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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 29, 2005 Talent touts summer park activities Parks commissioners establish city-sponsored games, recreation By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings GETTING AIR —Trevor McCormick, 11, jumps into the fun at the Talent skate park Wednesday. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings TALENT — It’s finally time for the Talent Parks and Recreation Commission to have some fun, and the whole community is invited. The commissioners will host a barbecue in Chuck Roberts Park from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday to celebrate summer recreation activities in the parks. Residents can register for the planned recreational programs and give input about future events the city could organize in the parks. The six city-owned parks are in the midst of skateboarding classes and a soccer camp, preparing for drop-in basketball and soccer fun, and planning tennis lessons. “It’s something we’ve talked about for years but we didn’t have any kind of funding or any kind of ability,” said Gordon Mobley, who has been a member of the parks commission for about eight years and is the current chair. The city does not have a paid parks coordinator, meaning city staff and the volunteer parks commissioners teamed up to establish the recreation programs. Parks commissioners began planning the recreation activities in early spring while improvements to athletic facilities at Chuck Roberts Park got under way. “There are actually two different activities going on,” Wheeler said, explaining the city is focusing more time and resources on parks improvements while the parks commission has worked to establish the first ever city-sponsored recreation activities. “We’ve been working for several years to get the parks in shape and there’s still lots of work to be done.” The basketball courts have been redone, the resurfacing of the tennis courts will be completed next week and the parks commission has spent several months and $5,500 to organize the city’s first slate of summer recreation activities. “We hope that people will get out and get involved,” Talent City Manager Betty Wheeler said. “That’s our maiden voyage into the world of recreation. We’re taking baby steps.” The parks commission raised approximately $8,000 at wine tasting and auction at Paschal Winery in Talent in March 2004. Those funds were used as seed money to launch the summer recreation programs this year. Getting people out Activities targeting children began on July 11 with the first of three free week-long skateboarding classes at the skatepark. The Rogue Valley Transportation District co-sponsored the lessons so they would be free and older kids from the Talent Boys and Girls Club helped teach the younger children basic skills and safety measures. I3-year-old Chad Daniels of Talent spends all day at the skate park with his friends. “We know during the summer months kids have lots of time and not much to do ... we want to give them options,” Wheeler said. “I think things will grow as people get more familiar that we are offering the programs.” A five-day soccer camp coordinated by the Southern Oregon Fuego soccer team kicked off on Monday and drew approximately two dozen players, according to Mobley. “We had good numbers,” Wheeler said. “I think it went fairly well.” Programs for all ages begin next week with drop-in basketball and soccer programs at Chuck Roberts Park. Tennis lessons and a road race will also be offered this summer. “We went through a list of programs and then we did a couple of surveys and these are the ones that seemed to match the facilities we have,” Mobley said. Each summer the parks commission would like to add two or three programs that appeal to the interests of other community members. WHAT'S UP? • Drop-In Soccer and Basketball Beginning Aug. 4, at Chuck Roberts Park every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.. Sessions include a one-hour warm-up and skills practice followed by pick-up soccer and basketball games. Equipment will be provided. Cost: $1/session. • Beginner’s Tennis Tennis lessons to begin in August on the resurfaced courts in Chuck Roberts Park. A preliminary interest list is at City Hall. • Talent Harvest Festival The City of Talent and Southern Oregon Sizzlers Running Club host a 10K Run and 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Sept. 10 for a celebration of the harvest and to help raise funds for Talent Parks and Recreation. Registration forms are now available at city hall or at www.cityoftalent.org. Race participants who register before Aug. 27 receive a discount. • Special events City of Talent parks, which include Chuck Roberts Park, Lynn Newberry Park, Downtown Park, Talent Skatepark, Library Park and Wagner Creek Park, may be reserved for parties and special events if they do not conflict with other events. SOURCE : City of Talent “We want to offer programs for people of all ages rather than stuff just geared towards kids,” Mobley said. The city-organized recreation opportunities will culminate with road races at the 33rd-annual Talent Harvest Festival in downtown Talent on Sept. 10. The festival begins with a 10K road race and 5K fun run/walk in the morning, followed by a pancake breakfast, a parade, craft and vendor displays, live entertainment and food. The road races will raise money to support future Talent Parks and Recreation-sponsored activities. At Friday’s barbecue, those who sign up for an activity receive a free meal; others can pay $2 to eat. For more information, call 535-1566, check out www.cityoftalent.org or stop by the Talent City Hall at 204 E. Main St. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams