Latest news with #TerryField
Global News
31-05-2025
- General
- Global News
Restored piece of South Okanagan history to benefit local tourism
A dark tunnel in the South Okanagan is shining light on an important piece of its history. The 111-year old Adra Tunnel, perched above Naramata, was part of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) system. But the tunnel has been closed to the public for about four decades — until now. 'It's a 500-metre-long tunnel,' said Justin Shuttleworth, parks manager with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS). 'It does a nearly 180-degree turn in the mountain as it makes the turn in the switchback.' After the railway ceased operations in the 1970s, the province acquired the tunnel but eventually deteriorating conditions made it unsafe and led to its closure in the 90s. A group of volunteers called 'Woodwackers' had hopes of preserving and restoring it but its stability was further compromised after two separate fires in 2010 and 2012. Story continues below advertisement With the same spirit and hope, a new group called 'Woodwackers 2.0' formed several years ago and got to work. 'It took longer than we thought, but the community just continued to rally and show up with shovels and money and resources,' said Terry Field, the volunteer group's project manager. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy About $1M was raised in community donations making the re-opening possible. 'It was a major undertaking to do this,' said Shuttleworth. 'This is no small feat to have this tunnel open again for the public.' 2:34 Community group working to reopen Adra Tunnel The reopening involved many stages including the removal of thousands of cubic metres of rocks from the tunnel and a lot of stability work. 'We had a mining company go through. They would scale the rock down and then install rock bolt anchors to secure the rock above in the ceiling and on the sides,' Field said. 'There was also a series of shotcrete, which is like sprayed concrete, onto certain areas in there to secure the tunnel. We also installed timbers s in an area of the tunnel to structurally support one of the concrete arches that was already in there.' Story continues below advertisement For tourism operators, such as Hoodoo Adventure Company, which rents bikes for the KVR trail, the re-opening of tunnel is expected to provide a boost for the local tourism industry. 'The KVR is a real unique experience, tourism, experience, tourism draw,' said Lyndie Seddon, the company owner. 'So to be able to have an extra piece of history and just one more 'wow factor' on the trail, because there's a lot of them, but this is another big one and it's a unique one.' The Adra tunnel is the longest tunnel on the KVR trail and very popular among cyclists who ride the 80-km distance between Kelowna and Penticton.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'A great person all around.' Former Covington tennis coach remembered ahead of sectionals
LAFAYETTE ― The love for tennis and students is what former players remember the most when reflecting on the life of longtime Covington educator Terry Field. Boys and girls players alike fell for the sport and the man who would use his Christian faith as a foundation to teach the sport of tennis and instill an ever-present confidence, whether matches were won or lost. Advertisement "He was a really good inspiration," Covington doubles player Peyton Brown said. "Not only was he a really good tennis coach, he just made us better people as a whole and really brought us in as a team." Field died of cancer last July, leaving a generation of players to carry on his legacy. More: Girls tennis sectional draw for Lafayette-area teams: Tuesday matches moved to Purdue Covington tennis coach Terry Field left a lasting impact on boys and girls tennis players throughout his 39 years of coaching. He led the Covington boys tennis program to sectional titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2016, 2021, 2022. Field's crowning year was in 2021 when he captured the program's only semi-state and regional title, led by the state's No. 1 doubles team of Nolan Potter and Myles Potter. Field was named Indiana Boys Tennis Coach of the Year. Advertisement His success was prolific, helping the girls side as well. Covington won six straight sectionals between 1993-98 and three more in 2000, 2019 and 2021. Brown's doubles partner, senior Addison Streuer, recalled the prayers he'd have his teams perform before matches. "He gave us a strong connection with God and tennis," Streuer said. "We'd always pray before our matches. He was a great person all around. He always knew what to say to get us going." Former Covington tennis coach Terry Field (far left) with one of his 10 IHSAA boys tennis sectional championship team. Mentorship, guidance and calculus The wizardry of Fields knew no bounds. Along with coaching tennis, Fields was a mathematician who taught advanced calculus and inspired future educators like 1994 graduate Jeremy Pettit. Advertisement "He really found the good, or as he'd call it, the 'godly' thing in people," Pettit said. Pettit resides in Covington and is a practice player for athletes like Brown and Streuer. Growing up was difficult for Pettit and his twin brother Jeremy. He claims his father was in and out of trouble with the law, and together, they used sports as an outlet to better themselves. The tennis court is where they met Field. More: Lafayette Jeff's Sydney North goes from the balance beam to the baseline "He worked with so many people who dealt with parentless children at Covington and never treated anyone different," Pettit said. Advertisement Field helped Pettit earn opportunities and scholarships to play college basketball and tennis at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, and the University of Hawaii at Hilo on the island of Hawai'i. Pettit is now a Liberty Elementary fourth-grade teacher in Danville, Illinois. "He lived many, many lives," Pettit said. "Most people couldn't accomplish what he did in his 74 years." Continued legacy present and beyond Covington senior Addison Streuer dribbles the ball with her racket before serving during a practice rally at North Montgomery High School on Saturday, May 10, 2025 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Brown and Streuer carry on the legacy of Field, who also coached youth tennis players in Fountain County. Among them was Covington freshman No. 1 singles player Malah Bridwell. Bridwell had lessons with Field between sixth to eighth grade and remembered the confidence he instilled in her. Advertisement "He always knew what to say whenever I'd get down on myself," Bridwell said. "He knew how to get my spirit up." Now, the program moves forward with the IHSAA girls tennis sectionals commencing without its former coach, who ran Covington tennis since 1984. Current coach Jerry Taylor was previously at Fountain Central and remembers how influential Field was both as a competitor and as a friend. More: Lafayette Jeff's Elise Medrano helps raise $3,000 for cancer patient in Smash Cancer tennis match "Terry was a good, moral, Christian man," Taylor said. "He loved the kids, and he was always there. He was very successful in tennis, and we'd have some good matches. You always know you were going to get the best from Coach Field from either his girls or boys." Advertisement Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@ on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Covington tennis remembers longtime coach Terry Field
