By Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly
Roy Warner Park, under the supervision of Carolyn Rushton, Recreation Supervisor, and Willie Stroman, Park Supervisor, and under the leadership of Aiken County Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT), is undergoing Phase I of an extensive park improvement plan. Upon the completion of Phase I, in the Spring of 2017, Roy Warner Park will gain additional parking, a new concession stand and maintenance shed, and a new football field built in the former Wagener Salley Mud Run arena.
According to Rushton and Stroman, the current Wagener volunteer youth football league will merge with Aiken County PRT by becoming a part of Roy Warner Park. The Wagener youth football team, originated in the mid-1990s by Eric Gleaton, Steve Carver, Curtis Schofield and Tom Sliker, has been completely run by volunteers and has grown large enough to achieve county park status and its own football field. Congratulations to the many volunteers that have continued this youth sport for over twenty years.
Phase I of the Roy Warner Park expansion project is under the cooperative efforts of Mark van der Linden, Director, and Jim Buckalew, Coordinator Special Projects, Aiken County PRT, Jarwin Sadsad and Joe Berry with Aiken County Engineering, Gene Herron, Buildings and Grounds with Aiken County Public Works, Daryl Larrymore with SCE&G, Zack Davis, Landscape Architect with Johnson, Laschober & Associates, P.C. (JLA) out of Augusta, and George Raborn, John Henderson and Roger Williams with J. E. Stewart Builders, Inc. out of Aiken.
Future Phases of Roy Warner Park’s expansion will include a soccer field, new basketball courts and a gymnasium. Volleyball courts are also under consideration. Recreation Supervisor Carolyn Rushton hopes to offer athletic youth programs that will prepare our youth for high school athletics and will make our schools more competitive.