By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — September 21, 2004 – Like many places in Sullivan County, the hamlet of Roscoe experienced severe flooding over the weekend as the low pressure system that was once Hurricane Ivan dumped several inches of rain on the county and surrounding areas.
One of the places where the flood waters collected was the Roscoe Central School athletic fields. The school’s baseball, football, soccer and softball fields were covered with several inches of water that rushed through the banks of three nearby bodies of water – the Beaverkill, the Willowemoc and Darbee Brook.
“There was a lot of water out there,” Roscoe Central School Athletic Director Fred Ahart said yesterday. “The fields were covered and the water was close to the top of the [baseball] dugouts. The bleachers on the visitors’ side of the football field were totally under water.”
Ahart added that the water had since receded, leaving the fields visible but very wet.
While the flooding cancelled and/or postponed games around the region, Saturday’s scheduled football game between Roscoe and visiting Livingston Manor was not held for a different reason.
Roscoe was forced to forfeit the contest because of a lack of players. After playing its first two games of the season with just a few substitutes on the sidelines, the low numbers finally caught up with the Roscoe varsity football team.