As a part of the South Dakota National Guard's "Innovative Readiness Training," local Guard members are helping renovate the Majors field at the Harney Little League Complex.

Sgt. Brent Pickar of the 842nd Engineering Company out of Sturgis said he and three other local Guard members have been working on the project for about a week and a half.

The goal is to extend the Majors field an additional 20 feet.

The Guard members' duty is to perform the initial dirt work for the expansion, Pickar said. That has included bringing in dirt and using bulldozers and road graders to smooth it out.

Pickar, who is in charge of the work at the site, said the Guard's part of the project will likely be done by the morning of Nov. 15. Another group will be brought in to take care of fencing and other details, he said.

Harney Little League, a nonprofit group in Rapid City, requested the Guard's help with getting the dirt-moving done.

The National Guard was called to assist with its specialized equipment as a part of its "Innovative Readiness Training."

That training consists of doing various projects that benefit the community and help Guard members stay sharp on their skills, Pickar said, adding that Guard members tend to enjoy the projects.

"I've been doing this for about eight years now, and it's just a lot of fun," he said.

Scott Jacobson, president of Harney Little League, said enlarging the field by 20 feet will make it regulation size, which will benefit the little leaguers.

"The deeper fence is going to create more opportunities for multi-base hits, and things like that," he said.

After the project is done, the left- and right-field fences will be 200 feet from home plate, and center field will be 220 feet from home. Those distances had been 180 feet and 200 feet.

Jacobson said the improvements will also come in handy for next year's state tournament, which will be hosted at the field. He said the improvements should be done by May of 2008.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com