By CECILIA FOX
Record Herald Writer
Courtesy of the Record Herald; Printed 9.16.12
TIPP CITY – The Tipp-Bethel Girl Scouts are looking for new ways to keep Tipp City beautiful. Troop Leader Anne Carter came to the Parks Advisory Board meeting Monday night looking for an ongoing service project. She explained that the girls had the idea of adopting one of the parks and taking responsibility for its up-keep and beautification.
“We’re looking for ways to help in this community,” Carter said. “Where they can say they’re proud to be Tipp City residents.”
There are about 80 girls in the Tipp-Bethel service unit ranging in age between 6 and 14 years old. They are looking for a hands-on service project that they can take pride in, said Carter. Some of their ideas are keeping the parks clean and trash-free, planting flowers and trees, and building benches.
“It’s a great idea,” Board Chairman Pat Hodges said.
Board member Pamela Hale agreed, saying that a project like that is “very much needed.”
Parks Superintendent Jim Asher told Carter they could meet later to finalize a specific project.
The board also heard updates on two highly anticipated projects.
According to Asher, the new horse trails in Kyle Park—and the only horse trails in the county—will soon be open to all area horse owners. The trails are complete and most of the signs identifying the trails are posted, Asher said. Once the trail head kiosk containing maps and trail rules is completed, which is expected to take another two weeks, the riding and hiking trails will be open to the public.
“September is a real possibility for the ribbon cutting,” Board Chairman Pat Hodges said.
Asher agreed, saying that the kiosk could be done in time for a grand opening on Mum Festival weekend. Members of the Miami County Equine Initiatives Task Force first came before the board in January and given the go-ahead to build the trails in July. The trail, which will incorporate service roads and hiking trails that are already in place, varies from gently rolling grassland to riverside and wooded paths. The task force established the trails and will be responsible for their up-keep.
Asher has also met with Cody Rowlands, whose request to build a skatepark in Tipp City was approved in May on the condition that he raise the necessary funds. Asher and Rowlands met to discuss new sketches and plans that Rowlands has drawn up.
According to Asher, Rowlands is planning to attend the next meeting in November to share his plans with the board. If he can raise the money he needs to build the park, it will likely be built on the old baseball diamonds north of the aquatic center.
The board also heard several requests to hold sports tournaments in Kyle Park.
The Warrior Soccer Club from Huber Heights made a request to use Kyle Park for their second annual fall tournament. The event draws teams from all over the state and has outgrown Tom Cloud Park in Huber Heights where it is normally held. The tournament is scheduled for Oct. 27-28.
The third request was for a Memorial Day softball tournament and two baseball tournaments, one in April and one in June, organized by the Tipp City Junior Baseball and Softball League. Alex Gonter-Dray, the league’s treasurer, spoke on behalf of the organization, saying that if the tournaments are successful, the league would like to make them an annual event.
“We’re getting a reputation out there that’s bringing people in,” Gonter-Dray said.
Both the Junior League and the Warrior’s requests were approved, provided the paperwork clears with Tipp Monroe Community Services.
The third request came from Emily Merritt, a graduate of Tippecanoe High School, who is organizing a soccer tournament in memory of her older sister Sarah. The proceeds from the tournament will go to the Ohio University women’s soccer team, where her sister played until her death in 2007. If approved by the board, the tournament will take place next spring.
Hodges asked Merritt come to the next meeting with more information before approval was granted, because Merritt has never organized a tournament before and the board wants to make sure she’s got everything in order.
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