now you might very well have a Vulpix living in your bathroom. 

Nintendo and Niantic Labs released the newest evolution of the Pokemon franchise last Wednesday in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand in the form of a smart phone app for Apple and Android users. Pokemon Go utilizes GPS imaging and the users' cameras to render an "augmented reality" that directly mirrors the real world.

What does that mean? It means that nerds actually have to leave the house and get some exercise now. For Pokemon trainers to "Catch 'Em All," they have to travel and seek out the desired "Pocket Monster" using a low-tech radar that only informs you if you're getting closer or further away, but doesn't actually point you in any specific direction.

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To load up on Pokeballs and other necessary inventory, trainers must visit Pokestops at various local landmarks such as the Sand Springs Triangle Clock Tower, the Sand Springs Lake, or the Herbal Affair Mural. Pokemon can be caught anywhere, including the middle of the street, causing some potentially dangerous habits among die-hard collectors. 

In addition to the Pokestops, there are also Pokemon Gyms at Earth and Soul, the statue of Charles Page on the Triangle, Crossfit 1055, Saint Matthews Episcopal Church, and more. Gyms can be taken over by players on any of the three teams: Valor, Mystic, and Instinct. Players can combat enemy trainers at hostile gyms, and can train their own pokemon and level up friendly gyms that belong to their team. 

What's great about Pokemon Go is that it's not just a kids' game. While the app is sure to reach an entire new generation of children, its biggest target audience is the nostalgic young adults who grew up on the original Gameboy games in the 1990's and 2000's. The augmented reality aspect of the game is not only encouraging young people to be more active, but the uniqueness of it has enticed numerous adults well into their thirties and forties to take up the activity as well. 

The "Tulsa Pokemon GO: Team Valor" facebook group already has 231 members, "Pokemon GO-Team Instinct Tulsa" has 368 members, and "Tulsa Team Mystic" facebook page has 261 "likes." "Sand Springs Team Valor" appears to be the only team with a Facebook group in Sand Springs and it is currently sitting at 35 members.

This is far from a small niche market. The app quickly surged to the number one position on the Apple marketplace Top Charts, ahead of Snapchat, Messenger, Google Maps, and Spotify. The company hasn't released official numbers yet, but App analytics company SensorTower estimates more than 7.5 million downloads in the U.S. alone. The popularity of the app has caused numerous server issues that have frustrated many users, but the laps in coverage seem to be getting less frequent and game play is rapidly becoming less problematic. Unfortunately for most of the world, Niantec has already indefinitely delayed the rollout to the rest of the world until the server issues are resolved.

Don't expect users to get bored and quit playing any time soon. The app's debut only features the 150 original first generation pokemon, and future releases are expected to make an additional 570 pokemon available as well as allow players to trade their catches.

Sandite Pride News activated a "Lure Module" at the City Garden Park on Broadway Sunday, which draws rare pokemon to the area for a period of thirty minutes. Within ten minutes, players who saw the lure on their map were flocking to join us in the garden. Five vehicles with close to two-dozen trainers answered our call over the brief window, and there was another lure module going off at the Triangle which attracted dozens more at the same time. 

Needless to say, you can expect to see a lot more people walking around town with their face in their phone in the foreseeable future, so be vigilant not to hit any pedestrians who aren't paying attention to their surroundings. 

Sandite Pride is currently divided with two of our staff members choosing Team Valor while a third is on Team Mystic. Whether the rest of the staff joins the fun remains to be seen, but Executive Director Morgan Miller and I invite you to join us on the Sand Springs Team Valor facebook group and get active! The game isn't just for us nerds, but anyone who wants to be active and see more of the city will be sure to enjoy the app.