BY DARRELL HALEN

Concerned that athletic fields at Pelham High School won’t be ready in time for fall teams to practice, the school’s athletics director has urged its landscaping company to take immediate action.

“As it stands right now, the conditions of the fields is unacceptable and needs to be addressed immediately,” Tim

Powers wrote in a July 2 letter to Santastic Landscaping.

“With the start of fall sports just around the corner, getting the fields in the best playing condition is of the utmost importance,” he wrote.

According to his letter, football practice starts on Aug. 8, and other fall teams begin practice five days later.

But the fields are in no condition to handle the athletic season, Powers wrote. Most of the field hockey field is burned and has divots in it that make it dangerous to play on, and soccer and football areas are not in the shape they should be in, according to his letter.

“With the addition of the portable classrooms, there will be changes in practice and game spaces,” Powers wrote, referring to the modular unit that opened on school grounds earlier this year. “We will need to be flexible with the limited space that we have.”

Last spring, Santastic was awarded a three-year contract by the Pelham School Board and the town’s selectmen to provide landscaping at town and school grounds.

At their July 11 meeting, School Board members were told by Superintendent Frank Bass that he believes the problems will be addressed.

“We anticipate that things will move appropriately and we look forward to a smooth opening of our athletic fields and programs,” he told the board.