Parks and Rec

There are 153 posts filed in Parks and Rec (this is page 14 of 16).

Cookie Judge

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As part of my service on the board of the Mordecai Historic Park, I’ve been asked to be a “cookie judge” for Saturday’s Baking Contest. There are over 40 entries in this year’s baking contest, so I’m not so sure I won’t have a stomachache when we go to the They Might Be Giants concert later that afternoon. My fellow Parks board members sounded jealous of this assignment when I mentioned it last night, but I’m thinking the only recipe I’ll be interested in is a recipe for a ton of extra exercise the next day!

Come out and visit Mordecai Historic Park if you can. Once the judges have a taste, the contest entries will be distributed to the public. Dig in!

Recession puts squeeze on parks and recreation

I found out last night that the City of Raleigh’s proposed budget includes cuts in the city’s Parks and Recreation budget which will result in less maintenance of greenways and roadsides, reduced staffing, and reduced hours at many facilities – including some facilities remaining closed one day per week.

According to the proposed Parks and Rec budget changes, hours will be reduced at a number of Parks facilities, with most facilities closing an hour earlier than normal during the weekdays. Some facilities, such as Pullen Arts Center and Sertoma Arts Center, will no longer be open on Sundays. Walnut Terrace Neighborhood Center will be open for four fewer hours during the weekday, opening at 2 PM rather than the usual 10 AM. Lake Johnson and Lake Wheeler waterfront operations will be closed on Mondays during the offseason. Boat rentals and concessions will no longer be available at Shelley Lake.
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Mordecai Historic Park Blast from the Past

We got back from Mordecai Historic Park’s Blast from the Past and had a terrific time! There were lots of kid-friendly things to do as well as lots of historic things to see. We watched as a team from a local antique automobile association put together a disassembled Model T in about than 8 minutes. We also watched a fashion show detailing the latest 19th century ladies fashions. We also got in a tour of the home and a tour of part of downtown Raleigh on the Mordecai trolley. It was a lot of tun!

Back from Fred Fletcher awards

Tonight was the Fred Fletcher awards ceremony, during which I presented two awards: one to Mordecai Historic Park volunteer Beth Cobb and one to Cub Scout Pack 314 for their cleanup efforts on the Durant Nature Park greenway. I greatly enjoyed meeting all the great volunteers and finding out about all they do for the city. And Fletcher Theater is a beautiful facility. The event was a lot of fun.

There was one drawback from tonight, and one I seem to get more and more. Travis was excited to see me (briefly) home from work and asked hopefully if I could practice basketball with him. I had to tell him no because I had to get ready for the presentation. He didn’t seem outwardly disappointed, but I felt bad about turning him down.

Community service is all fine and good but too often it comes between me and my family. I don’t want to be remembered as the dad who never did anything with his family.

Suiting up

If I thought I was busy the past few days (and I was), it’s about to get busier for me! Thursday evening I have my usual Mordecai House board meeting at 6, but will be leaving it before 6:30 on my way to the Fletcher Theater. I’ve volunteered to present awards at the Fred Fletcher volunteer awards ceremony Thursday evening, so I’ll be dressing up and introducing two award winners at the presentation. I get to stand in front of people and speak again: what could be more fun? Then next week begins my crunch week: East CAC meeting on Monday evening, Raleigh CAC meeting Wednesday, and Parks and Rec meeting Thursday evening.

Life: it doesn’t stop until it stops.

East Coast Greenway planning meetings

Planning is being done on a mega-greenway spanning the east coast. Called the East Coast Greenway, it aims to provide a bike and walker-friendly path from Maine to Florida. Part of this trail will be going through Raleigh by way of Falls Lake and alongside the Neuse River. It will enter town at the north by way of the CSX railroad tracks, which is also the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.

NCDOT is holding a series of meetings to gather input on the part of the proposed trail that will run alongside the track. Most of these meetings are in towns north of Wake County but one is being held in Wake Forest. The meetings are to gather input as to which side of the rail corridor would be best for the trail, among other things.
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Leadership Institute

I was asked to speak yesterday to the city of Raleigh’s Citizen’s Participation Leadership Institute class. Never one to turn down a chance to speak to an audience, I joined two city staffmembers and a fellow volunteer boardmember to describe my role as CAC chair and a member of the Parks board.

Though I arrived a bit late, spoke for too long, and had to leave early, I greatly enjoyed the chance to talk with some of Raleigh’s finest citizens.

Marsh Creek Skate Park

This Saturday is the official dedication of Raleigh’s newest park: the Marsh Creek Skate Park. It will be one park event my whole family will be attending, as my kids will probably enjoy watching the skaters as they give themselves broken bones and concussions …er, I mean skate to the extreme.

Rumors that I will suit up and skate are patently false, in case you were wondering. Just watching will be dangerous enough for me!