Diamond will sparkle for Robbie Mills

When the Muskrats opened their season earlier this month many fans were stunned to find a large sign welcoming them to "Laconia Savings Bank Field," which they deemed hallowed ground dedicated to the memory of slain middle-schooler Robbie Mills.

This week, Bob Curtis of Laconia Savings Bank, working with city officials and Robbie's family, took steps to ensure that the baseball diamond will bear the name of the boy, whose zest for life and love of sports was ended by cruel act of violence on August 2, 1998. The sign will be replaced by an identical routed-wood sign reading, in large letters, "Robbie Mills Field," and underneath, in smaller letters, "Sponsored by Laconia Savings Bank."

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Wendy Mills, Robbie's mother said yesterday. "In everyone's eyes the baseball diamond was 'Robbie Mills Field,' not just a part of the complex. That's why everyone was so upset."

Mills said that "in all honesty, with all Laconia Savings Bank has done for the field, I think the new sign will speak to a real partnership." She said that the improvements to the field and the coming of the Muskrats have enriched the tribute to her son.

At the same time, at the wish of Robbie's father, Robert Lapierre, the bank will also replace the original entrance sign designating the "Robbie Mills Sports Complex." Curtis yesterday that the new sign has yet to be designed, but stressed that "it will be something very nice that blends with the character of the complex." Linda Lapierre Guiliano, Robbie's aunt, said that her family was very pleased with the outcome.

Curtis said he anticipated the new signage will be in place by middle of July.

The day after Noah Crane, general manager of the Muskrats, and his father Jonathan, president of the club, won the approval of the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the Laconia franchise, Laconia Savings Bank announced it would contribute $75,000 toward the cost of improvements at the ballpark to meet the standards of the league. Matt Lahey, who at the time was mayor, said that in return the city agreed to allow the bank to erect a sign, assuming it would be similar to the small sign at the complex's soccer field, commemorating the donation of the Laconia Rotary Club to its construction.

Jeff Pattison, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said that Kevin Dunleavy, director of the department, told the commissioners that the bank would place a sign at the field as part of its arrangement with the city. He said that like Lahey, the commission assumed the size and location of the sign would not overshadow the sign dedicating the entire complex to the memory of Robbie Mills. Pattison said he envisioned an arrangement akin to that in Concord, where the complex of playing fields and tennis courts is designated "Memorial Field" while the baseball field is named "Warren H. Doane Diamond" after the longtime high school and amateur league coach.

Pattison said that he found the size and location of the sign erected by the bank "unwarranted."

He was not alone.

Mills said after opening night she began receiving calls and she was echoed by Guiliano. Both expressed their misgivings to city officials just days after the first game. Mills said that once the concerns of the family and community reached the bank, officials responded promptly.

"To share the sign with Laconia Savings Bank is wonderful," she said. "We all worked together to get the complex built. I hope the community will be happy," she said. "I know I am one happy mother."