FRIENDS OF THE FALLING WATERS TRAIL VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2, JULY 2008
Board of Directors
It was a gorgeous day on May 9th when the official grand opening of the trail was held on the trail near Lime Lake. We heard from many local and state officials on county pride,healthy aspects, and uniquefeatures of our new trial. Tshirts from Priority Health,bike helmets from Foote Health Systems, and water from Tri-County Water were available to all who walked, ran, biked or took the shuttles from Spring Arbor provided by Jackson Transit System.
Parkside Marching Band entertained before the ceremonies, members of
local Indian tribes were on hand, the county Mounted Police were present with their magnificent horses, and the color guard was provided by the Junior ROTC from the Career Center.
From left to right -
Martin Griffin, Todd Zeller, Mark Schauer, Rebecca Humphreys , Nancy
Seydell,
Jim Guerriero, and James Shotwell
Bruce Bigelow, Vice-President
Glenn Pascoe, Treasurer
Helen Burnett, Secretary
Gail Keagle, Trustee
Jeff Jackson, Trustee
Stephanie Ruhl, Trustee
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Calendar |
July
•16 FFWT Monthly
meeting
6:30 PM Cascade
starter house - 1992
Warren, Jackson
August
•20 FFWT Monthly
meeting
6:30 PM Cascade
starter house - 1992
Warren, Jackson
September
•17 FFWT Monthly
meeting
6:30 PM Cascade
starter house - 1992
Warren, Jackson
N E W B E N C H E S
BIG DONATION FROM THE
DAFFODIL SOCIETY
Our thanks to the Daffodil Society and their president , Bob Parshall,
for the donation of $2,700 for placement of benches along the trail. The
DNR is working with us in determining the type of
benches that would be best for the trail. Once we receive the
specifications from the DNR, we will search for and order benches that
will add additional comfort to our trail. Soon you will be able to take
a break, adjust those shoes or skates, or just sit and enjoy the
sunshine thanks to the Daffodil Society. Thank you so much!
CALL FOR ACTION
ADOPT-A-TRAIL (ADOPT-AMILE)
Now that the Falling Waters Trail is open, we want to keep it clean and safe for all our users. We have many organizations who have volunteered to Adopt-A-Trail at various sections of our great trail. However, we still need volunteers for two sections of the trail. These sections are Teft Road to Cross Road and Parsons Road to Concord bridge at the mill pond. If you or your organization or group would like to join in the Adopt-a-Trail program, please contact Kathi Bigelow at bsbigelow@comcast.net or 262-3311. Questions are welcome.
Trail Ambassadors Wanted
Anyone interested in
becoming an Ambassador or in helping to coordinate this new
program, please call the Fitness Council at 517.990.9798 for more
information
F R I E N D S O F T H E
F A L L I N G WA T E R S
T R A I L
The Falling Waters Trail is one
of 131 Rail Trails in the Upper
and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan.This 10.41 mile trail is part of over
1,431 miles of Rail Trails in the state. We want to extend a special
thanks to American One Federal Credit Union, Hoyt
Skinner, the Jackson
County Parks Association, Friends of the Falling Waters Trail, and
Consumers Energy’s
Environmental Department who got out on the trail and did a
dedicated cleanup before
our Grand Opening.
Newsletter compiled for the Friends of the Falling Waters Trail by a friend: Tim Payne, Concord
TIME TO RENEW MEMBERSHIPS
YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED
In order to continue support for the trail, by increasing security, safety awareness, and improving trail etiquette, the Fitness Council is looking for volunteers to become Falling Waters Trail Ambassadors. Ambassadors would ride or walk sections of the trail with a small emergency kit, cell phone, information on using the trail, and some form of uniform (t-shirt, vest, hat, etc).They are not police or emergency response. The program would require a brief training session and a commitment to get out on the trail regularly. Call the Fitness Council at 517.990.9798 for more information.
TRAIL AMBASSADORS
The opening of the Falling Waters Trail has had an incredible impact on our community. While the completion of the trail
marks the end of an era of hard work and dedication, it also marks the beginning of new needs. The trail and its users will continue to require attention.
Trail Ambassadors Wanted
Anyone interested in becoming an Ambassador or in helping to coordinate this new program, please call the Fitness Council at 517.990.9798 for more information.
FRIENDS OF THE FALLING WATERS TRAIL
The Falling Waters Trail is one of 131 Rail Trails in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan.This 10.41 mile trail is part of over 1,431 miles of Rail Trails in the state.We want to extend a special thanks to American One Federal Credit Union, Hoyt Skinner, the Jackson County Parks Association, Friends of the Falling Waters Trail, and Consumers Energy’s Environmental Department who got out on the trail and did a dedicated cleanup before our Grand Opening. Newsletter compiled for the Friends of the Falling Waters Trail by a friend: Tim Payne, Concord Use on the trail has been very heavy this spring and early summer. Our parks patrol officer has reported seeing over 500 people on the trail over a 3 hour span on more than one occasion. That’s great! But that also causes some challenges to arise for us from an operational standpoint. The first issue is parking. Our parking area at Weatherwax Road is regularly full by 10 a.m. each day. We are working on some alternatives to help alleviate the situation along the entire trail. The engineering process has been started to enlarge the parking area at Weatherwax to double the size of the existing lot. We are hopeful that this improvement will be completed by mid-August. The next challenge is site amenities. 8.5 miles of the 10.5 mile Falling Waters Trail is owned by the State of Michigan. As a result, the Jackson County Parks Department is working in conjunction with the MDNR to determine specifications and installation guidelines for benches, tables, and litter receptacles. We have received donations from the Jackson Daffodil Society as well as the Jackson County Men’s Garden Club to purchase 10 benches and 2 picnic tables for the trail. These items have been ordered and we will be installing them on their arrival which is scheduled for the week of July 14. Happy Trails! Brandon Ransom Out-County Parks Supervisor
We thank all of those who have joined the Friends of the Falling Waters Trail (FFWT) this year.Dues help cover some of the administrative costs related to printing tourism brochures and this newsletter, postage for varioumailings, and Trail-related expenses for maintenance and improvements. At this time, we do not have a reminder system in place for sending out individual renewal reminders. For those members that joined FFWT in 2005 RENEWAL DRIVE We thank all of those who have joined the Friends of the Falling Waters Trail (FFWT) this year. Dues help cover some of the administrative costs related to printing tourism brochures and this newsletter, postage for various through 2007, it is now time to renew your membership. Memberships can be renewed online at www.fallingwaterstrail.org or by contacting Kathi Bigelow at 262-3311. Thank you!