Courses

BERLIN – Disc golf is expected to become a permanent addition to Stephen Decatur Park in Berlin.

Representatives of Eastbound Disc Golf, the group that installed trial disc golf equipment in Stephen Decatur Park, shared plans for a more permanent setup with the Berlin Town Council this week. Elected officials voiced no complaints about the existing course and encouraged the group to look for grant funding to help with further improvements.

“It’s a welcome addition,” Councilman Jay Knerr said.

Shawn Johnson and Randy Preston of Eastbound Disc Golf met with the council Monday for a six-month review of the disc golf course at the park. Johnson said 174 unique players had rated the course, which likely meant significantly more had played it and just hadn’t bothered to follow up with a rating through a QR code.

“In my experience for every one who does that (rating) 20 or 30 more just breeze through,” he said.

He said that if the council didn’t have concerns, the group would like to replace some of the pavers currently in use and potentially add signs to each tee and a small kiosk to provide a map of the course to interested players.

“Most of the negative feedback is ‘I couldn’t find my way around,’” Johnson said.

When asked about who would provide the labor associated with the improvements, he said Eastbound Disc Golf would be able to handle most of the work. Preston added that the work would primarily consist of replacing the baskets and fixing some of the pavers.

Johnson said that while he didn’t play the course often, it was popular with players just learning the game.

“This course is a great asset for beginning disc golfers,” he said.

Councilman Jack Orris asked if the group could seek assistance with the improvements from a local scout troop.

“There’s always that possibility,” Johnson said, adding that scouts had helped improve other courses where he’d played.

Mayor Zack Tyndall suggested grant funding to help with the improvements, which are expected to cost up to $8,000. He said town officials could work with the group in that regard.

When asked how many players were using the nine-hole course each day, Johnson said he didn’t have an exact figure.

“I’d be shocked if it were getting less than 30 players a day,” he said.

Knerr, who lives near the park, said he saw players using it frequently.

Tyndall suggested the group return for feedback regarding the location of the kiosk once funding for the additions…

Eastwood | Photo by Arden Reimer | The Wright State Guardian

With the weather warming up and the summer months approaching, here is a list of outdoor events for Wright State University students.

Dayton Metroparks

According to the Dayton Metroparks website, there are 18 different parks in the Dayton metro area. Anyone interested can participate in the Five Rivers Metroparks Trail Challenge, which features 28 different hiking trails.

Riverscape Metropark is located on Monument Avenue just north of downtown next to Day-Air Ballpark and features many different events throughout the summer.

The park has a large pavilion that hosts concerts throughout the summer. In addition, the park hosts free workout classes, such as Zumba, on May 13 and yoga on May 20.

Disc Golf

Created in the 1970s, disc golf is a popular outdoor recreational activity that combines elements of frisbee and golf. Dayton hosted the Professional Disc Golf World Championship in 1991.

Readers can watch 1990s footage of the event here.

There are 59 disc golf courses within 25 miles of Dayton, according to the Dayton Disc Golf website. The Dayton Metroparks maintain many of the courses.

Oregon District

Dayton’s Historical Oregon District closes its streets on the weekends to make them more accessible to pedestrians in the spring and summer months. Restaurants provide outdoor seating and retail shops sell items outside.

The Oregon District also provides patrons with a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), allowing them to drink alcoholic beverages in the designated parameters of the area.

Festivals

According to the Downtown Dayton website, Dayton is home to many of the region’s best cultural and music festivals, fun celebrations and other large-scale events that draw crowds from all over and showcase all that the city has to offer.

Here are just a few of the biggest festivals for the summer of 2023.

Dayton Pride and Parade Festival is on June 2-4. This event celebrating the LGBTQA+ community kicks off at the Courthouse Square.

Dayton Celtic Festival is on July 28-30 at Riverscape Metropark. Celebrating Celtic and Irish Heritage, the Celtic Fest is one of the largest festivals in Dayton. This three-day event features live music, food and beer trucks and a variety of vendors.

Germanfest Picnic is Aug. 11 through 13 at the historical St. Anne’s Hill Neighborhood. This festival features a large selection of authentic…

Crested Butte, Colo. — May 1, 2023 — As the melting snow begins to give way to green signs of spring, Crested Butte Mountain Resort announced today that summer products will go on sale May 9.

The resort previously shared that, weather dependent, CBMR will be open daily for the 2023 summer season from June 10 through Sept. 4, and will remain open on Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 24. Guests can look forward to a wide variety of offerings and events this summer, including:

• Hiking and scenic chairlift rides via the Red Lady Express and Silver Queen Express
• Crested Butte Mountain Bike Park & bike haul via the Red Lady Express
• Adventure Park activities including the bungee trampoline, climbing wall, and gem panning
• High Alpine archery course
• Two disc golf courses
• Live! At Mt. Crested Butte summer concert series (6/21, 6/28, 7/5, 7/12, 7/19, 7/26, 8/2, 8/9)
• Pinnacle mountain bike race series (6/30, 7/7, 7/14, 7/21, 7/28)
• Fourth of July celebration
• Living Journeys Summit Hike, Half Marathon & 10K Trail Run (7/29)
• The Grand Traverse (9/2)
• Chili & Beer Festival (9/9)
• Dining service at Butte 66, The Umbrella Bar at Ten Peaks, Coal Breaker Coffee Co., and Woodstone Grille

Some activities and services will begin later depending on snow and trail conditions, and all opening dates are subject to change.   

