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Building a
Community Park, Together
By Thelma Shirey
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Brush Creek Township Trustees have
completed a walking track at the recently established park on
State Route 348 near Otway.
Over
the past year, passersby on State Route 348 have noticed the development of a
park at the confluence of Scioto Brush Creek and the South Fork of Scioto Brush
Creek. Formerly used by Northwest Little League as a baseball park, Brush Creek
Township began leasing the property as farmland after floodwaters from the
streams ripped the park apart in March 1997. Now, through a collaborative effort
among Brush Creek Township, the Otway community and the Friends of Scioto Brush
Creek (FoSBC) a Brush Creek Township Community Park is being established.
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Owned by the township, the
property just west of Otway on State Route 348 is being
developed as a community park, with several projects already
completed. The township has
installed a parking area and gravel walking track and FoSBC has
planted trees to help restore the riparian area at the
confluence of the main stem and south fork of Scioto Brush
Creek. A park committee
has been formed and is in the process of preparing and
submitting a Nature Works Grant application to the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources for future development
of the park. |
Friends of Scioto Brush Creek volunteers plant trees at
the Brush Creek Township Park. |
| Nature Works grants were established to
provide financial assistance to local governments to
develop and rehabilitate recreational areas. The grant
application for the Brush Creek Township Park will seek
funding for the construction of a shelter house,
complete with picnic tables and several pieces of
playground equipment. |
The park committee
is soliciting donations from individuals and organizations to
cover the 25% match necessary for the grant. If you would like
to help develop the community park, please consider making a
direct donation by sending check payable to “Brush Creek Twp
Trustees – Park Fund” and mail it to P.O. Box 28 Otway, OH
45657. All donations are tax deductible. Donations of time or
materials are also appreciated.
The committee is planning
fundraisers in the spring of 2008 and if we are successful in
receiving the grant, we will be planning several volunteer work
days to assemble the playground equipment and build the picnic
shelter. If you can swing a hammer or turn a wrench, we need
your help!
Become active in your community and let’s build a park together
that we can all enjoy for years to come! |
