A new baseball diamond is on deck for a small northwestern Ontario community just north of Thunder Bay, and residents say they have the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays to thank for it.
Currently, families in Lappe, which has a population of roughly 4,500, must drive 30 minutes to Thunder Bay to participate in organized sports.
But the Lappe and Area Local Services Board is working to bring recreation closer to home. The board — which provides services across the boundaries of Ware, Gorham, Jacques and Fowler — recently purchased a property on Old Hall Road to be developed as a hub for community recreation.
Part of that property's development has been creating the community's first ball field. Last spring, board members learned of the Jays Care Foundation, the MLB team's charity, and its annual Field of Dreams grant program, and decided to pitch an application.