WEST BEND — The dam is gone. The lake has drained. And the river is running wild.
Welcome to Riverside Park, a sprawling 70-acre recreation center that stands where a manmade lake once languished with deteriorated water quality and diminished public value.
More than 30 years ago — long before a similar dilemma surrounded Echo Lake in Burlington — West Bend city officials made a tough decision: They would remove their lake and build something new in its place.
It was not a change that was universally accepted in the 1980s, and it remains a sore spot for some West Bend residents today.
But patrons and visitors at Riverside Park applaud the results. With a restored Milwaukee River flowing down the center, the new park has been enhanced with a variety of amenities — some similar to what has been discussed in Burlington.
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Carla Stewart practices her shot in disc golf on an 18-hole course created in West Bend’s Riverside Park after city officials drained the area of an old lake that had become polluted and distressed.
Scott Williams
A trail system, soccer field, disc golf course, kayak launch, and pedestrian bridges now occupy rolling green parkland that was reclaimed from deep beneath the old lake. It is a process that has taken…
ALBION — More than a dozen organizations gathered Wednesday a the 2022 Noble County Parks & Recreation Summit to get acquainted, share information and gain inspiration from each other on how to improve recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.
The Noble County Parsk & Recreation Board planned the event, only the second summit ever. The first summit was held in 2019 before the pandemic canceled events in 2020 and 2021.
Current county park board members are president Jeff Boyle, vice president Diann Scott, secretary James Haddock and members Scott Allen, John Metzger, and Jake McDonald.
Summit guests heard updates from the county park board, Albion parks, Chain O’ Lakes State Park, Ligonier Parks, Elkhart Township and Wawaka parks, LaOtto parks, Merry Lea Environmental Center-Goshen College near Wolf Lake, Noble Trails, Fort Wayne Trails, ACRES Land Trust and the Noble County Geographic Information System.
Tourism attractions Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, Stone’s Trace Historic Site and Pioneer Festival, Ligonier Marshmallow Festival and the Mid-america Windmill Museum also shared updates and successes in collaboration and fundraising along with the Noble County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Jeff Boyle told guests that the county park board began with zero funding from county government, and that remains true to this day. He held up a Ligonier mural guide and said the board would like to publish a similar guide for the county’s parks and recreation.
“At the time the board was formed, there was a lot of push-back about not using taxpayer money,” said longtime county board member Scott Allen. “After covid, there’s a better understanding of the benefits of parks and recreation.”
Diann Scott said the county board’s five-year goal was to increase water-based recreation.
“Progress has been made, along with disc golf, kayaking and trails,” she said.
James Haddock, who also sits on the ACRES Land Trust board, said that ACRES manages 107 properties in 20 counties in Indiana, three or four in Michigan and three or four in Ohio. ACRES has 1,700 members and a battalion of volunteers, but still can’t keep up with all the upkeep needed in every property.
ACRES’ solution is a rotating schedule of temporary closings of properties with less needs so that members and volunteers can work on the…
UMF Car Show, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Frontside Bar and Grill. Information: Harley Graves, 308-672-0069 or Mike Graves, 308-631-9126.
Disney “Little Mermaid Jr.”, Theatre West Summer Repertory TOFY Performance, 2 p.m., Judy Chaloupka Theater, WNCC Platte Valley Companies Performing Arts Center. Tickets available starting May 1: twneb.com or at the Kelley Bean Box Office, 1601 E. 27th St. or by calling 308-635-3192.
BING0, 7 p.m, Scottsbluff Elks Lodge, 1614 First Ave. Doors open, 6 p.m. Information: Steve Thomlison, 308-436-7123.
It is summer and things are happening outside. Sports, activities and recreational opportunities have people up, active and moving around. The best part is, you can join in on the fun, too.
DON’T MISS RIBBY
A night at the ballpark is hard to beat, especially with Avista Stadium’s scenic mountain backdrop. Though, it’s made even better when the home team is scoring runs and winning games, and as of this writing that’s what the Spokane Indians have been doing over the first two months of this season. They’re near the top of the Northwest League in wins and are far and away its highest scoring team, averaging over five runs per game. You’ve got 35 chances left to catch the team in action from June 16 onward before the final home game of the season on Sept. 4. Check the schedule at spokaneindians.com.
Endless Brook, 975 Endless Brook Rd., Poultney (across from the Lewis Deane Nature Preserve) Fairgrounds, 131 Town Farm Rd., Poultney
For mountain bikers living in northern Vermont, it’s easy to fall into a rut of pedaling the same logging roads and single tracks week after week. But riders looking to broaden their off-road horizons should consider a trip to southwestern Vermont. At Slate Valley Trails in Poultney, everyone from beginners to seasoned dirt junkies can find miles of new multiuse trails to shred.
