Thanks to citizens for Centennial Park support

Day by day, week-by-week, the exciting development of Oakwood’s new Centennial Park at Houk Stream is progressing.  The wisdom of the City of Oakwood leaders to purchase this 3+ acre parcel becomes more and more apparent, as the new addition has transformed Houk Stream’s former narrow corridor into a wide, wooded, peaceful park of ample size.  The tremendous outpouring of community support for this very worthy Centennial Celebration project has been inspiring as we move forward with plans for the property.

Now the park is beginning to take shape, thanks to the contributions and hard work of so many volunteers.  We sincerely appreciate all who have made this early, and sometimes very dirty, work a pleasure to accomplish.  Oakwood residents have certainly been willing to roll up their sleeves and get this project underway.

Within the past month, the Oakwood service department has cleaned up most of the debris on the site of the abandoned tennis court (a possible future location for outdoor education programs).  On Saturday, Nov. 10, a crew of 40 to 50 enthusiastic
volunteers consisting of Oakwood Rotarians, students, scouts and other friends of the park planted bulbs and cleared out mounds of honeysuckle and other underbrush.

On Sunday, Nov. 11, a group of neighbors gathered and pledged their support toward further park development.  A donation of a bridge to make the new parkland accessible is in the works thanks to members of the Oakwood Rotary Club and many other interested people.  Committee members have volunteered to restore and enhance the beautiful wildflowers of the park and, thanks to donations from neighbors and supporters, the committee will proceed with a master plan which can guide the park’s development in the future to a glorious, nature-filled spot benefiting all the citizens of Oakwood.  What a great legacy for us to leave behind for future generations to enjoy during the next 100 years!.

We are overwhelmed and grateful for all the community’s support.  

Thank you.

Irv Bieser
Cindy Garner
Chairs, Centennial Park Committee

Houk Stream letter questioned

Neighbors, I’m writing in response to “Houk Stream stewardship questions” submitted by Andy Pruitt.  I wanted to address some of the claims in that letter, and pose my own questions as well.

First, let’s put aside the dollar figures mentioned and the development questions. Let’s talk about stewardship of this area.

Mr. Pruitt claims that “The property has been stripped of all it’s [sic] old-growth trees and is now left with a logging road extending from one end to the other.”  I was just there on Saturday morning (Nov. 10), and the entire area is covered in trees.  As a matter of fact, it was hard to plant bulbs because the roots of these trees made digging a large enough hole very difficult.

And yes, neighbors, I was at Houk Stream on Saturday morning with at least 40 other Oakwood residents, removing weeds, non-indigenous plants, and planting daffodils. ‘Round Town gave a good listing of who was there, and guess what?  Mr. Pruitt was nowhere to be found. I should have been able to spot him, since all the trees are gone, right? Why weren’t you there, Mr. Pruitt?

The truth is that Mr. Pruitt can only point out problems.  It takes a leader to take action to solve problems, and he clearly isn’t leadership material – otherwise he’d have joined the Citizen Centennial Celebration Committee, the Oakwood Rotary, the city manager and asst. city manager, new council member Steve Byington, the Cub Scouts, and our other neighbors with a shovel and some effort this past Saturday.

Ted O’ Connor
217 Peach Orchard Avenue

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November 20, 2007
Volume 16, No. 47

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