TRACY-

The Tracy Unified School District says a timing clock break down caused the grass athletic fields at Kimball High School to turn brown. The condition of the fields has been a point of contention with coaches and some parents who play baseball or softball.

Some have complained because they had to play home games at other schools due to the condition of the grass. It turns out the school that opened five years ago gets its landscape water from the West Side Irrigation District rather than the city because it it outside the city limits of Tracy.

The drought restricted watering during the five winter months making for dried out turf this year when winter storms never developed. The grass turned green again once spring watering began, but other watering restrictions took effect.

Then last week, the sprinklers stopped working during a heat wave and after school ended for the year. Maintenance crews were also gone.

District officials say it is now manually watering the fields until repairs can be made to the watering timer and that the water district says there will be enough water to keep athletic fields green for the rest of the year.

It remains to be seen whether there will be enough rain in the winter to prevent another slow start to the baseball and softball seasons.