Dirt Bowl Basketball Tournament Returns to West Louisville

Phillip M. Bailey — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:24:10 +0000

Joined by community leaders, lawmakers and local athletes, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced the return of The Dirt Bowl basketball tournament to Shawnee Park this summer.

The competition has been a West End tradition for over four decades, but has been on hiatus due to a lack of funding and sponsorship. Organizers were able to briefly revive the Dirt Bowl in 2009 and city leaders have been working to resurrect the tournament permanently.

"It was a significant loss for Louisville and a specific loss for western Louisville," says Fischer said. "Generations of families came here to sit on bleachers, to share good times and to watch some serious hoops."

The Dirt Bowl was created by community activist Ben Watkins in 1969 as a way to bring basketball and family-style picnics together. Over the decades, the tournament has hosted local and national basketball stars such as Jim McDaniels, Dan Issel, Wes Unseld, Darryl Griffith and Derek Anderson.

Council Members, Public Works Officials Seek Help Catching Illegal Dumpers

Phillip M. Bailey — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:24:09 +0000

Joined by Public Works officials, Louisville Metro Council members Marianne Butler, D-15, and Cheri Bryant Hamilton, D-5, called on residents to help them crackdown on illegal dumping across the city.

Butler and Hamilton announced on Friday that the city will install 19 new state of the art cameras over the summer in problem areas, which have seen repeated cases of trash and other junk items being dropped off improperly. The cameras are designed to be mobile and will be moved periodically in the case of violators moving to different locations.

Butler says illegal dumping is a perennial problem in many neighborhoods, and the public can help track violators by visiting the city's website to report an incident and identify illegal dumpers caught on camera.

"Hopefully with this we will stop the dumping," she says. "We are asking residents to go to the website. Look at the photos that are on it and help us prosecute the people who are devaluing your neighborhood. Because these people are dumping in everybody's neighborhood."

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton

Dirt Bowl Basketball Tournament Returns to West Louisville

Council Members, Public Works Officials Seek Help Catching Illegal Dumpers