Coronavirus crisis postpones Latrobe's Rabbit Race, closes playgrounds

Latrobe’s 20th annual Rabbit Race 5K won’t happen Saturday morning.

With Pennsylvanians under a state order to stay at home except for essential needs until at least April 30, the fundraising race at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium is tentatively rescheduled for May 16. The new deadline to register online for the event is May 4.

Organized by Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation, the run/walk event is meant to raise money for the recreation program and for Latrobe nonprofit Faith Forward Ministries, which operates Angel Arms, a program offering support for children born into addiction and their families.

Walking or running outdoors is an approved activity under the state order, but people are expected to stay at least 6 feet from each other to minimize the chance of transmitting the coronavirus.

“A lot of people are walking in their neighborhoods, so maybe those people will participate” in the postponed race, said Craig Shevchik, parks and recreation director.

Like many other parks in the state, Latrobe’s recreational sites — including playgrounds — are closed during the covid-19 pandemic.

People still are permitted to walk the trails at all parks in the town, including Legion Keener Park and Cardinal Park, and they can bring along their dogs on the Lincoln Avenue and Creekside trails, Shevchik said.

At Legion Keener, he said, “there’s no congregating at the pavilions, the tennis courts or the basketball courts. If you do want to use the paths or trails, do so with social distancing.

“We’re working with the city police department to have them make a couple visits to the parks to let people know we need to take (distancing) seriously.”

The coronavirus crisis also put Latrobe-GLSD’s spring recreational team programs on hold — among them soccer and dek hockey, which is played at Westmoreland County’s Twin Lakes Park near Greensburg.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do with those yet,” Shevchik said. “I’d like to get in an abbreviated season, possibly in May and the very beginning of June.”

That will depend on how the coronavirus pandemic plays out in the weeks ahead and how officials respond.

Improvement projects planned this year at some Latrobe parks also could be affected by the pandemic.

Latrobe-GLSD received state funding to help install new play equipment at several playgrounds, including one in First Ward. But, according to Shevchik, the Allegheny County-based contractor chosen for the project has been listed among non-essential businesses that state officials expect to remain closed during the coronavirus crisis.

Other state-funded recreation projects that could be affected by coronavirus concerns, according to Shevchik, are paving planned at Legion Keener, including safety repairs to an exercise trail.

“It’s still up in the air,” he said.

Visit latroberecreation.org for more information.