Parks and rec workers are great

Dear editor:

I could not allow Brittnee Harrison's criticism of Parks and Recreation in her recent letter to the editor to pass without responding.

For thirty years I have had the privilege of working as a volunteer alongside the Parks and Recreation staff, dating back to 1979 when I first coached youth sports. In 1982 then Mayor Don Etter invited me to join the Parks and Recreation Board where I served for 22 years.

In those early years Parks and Recreation activities consisted of little more than T-ball, youth soccer, swimming, and a small assortment of arts and crafts programs.

All of that changed when Stan Franks was appointed Parks and Recreation Director. Under his leadership Mountain Home Parks and Recreation has been transformed into one of the best, if not the finest, Parks and Recreation departments in the entire state.

Last year the recreation staff presented a remarkable array of programs to meet the ever-changing needs of our community. For the sports enthusiast they provided youth spring and fall soccer, youth boys and girls basketball, youth girls softball, T-ball, boxing, adult basketball, swimming lessons, archery, water aerobics, fencing, and many other choices. For those with education and training interests, they provided parent/tot classes, bilingual preschool, guitar lessons, discovery classes, smart sitter training, Spanish language classes, survival cooking class, SAT preparation classes, and the list goes on.

If you are into arts and crafts you could have taken classes in clay creations, youth ceramics, tye dying, fly tying, jewelry making, water color painting, wood working, quilting, tole painting, candle making, and again the list goes on.

All together, in 2008 Parks and Recreation offered just over 100 different programs to satisfy the diverse interests of our community.

The Parks personnel are equally impressive in their job performance. We are all aware that they maintain Carl Miller, Richard Aguirre, Legacy, and Optimist parks. Fewer people are aware that they also maintain nine other parks -- Stonetree, Rosewood, Railroad, Colonial, Basque, Claire Wetherall, Rolling Hills, and Don Etter.

In addition they are responsible for the grounds at the museum, Visitors Center, Senior Center, airport, dog pound, library, police station, two well houses, little league playing fields and the bike path.

In fact they maintain and improve 40 different locations throughout the city. During the growing season they mow 90 acres of grass twice a week.

In their "spare time" they service and repair an equipment fleet of over 50 vehicles ranging from lawn mowers to pickup trucks and buses. They also build and repair the picnic tables used in the parks, install sprinkler systems and plant and trim all the trees for the city (80 along the bike path alone). They also make time to support other city departments and civic organizations.

Not bad for a bunch of "lazy" guys!

What impresses me most is that Parks and Recreation is able to accomplish all of this work with less than a dozen employees on any given day.

One can only imagine what else they could accomplish if they didn't have to divert so many man hours and resources repairing the damages inflicted by vandals. At Legacy Park vandals destroyed the "bridal bridge" by the water falls, pried the foundation blocks from beneath the small gazebo and tossed them into the pond, tore the siding off the historic building by the water wheel, and kicked in both doors of the pump house. They also threw picnic tables and railroad ties into the ponds and carved up the memorial benches. Then they damaged nearly $1,000 worth of sprinkler heads and damaged or destroyed thousands of dollars worth of trees. This goes on daily in all of our parks.

Now I would like to address Ms. Harrison's specific complaints about Legacy Park.

The ponds in Legacy Park are established wetlands that undergo seasonal cycles, which include the periodic growth of moss. Though it is unsightly and smells a bit like a swamp, it is not harmful.

To the contrary, it provides both food and shelter to the waterfowl and fish.

Admittedly, at times there is more moss on the surface than we would like to see. But occasionally, it is simply a matter of too much to do and too little time. A Fish and Game official serves as advisor to Parks personnel on wildlife management and water quality matters.

Ms. Harrison, if you see litter on the ground in one of our parks, do like I and other concerned citizens do -- bend down and pick it up and dispose of it properly! If you see someone abusing park property, again, do like we do -- confront them or report them to the police. Be part of the solution.

Over the last 15 years, I have spent hundreds of hours working in Legacy Park. In all that time I cannot recall you coming forward one time to offer a helping hand. We can always use another volunteer. I invite you to join us. Perhaps you could help remove the excess moss from the ponds.

Finally, on behalf of the rest of the community, I would like to say "thank you" to Stan Franks and his staff for their extraordinary contribution towards making Mountain Home such a great place to live and recreate.

Now get back to work you lazy bums!

Don Dow