Published: April 18, 2009 11:24 pm      

Boy's request granted

EBENSBURG — He’s only 10 years old, but fourth-grader Cody Krumenaker of Revloc already has seen government in action.

And in the process, he has learned that asking for help sometimes brings it from unexpected sources.

Last month Cody was discouraged that, at his height of 4 feet, the basketball hoops in his town park were just too high. He wrote to Cambria Township supervisors, asking them for a lower hoop “for kids like me.”

When the story appeared in The Tribune-Democrat, it caught the eye of Jim and Pat May of Somerset, whose grandson had a basketball system he didn’t use anymore.

So they donated it to Cambria Township, miles away, and supervisors announced at their meeting last week that they would be installing the system in Revloc as soon as the weather permitted.

Speaking by telephone from her home, Pat May said her son called the story to their attention.

“It’s used, but it’s adjustable, so it can be used by this little boy and others,” Pat May said.

“It felt good to do something for that little boy.”

Supervisors picked up the equipment and received a $25 check from Jim and Pat May as well, to help with installation and sand needed for the bottom.

“We’ll put one hoop at each end, so youngsters like Cody can use it,” said Robert “Buzzy” Shook, chairman of the board of supervisors.

Throughout the process of lobbying and then receiving something from government – along with the newspaper publicity – is more than Cody expected.

But the Cambria Elementary School pupil is happy with the results.

“My dad and brother taught me the game,” he said. “I like all kinds of sports, but basketball is my favorite.”

A regulation basketball hoop stands 10 feet high.

“I am only four feet tall, and they are too high for me,” Cody wrote to the supervisors.

Supervisors said they would add his request to other recreation requests they have received and would look into it.

Shook said he was impressed with the boy’s initiative in writing a letter to the township board with an idea.

The Cambria Township Park, on Route 422 on the edge of Revloc, has picnic tables, baseball fields and basketball courts – all aimed at accommodating adults and teenagers.

Getting young people involved with basketball is a popular concept with recreation specialists.

The nearby Ebensburg Young People’s Community Center already has hoops of varying heights so that as kids grow taller, so do the hoops they practice with.