A community at a crossroads
A lease dispute between the Highlander Youth Recreation baseball league and the Georgetown Optimist Club has thrust a beloved community program into uncertainty, with the future of more than 300 children’s summer games hanging in the balance.
The Optimist Club, which owns the fields where the league has practiced and played for over three decades, issued a 14‑day notice demanding that the league vacate the property by June 24, citing disagreements over lease terms and fee structures.
Highlander Youth Recreation President Jeremy Shumate says the club’s demands are unreasonable and that it has refused to engage in meaningful negotiations, while the club’s attorney, Cameron Fathauer, counters that league leaders have not been transparent about their finances.
Shumate disputes the club’s allegation, pointing to documented expenses shared with the Optimist Club’s board and to a newly filed lease that he says satisfies the club’s requirements; Fathauer, however, maintains that the filing was incomplete.
Both sides are scheduled to meet in the coming days to seek a compromise that would allow the children to return to the diamond, underscoring the broader community’s desire to preserve a tradition that has brought generations together.