In August, Slate Valley Trails, a nonprofit chapter of the Vermont Mountain Biking Association, opened a new connector linking two popular mountain bike networks: Endless Brook and Fairgrounds. Together, the combined network offers 40 miles of off-road single- and double-track trails, all of it free and open to the public.
Andy Vermilyea, president of Slate Valley Trails, said the trails “offer something for everybody.”…
Hiking and mountain biking trails and Oneonta creek are the most popular parts of Oneonta’s Wilber Park, according to a public opinion survey conducted by the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.
There were 382 people, mostly city and town residents, who completed the online survey about existing facilities and what new developments they’d desire in Wilber Park. The information collected will be used to develop a master plan for the park, and will help the commission prioritize improvements.
Of the respondents, 57% visited the park at least weekly, and 95% said they used the hiking and walking trails. The area along Oneonta Creek is also popular, used by 83% of visitors.
61% of visitors said they use the trails every week, and 41% spend time along the creek every week.
While the bike trails get used by fewer total people, they have a large core group of users — one third of respondents said they use those trails weekly or more often. The mountain bike trails are intermingled with the hiking trails in the upper part of the park, but tend to zigzag with many switchbacks.
“What makes Wilber Park special is that it is sort of a place in nature, in the heart of the city. And a lot of people don’t want to see that change,” said Council Member Kaytee Lipari Shue, D-Fourth Ward. She also serves as the Council representative on the parks commission. “I was really relieved to see this, because as somebody who lives in close proximity to the park, it’s a sentiment that I share.”
The Wilber Park playground placed fourth among most-highly-used spots, after the natural areas. In contrast, the basketball courts, tennis courts and the “family play space” — an empty field between the tennis courts — were the least visited by survey respondents.
Survey takers were asked to evaluate existing features in terms of quality. Trails, roads and parking areas got high marks, while restrooms got the lowest score.
The survey also asked what new features people would like to see added to the park. Additional bathrooms got the most votes, followed by a stone-dust running path, a tennis backboard wall, volleyball courts and Frisbee golf. Lipari Shue said she was surprised to see the popularity of disc golf; after Googling it to learn more, she concluded that it seemed “passive and serene” and a good fit.
“The catalyst for this is that we have a master plan for Neahwa Park, which lists upgrades that have been suggested and, for all intents and purposes, approved — even though you know virtually none of them have funding,” Lipari Shue said. Wilber Park does not have a master plan, and so the community preferences identified will drive decisions.
Parks projects usually aren’t passed and funded easily. “They’re sort of seen as low, low priority,” she said. “Streets and drinking water come first.” However, over the long term — five to 10 years — she said the city is committed to making these most popular ideas happen.
Mike Forster Rothbart, staff writer, can be reached at [email protected] or 607-441-7213. Follow him at @DS_MikeFR on Twitter.
At 9 a.m. May 20, Zionsville Mayor Emily Styron, Zionsville Parks and Recreation staff, members of the Town Council, and residents will celebrate the official opening of Overley-Worman Park with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The wooded 53-acre park is at 6040 Godello Circle, across from Starkey Nature Park and behind the new Vonterra subdivision on Zionsville Road.
“Rather than a traditional park, we’ve only taken a small footprint,” said Jarod Logsdon, superintendent of Parks and Recreation. “Our impact is just around three acres, linear throughout the site, and we’ve left the majority of the site untouched, with plenty of wooded and wetland areas.”
The park entrance bridge connects with the southern portion of the Big 4 Rail Trail extension and is adjacent to Eagle Creek, offering several paved and natural trails for walking, hiking and jogging.
“With Starkey Park and Overley-Worman up against Eagle Creek it will allow us to protect that area, focusing on the stream banks and controlling erosion,” Logsdon said.
In addition, two playgrounds for children up to 12 years old will be available, including shelters and picnic areas. Also, some unique amenities have been added.
“We will have an 18-hole disc golf course, which is a first in our parks systems. We’re pretty excited about that,” Logsdon said. “We will also have one mile of mountain bike trail. The site used to be a fill from other work sites in the city, so we chose to embrace the landscape there and create something unique.”
Logsdon said the mountain bike trail will offer challenging offshoots for seasoned mountain bikers, but also a short trail for those that just want the experience.
“I think of it as a gateway park for those that want to try out mountain biking,” Logsdon said. “If you get a taste of it and decide it’s for you, there are other parks in the region, just a short distance away, for more challenging courses.”
There will be a fishing pond with two fishing piers and a boardwalk, including some park overlooks.
“We’re really providing seclusion with nature at this park,” Logsdon said. “I think it’s the best of both worlds because we can develop nature programs and summer camps in this area and we’d love to activate that body of water at the pond for some aquatic programming as well. There’s something for everyone.”
The Friends of Overley-Worman Park is a non-profit community organization with a mission to help ensure success and activation at the park using community advocacy and fundraising for future investment.
For more information, visit the website at www.owpfriends.org or the Town’s website at www.overleywormanpark.com.
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