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Knox County Park District

Knox On The Outside

Vol. 2, Issue 3 March 08

The Knox County Park District staff looks forward to seeing you in one of our parks this spring.  The spring equinox (first day of spring) occurs on March 20th this year.  Learn more about the first day of spring in this newsletter.

Here are the latest updates on several of our trails:

Mohican Valley Trail: The Bridge of Dreams was featured in mid-February in the Mount Vernon News special Knox bicentennial series detailing tall landmarks in the county.  View a story and video regarding our special covered bridge.  KCPD staff and Mohican Valley Trail Association volunteers are drafting a grant application to beautify the Danville terminus of the trail. 

Heart of Ohio Trail: The rehabilitation of all bridges along the Heart of Ohio Trail, with the exception of the two bridges nearest Mount Vernon, has commenced.  Photos of initial work performed west of Mount Liberty can be viewed below this paragraph.  Congratulations to the Heart of Ohio Trail group for their successful fundraiser, Soup’erBowl.  The group, thanks to generous sponsors and Coaches restaurant, raised $1,100!

The Friends of the Park District is a group dedicated to sustaining the KCPD long-term.  Call (740) 397-7954 or send an email to fbaldesc@columbus.rr.com to join.  The Friends of the Knox Park District also accepts cash donations, which are tax-deductible.

To remove your name from our mailing list, or if you have questions or comments, E-mail us at info@knoxcountyparks.org or call 740/392-7275

KCPD on the web: http://www.knoxcountyparks.org

Due to an increase in email/spam filters, we ask that you add these email addresses to your email address book to ensure that our newsletter reaches you appropriately:

info@knoxcountyparks.org

kimmarshall@co.knox.oh.us

KCPD Board Commissioners:  Dave Beck, Keith Plocki, Susan Ramser

KCPD Director:  Kim Marshall

White-tailed deer.

Photo by Katherine Clifton

Marching Into Spring—The Spring Equinox

Mrs. Florence Schermer of Fredericktown recently donated $300 in memory of her daughter’s fiancé to assist the park district with the “bark park” at Wolf Run Park.  The monies will be used for benches, a doggie water tub and waste bag container.  It’s easy to donate money or items to the park district—just give us a call at 740/392-7275.  Donations are tax-deductible.

According to Wikipedia, an Internet resource, “an equinox in astronomy is that moment in time (not a whole day) when the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. There is either an equinox (autumn and spring) or a solstice (summer and winter) on approximately the 21st day of the last month of every quarter of the calendar year. On a day which has an equinox, the center of the Sun will spend a nearly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth, and night and day will be of nearly the same length. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night).”

Grill Thrill—It’s Time To Get Cooking!

Ms. Sharon Cookman of Mount Vernon generously donated $50 towards the $150 needed for installation of a grill at the Big Run Access picnic shelter. Sharon  challenges all users of KCPD parks and access areas to match her $50 donation to make this park amenity a reality by spring time!  Call the Park District at 740/392-7275 to donate.

The Knox County Park District recently authored a grant application on behalf of the Knox County Commissioners to promote community participation in the Keep Ohio Beautiful Month awareness campaign.  The $2,400 grant will support public awareness, shrub planting and a clean-up weekend for Wolf Run Park, scheduled April 26-27.  Call 740/392-7275 to help.

Large bridge timbers removed

Heavy equipment and rock needed on site

Close-up of degraded bridge timbers

The Knox chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation (WTF) will host their annual banquet at the Dan Emmett Conference Center at 6pm, March 29th.  The Wild Turkey Federation protects and enhances habitat for forest wildlife including wild turkeys and teaches youngsters about game management.   “Gobble” up a delicious meal and support your local chapter, while visiting with KCPD staff.  Contact Keith Ryan, WTF, at (740) 398-3941 for more details.