Removal of the fencing surrounding the tennis courts in Jay is the first step in creating three new courts made possible through HollandStrong. Pictured from left are William Boyce and Dustin Bradbury of Bancroft Fencing of South Paris and Kevin Therrien of KMT Contracting in Jay. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Pam Harnden

JAY — The fencing surrounding the tennis courts next to the Spruce Mountain Elementary School came down Friday, August 16.

Despite a rainy morning, William Boyce and Dustin Bradbury of Bancroft Fencing from South Paris were hard at work removing gates and disconnecting bars from fence panels.

Kevin Therrien of KMT Contracting in Jay was there observing. His company will be helping with excavation for the new courts.

“Once the fence is down it will open the door for more work,” he said. “I grew up in this neighborhood, used to play here all the time.

“It means a lot to get this done, get it back together for the community. There are a lot of memories right here.”

Mark Bancroft, owner of Bancroft Fencing, is Therrien’s friend. He was more than willing to help with the project, Therrien said.

A three–court facility will replace the double courts, hopefully by early next spring. When completed, the courts will be the site for Regional School Unit 73 home matches.

The tennis project also includes new fencing and lighting for the courts.

The project is being carried out at no cost to RSU 73. The Hollandstrong Community Foundation has raised $37,500 and has applied for a $30,000 grant from United States Tennis Association.

HCF member and mother of Michael Holland Deb Roberts said, “We are still working on getting pricing from vendors for each component of the project and hoping for as many in kind donations of labor and/or materials as possible.

“We started with the tennis courts for three reasons. The tennis courts are unusable so RSU 73 student tennis athletes have no home courts, tennis is a lifelong sport and the tennis courts are the most visible to the community and traffic passing by so will get noticed the most.”

Roberts said the tennis courts are phase one of a much larger goal to improve all of RSU 73’s athletic fields. The district’s board of directors gave concept approval for the improvements in April 2018.

Those interested in donating, should visit www.hollandstrong.org or mail a check, payable to Hollandstrong to 90 Shea Street, Wilton ME 04294.

Hollandstrong.org is a scholarship fund set up in memory of Michael Holland, from Wilton, who was lost at sea off the coast of the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015 while working on the cargo ship El Faro.

Friday morning, August 16 William Boyce of Bancroft Fencing in South Paris helped remove the fence surrounding the unusable tennis courts next to Spruce Mountain Elementary School in Jay. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Pam Harnden

Dustin Bradbury works on removing the fence around tennis courts in Jay on Friday morning, August 16. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Pam Harnden