“We are excited to welcome guests to the Wildflower Capital of Colorado for their summer adventures,” said CBMR Vice President and General Manager, Tara Schoedinger. “We just had our third-snowiest winter on record, which is sure to translate into some beautiful summer scenery. I can’t wait to share it with our visitors and community members!

Also returning this summer are Twilight Hours for the bike park beginning on June 30 and continuing every Friday in July! On these days, guests with a day ticket or pass can continue riding until 7 p.m. Those who want to arrive later will have the option to purchase a discounted bike haul ticket to use starting at 4 p.m.

CBMR is once again running the Crested Butte Mountain Resort Summer Camp, offering on- and off-mountain activities for kids ages 7-14 and resort-based activities for kids ages 5-8.  Below is a full list of the summer camp offerings for 2023. Registration is now open.
Mountain Adventures (ages 7-14) 

Monday through Friday, June 12-Aug. 18 

• White water…

Since her children were “itty bitty,” Ann Smith has taken her family to walk through Julian Feild Park, Mansfield’s oldest park. Although the land belongs to the city, her family felt a sense of ownership over the tree-filled property, Smith said. 

But just beyond Julian Feild’s serenity garden lies a largely undeveloped piece of parkland known as James McKnight Park West. The forest near Walnut Creek looks virtually untouched, Smith said. 

“That’s one of the most underused parks as far as I can tell,” Smith, a 40-year Mansfield resident, said. “I’m excited to see it get a little busier.” 

More people could be headed to the park soon thanks to a $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. Between now and 2026, Mansfield residents will have access to a new trail system, playground, exercise equipment and the city’s first disc golf course. 

The city identified several unfunded needs during the development of a 2020 parks and recreation master plan, Matt Young, executive director of community services for Mansfield’s parks department, said. 

The McKnight West park, which was initially developed through a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant nearly 35 years ago, emerged as the highest priority location that had yet to be funded. 

“This second grant will add those needed amenities that these residents can actually use,” Young said. “They can run around in the grass and use it as open space, but there’s no amenities for them to engage in fitness or play or any kind of gathering space. That’s why this grant was important to us, to finish the original vision.”

Bedford’s Boys Ranch Park was also among the 20 projects selected by the state’s Local Park Grant Program, which is funded by a portion of sporting goods sales tax and off-shore gas royalties from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. 

A $750,000 grant will fund a hike-and-bike trail, tennis and pickleball courts and a gaga ball pit at the Bedford park, among other amenities. The funding will also expand the park’s current disc golf course from nine to 18 holes. 

“The City of Bedford is thrilled to receive this grant money, which will go toward several resident-requested amenities,” city spokesperson Molly Young wrote by email. “The Texas Parks and Wildlife funds will help expedite the timeline for which these projects can be added to Generations Park at Boys Ranch.”

Neither the Mansfield nor Bedford…

By EMILY REED | Special to the Reporter

A new pump installed recently at Joe Tucker Park in Helena marks the completion of a larger project at the park, which has been ongoing since summer of 2022.

Mayor Brian Puckett said on Monday that a new electronic valve system was installed, which will allow programming for future forecasting.

“If we know we are forecast to receive a larger amount of rain on a particular day, we can actually go in and pre-lower the water in the pond to accommodate the rain we will potentially have,” Puckett said. “A company is doing all of the electronic work for us, and we will have access to a dashboard where we can go in and manually adjust the water levels as needed. We are really excited to see how that will work this week, because we are forecast to have a good bit of rain on Thursday.”

Puckett said currently Helena is the only municipality who has this electronic system in place for the water management at the pond.

Many residents have expressed interest in if the pond will be restocked with fish, a step Puckett assures will happen after the city works with Southeastern Pond Management.

“We will be looking for a lot of fish to work with keeping the algae down, but we hope to have the pond restocked within the next month,” Puckett said.

In June 2022, heavy rains caused flooding in the area near the pond prompting city officials to explore ways to fix the issue.

“We went out to try and find the true root of the cause,” Puckett said. “What we found was that the pond had been there for about 40 years and had never been cleaned out. You had 40 years of piled up dirt and soot, and then we realized we had to drain the water and the lines were blocked up so that meant we had to get all of that pipe cut open and start digging.”

One change to the current pond is that due to growth and build up, the pond was only about 3 feet deep, but Puckett said crews…