Latest news with #ParksandRecreationdepartment
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
New splash pad opens at French Memorial Park in South Knoxville
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A new splash pad opened at French Memorial Park in South Knox County. The official opening was at 10 a.m. Thursday with representatives from the Knox County Mayor's Office and the Parks and Recreation department as well as former Knox County Commissioner Carson Dailey. It is scheduled to be open every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. until mid-September. Smoky Mountain Thunder Memorial Ride gears up for final tribute 'This morning has been a vision for eight years that we would have a splash pad in South Knoxville,' Dailey said, a group of children playing in the water behind him. 'Nothing better than hearing kids having fun.' He said this project means a lot to the people of South Knoxville. With this new splash pad, the county will have one in all four geographic regions. The others are at the following locations: New Harvest Park (East) Carl Cowan Park (West) Powell Station Park (North) Joseph Mack, Senior Director of Parks and Recreation for Knox County, said that splash pads were one of the county's most frequently requested amenities, so they thought it was important to get one in every quadrant. Emory Valley Center continues to serve disabled community in Anderson County The splash pads in Carl Cowan Park and New harvest Park are currently closed while the department is 'working out the kinks.' The mayor's office announced the splash pad in March 2024, and officials broke ground in June 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Veterans Memorial reopens after starling soiling shut it down
Mar. 25—The grounds of the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Southeast Albuquerque have reopened, according to the city's Parks and Recreation Department. The announcement comes nearly a month after the park was shut down, due in large part to a massive amount of defecation from an estimated 50,000 European starlings that were roosting at the park. The Parks and Recreation Department said it was able to use non-lethal tactics to force the birds from the park, located along Louisiana SE, north of Gibson. "We're very happy to invite the public back to the New Mexico Veterans Memorial to enjoy that space and to honor our veterans," Dennis Vasquez, deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said Tuesday. In addition to safety risks and the unpleasant sight of bird excrement, the operation to move the starlings was due to concerns around air travel from neighboring Kirtland Air Force Base and the Albuquerque International Sunport. Vasquez said the birds ended up flocking to a variety of places away from the area, and the Parks and Recreation department is taking steps to make sure the disruption doesn't happen again next winter. The park's reopening comes just before it hosts a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans Sunday at noon.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Another Hamilton County trail extension is in the works. You may recognize the name
An historic Hamilton County park will nearly double in size and a newly funded trail nine years in-the-making will connect it to Cicero under a long-term recreation plan. The county last week received a $3.1 million grant from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization to connect Cicero to Potters Bridge Park in northern Noblesville by greenway. The money will pay for the second and final section of the Steven Nation Community Pathway. The first 2.5-mile asphalt-paved leg stretches west-to-east along Jackson/234th Street from Cicero to the White River Campground. The second will cut a new path, south on Cumberland Road for 4.5-miles to the covered bridge at 194th Street and Allisonsville Road. 'We've been working on this a while now,' Chris Stice, director of the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation department, said. 'But it is important because a top request among park users is for more trails.' The county started planning the Steven Nation trail in 2016 and after three applications for loans, received $1.04 million from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for the first phase in 2021. The county contributed $590,000 for construction, which was completed in 2023. Stice said the rest of the Nation Trail will be built in 2028, a full 12 years since planning started. The trail link coincides with a planned expansion of Potters Bridge Park. The county recently bought 50 acres of farmland next to the 75-acre park that will bulge it from a mostly linear, shaded trail along the White River to a broader nature area, likely with a trail loop and other attractions. The park now features the greenway, a canoe launch, picnic areas, fishing areas and the covered bridge — a selfie-magnet and favorite haunt of nature photographers. The Potter's Bridge Fall Fest attracts 6,000 visitors and 100 vendors each year. Potters Bridge is one of 90 covered bridges left standing in Indiana, which once had 600 of them, according to the Indiana Covered Bridge Society. It was built in 1871, listed in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures inventory in 1978 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Stice said from the bridge, trail users will be able to use a series of other greenway trails to explore downtown Noblesville and beyond. County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt said the Steven Nation trail is an important connector between north and south Hamilton County of which its namesake would be proud. In fact, he is proud. Nation works down the hall from Heirbrandt at the Hamilton County Government Center as a member of county council. He previously served 24 years as a county judge and 16 as a prosecutor. Nation has been a member of several civic boards and received the state's highest awards for community and public service. 'Steve has always been a person who connected people and communities, so we thought what better way to recognize that than name the trail for him,' Heirbrandt said. Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at and follow on X/Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Greenway to link Cicero to Potters Bridge Park gets cash to finish
