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Donated dollars, time keep programs going, grass mowed
Modesto Bee Share    
The demand for private funding to support public spaces in Modesto, Calif., is likely to grow. With the parks budget slashed 18 percent this year, officials say they need more help than ever. Officials with the city Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Department
plan to form a nonprofit organization to accept tax-deductible donations for department programs. Some question why taxpayers are being asked to put more of their dollars toward government services. But Parks Director Julie Hannon said private fund raising has become a necessity.
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Tennis in the Parks creates peer advisors
NRPA
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Tennis in the Parks, a joint initiative of the United States Tennis Association and the National Recreation and Park Association, has contributed to the resurgence of tennis as a lifelong recreational sport. This unique and dynamic partnership make resources available that will help public Parks and Recreation agencies engage more youth and adults in physically active lifestyles through tennis. An exciting addition to
the available resources is the newly created TIP Peer Advisors, a network of experienced public tennis practitioners from every state to mentor parks and recreation agencies.
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Visitors spend
more money at Smokies than other parks
Tennessean
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A National
Park Service study has ranked the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as tops in visitor spending. The study estimates the Smokies' 9 million visitors in 2008 spent more than $800 million on lodging, fuel, food, gifts and amusements in the park's gateway communities, including Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Cherokee, N.C. That's nearly twice as much as the $423 million spent by visitors to Arizona's Grand Canyon, which finished second behind the Smokies in a review of the park service's 391 units.
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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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Could special wall just for grafitti make a
difference?
Times Colonist
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A Grade 10
student from Port Alberni Secondary School in Port Alberni, BC, doesn't like seeing graffiti all over town, so he used a classroom assignment to bring about change. Brandon Dubrick, 15, was asked to write a business letter for his English class, so he pitched an idea to Mayor Ken McRae. "My proposal is to make a graffiti wall so [graffiti] can stay on one spot and not be all over town," Dubrick said. It requires that concrete wall be built at the town's skateboard park.
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Senate subcommittee considers a 21st century Civilian Conservation Corps in our national parks
Examiner
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Every fan of the national parks can name several projects undertaken in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a working force created by President Franklin Roosevelt to put people back to work during the Great Depression. Last week, the Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Public Lands and Forests heard testimony from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) in support of
legislation to create more service opportunities in national parks and other public lands.
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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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Unique program ready to sign up volunteers
The Arizona
Republic
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When Phoenix officials went out to the community to spread the word about the city's budget crisis a few months ago, many residents expressed dismay that some of their favorite programs might be axed. The budget woes led to cuts in several jobs or hours worked, and, in one example, that has meant less time and money to maintain the parks. "As we went through the
budget hearings, one thing we heard over and over was the support they have about programs throughout the city," said Sarah Hall, a deputy director of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. "Residents talked about how they could step up and help." The city responded, and now the ball is in residents' court. The new My Phoenix - My Park Volunteer Program is waiting for volunteers.
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Fitness classes help disabled stretch, socialize
Miami Herald
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For a person with a developmental disability, finding ways to stay fit can be a lonesome venture. Typical fitness classes or sports teams can be difficult to follow or keep up with, and exercising alone can be unmotivating and well, lonely. But a free physical fitness program for developmentally disabled people 16
and older aims to get people moving while giving them a social outlet. The Broward County, Fla., Parks and Recreation Division's Special Populations Section offers the fitness classes nearly year-round, said Rich Newman, special projects coordinator.
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Wii bowling a big hit on the senior circuit
Herald-Review
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They may all have gray hair and they all may be past the age of 70, but they routinely post better bowling
scores than the average bowler. Rather than taking to regular bowling alleys, they are part of the Seniors on Strike bowling league conducted via a Wii video game system.
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Skatepark
stigma: victim of a bum rap
Tribune-Review
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Dormont, Pa., council's vote earlier this month against building a skate park
highlighted the issues that every municipality faces when confronted with a similar question: crime, litter, graffiti, security, noise and cost. Mary Pitcher's intention was to dedicate the park in memory of her sons, Vincent, 21, and Stephen, 19, avid fans of extreme sports who drowned last year. She would have raised the $600,000 to $800,000 to build the park herself, though it would have been maintained by the borough on public land. Pitcher said she is not giving up, but doesn't know what
her next step is. But other area skateparks are greatly successful and fall victim to a negative stigma.
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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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Governments reach a broader base with
social networking
The Roanoke Times
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Even as
local governments explore the use of online social networks to enhance communications, questions remain concerning the need to retain records of updates and about potential First Amendment issues that may arise. It's all about accessibility, according to Gray Craig, Roanoke County, Va.'s Web content manager. "We're in a changing world, and people are looking for information on their terms," Craig said. "We need to be where our citizens are." For the county, that meant considering new ways to get
information out.
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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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iPhone app can help root out invasive plants
Ventura County Star
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In the near future, the most successful tool to combat invasive plants in the Santa Monica Mountains might not
be an herbicide or a hoe tearing out roots -- it could be an iPhone. And like Tom Sawyer talking his friends into whitewashing a fence, the National Park Service is hoping a few of its friends will help with the work of getting rid of the many invasive plants in the mountains. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area recently unveiled a new iPhone application that allows visitors to not only identify invasive plants, but help scientists map the plants so they can later be removed.
It’s a model that is being emulated at other parks around the country as way to merge technology and the outdoors.
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After-school program entices students to get academic help with
skateboarding
The Press-Enterprise
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The lure of skateboarding has made some Riverside, Calif., middle school students stay after school to skate -- and get academic help. "Coming here is like a paradise," sixth-grader Jonathan Hernandez said on the blacktop playground of Loma Vista Middle School, where the skate club meets as part of the Prime-Time program. Jonathan said he has to finish his homework before he is allowed to
skate. Most recreation leaders and instructors, who teach skating, crafts or other specialties, come from the city Parks and Recreation Department.
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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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