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For one town, recreation is more than a field of dreams
Natchez Democrat Share    
If you take just a cursory glance at Muscle Shoals, Ala., you’ll see a small town of approximately 12,000 people tucked away in the northwest corner of Alabama on the banks of the Tennessee River. But what you see when you take a closer look might surprise you.
Muscle Shoals has turned into a youth sports Mecca thanks to an aggressive mayor, city council and parks and recreation department and quality recreation facilities built in the past 12 years.
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North Texas outdoor sports fields maxed out
WFAA-TV Share
Across North Texas, many parents are finding
park space is at a premium. Demand for outdoor sports fields has grown so much in recent years, many city parks and athletic fields are maxed out. Cities across North Texas are straining to catch up with the boom in population and popularity of sports.
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A top-down program creates more parks
Gotham Gazette Share
When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came into office in 2002, he had a very different view of the role of parks than his predecessor. He had served on the board of the Central Park Conservancy and understood how open space and greenery can improve a city's quality of life and therefore boost its economy and the health and well-being of its citizens. Now, as he runs for a third term, Bloomberg has staked part of his legacy on the
creation of new parks, greenways and other open space, much of which he spelled out in his 2006 economic and environmental sustainability blueprint, PlaNYC 2030.
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Richard Speake, Project Designer with Water Technology, Inc., designs water parks and municipal pools using PLAYTIME products. "PLAYTIME is good to work with," says Speake. "They’re far more creative than their competitors." PLAYTIME offers turnkey Little Squirts kiddle pool systems or individual water play elements. Visit www.ExperiencePlaytime.com
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Texas park that has disabled in mind is a place where kids can be kids
Dallas Morning News Share
When Brianna Murphey said she wanted to join a girls’ softball league, something in her mother snapped. Becky Murphey had grown tired of telling her daughter, who was about 9 at the time, about all the things she couldn’t do. Brianna Murphey was born with club feet, a dislocated hip and
a tethered spinal cord. She has a combination of medical conditions that limit her athletic stamina and have left her legally blind. So Becky Murphey teamed up with Joe Taylor, then the president of the Irving, Texas, Girls Softball League, and started a softball league for children with disabilities. Saturday, the Murpheys and Taylor will celebrate a milestone when Irving opens a new field and playground built specifically for disabled children.
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Study: Park Service averages 11 searches per day
The Associated Press Share
Whether it's saving a stranded hiker with a broken leg or fishing out a capsized boater, a new study says national parks launch 11 search-and-rescue operations on
an average day. Travis Heggie, an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota who headed up the study, analyzed search-and-rescue reports from 1992 to 2007, when there were more than 65,000 operations in national parks with costs exceeding $58 million.
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12 replicable local initiatives to improve opportunities for play, steps for building public support, and
recommendations for citizens and policymakers.
Learn more at kaboom.org/bestpractices MORE |
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Halloween theme parks bring spooks -- and jobs
NPR Share
The economy might be scarier than the Halloween theme parks cropping up this time of year, but people will still pay good money for a harmless fright. The haunted house industry will scare up close to half a billion dollars in ticket sales in October. Some of that retail change will land at
Spooky World/Nightmare New England in southern New Hampshire, one of the largest Halloween attractions in the country.
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Sour economy has Vermont state parks seeing
green
WCAX-TV Share
It's hard not to forget all the rain
this summer-- it almost meant a washout at Vermont's 52 state parks-- but then August hit and with it the sun came out. "Overall through the course of the entire season camping was very steady," said Jason Gibbs, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. "It was day use that surged in August. It was a combination of aggressive outreach, promotion and pent up demand because people just wanted to get out and take advantage of the good weather."
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Under Cover
Recreation Management Share
The need for shelters and shade structures anyplace people congregate outdoors is well understood. Increased
awareness has given rise to creativity. Seldom is a shade structure merely a source of shade. At the very least, they add a pop of color. In new construction, it's becoming the norm to incorporate shade structures and shelter as essential design elements, whereas they used to be an afterthought. Wise renovators make the addition of these items a priority. And where funds are lacking for a major overhaul, simple retrofits are being devised, often resulting in a "facility facelift" for not a lot
of money. More
California lets parks crack down on nude beachgoers
San Francisco Chronicle Share
The California Supreme Court poured cold water on skinny-dippers Thursday,
allowing state parks officers to enforce a ban on nudity at state beaches, including those that have been informally designated as "clothing optional." The court unanimously denied review of a lower-court ruling upholding a May 2008 decision by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's parks director, Ruth Coleman, to allow officers to cite nude sunbathers on a portion of San Onofre State Beach in Orange County where they had previously been undisturbed.
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HealthPro, a leading producer of dog-park sanitation equipment introduces Dispoz-A-Scoop Rustic Park Dispensers! Each dispenser holds 100 “No-Touch” Pooper Scoopers & is supplied complete with signage. Best of all, dog owners happily & willing clean-up because Dispoz-A-Scoops eliminate the offensive hand-in-a-bag!
Learn more & free samples: www.healthprohygiene.com
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Fun with friends can be therapeutic in California
city
Wave Newspapers Share
There are many
forms of therapy -- music, dance and recreation. The latter does not necessarily mean medication and trained therapists. In the case of Norwalk, Calif.’s Therapeutic Recreation program, aimed at the disabled, all that is needed are friends to have fun with under safe supervision.
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Technology enables Canadian students to make virtual trips to the wilderness in Canada
eGov
Monitor Share
Through video conferencing, five new interactive educational programs will allow
students to take online field trips to four provincial parks. Through the 'Next Best Thing to Being There' series of hour-long video conference presentations, students can trek into dinosaur country with paleontologists, learn about rock art and Alberta's First Nations history, uncover mysteries in our forests and discover birds, cougars and wetlands.
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If a swimming pool or spa is within your
scope of responsibility, then know that if your facility does not have in place at this time anti-entrapment devices, such as ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-compliant drain covers, as per the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety ACT (VGBA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can shut down your
facility, impose fines up to $15 million, forfeit assets, and have you imprisoned for as long as 5 years. MORE |
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San Jose, Calif., trail usage shows nearly 10 percent increase
City of San Jose Share
The City of San Jose's Trail Count 2009 shows city trail usage up by 9.6 percent in both bike and pedestrian traffic. The Trail Count, the third annual survey of city trail users, was conducted on Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009. The Count provides data to support further development of integrated trail network. 531 trails users were tallied
representing a 24 percent increase from last year’s Count. The results prove overall usage of the trails at the Count locations was up 9.6 percent from last year’s count.
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Kiefer offers an entire line of specified equipment for water parks, competition and leisure pools, and aquatic facilities.
www.kiefer.com
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Our national database of 90,000 foundations will find grant
opportunities for your community.
www.team-pps.com
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