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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 25, 2006 Spring is the season for park improvements Flood repairs are complete at Gold Hill site GOLD HILL — After a long wet winter, parks improvements are in full bloom this spring. Flood repairs are complete at the Kiesling Family Playground, new playground features have been added to the Gold Hill Sports Park, a new informational kiosk is nearing completion at the south end of town and a new footbridge will be installed Saturday near the diversion dam Saturday. The Kiesling Family Playground, a public playground destroyed in December flooding, is back and virtually "flood-proof," said Steve Kiesling. Kiesling said he witnessed the play area’s destruction and decided to heed nature’s warning. He donated the park’s large "space net" climbing dome and a swing set for relocation to the city’s Sports Park, out of the flood zone. The park has new topography, thanks to the flood, he added. After working with some of the river’s "gifts" of logs and boulders, Kiesling says, the riverside playground now includes more natural elements. The big boulders and notched logs make for great climbing, says Kiesling. Advertisement "It seems to be more in tune with the environment," he said, noting with a laugh that if they end up down-river after the next flood, there’s more where they came from. The street-level geodesic dome which houses Kiesling’s seasonal inner tubing business is also back up, he said. The town’s service organization, CAN-Do, donated $5,000 to relocate Kiesling’s playground sets to the Sports Park’s playground, said Public Works Director Royal Gasso. "Really, we got two parks for the price of one," said Gasso. The city had another financial windfall this spring. An audit by the Oregon Department of Transportation discovered a surplus of $21,000 from the recent Highway 234 renovation through the city. "It was a very welcome problem," said Gasso. "How do we spend about $20-grand on a project that was basically done?" Gasso said ODOT allowed the city to use funds to build an informational kiosk on the highway’s right-of-way at the south entrance to town near the bridge over the Rogue River. Mike Newman of Creative Land Design created the covered pavilion, said Gasso. The sturdy structure will house informational items of local interest such as tourism destinations, newsletters and a calendar of events put out by civic organizations. "Ours will be like many other small communities that have informational centers," said Gasso. In addition to the Beach Park and Sports Park fixes and the new kiosk, Kiesling said, things are moving ahead with the installation of a footbridge near Tilomihk Falls at the peninsula between an abandoned powerhouse, a canal and the Rogue River. "The bridge will open a section of trail which has been essentially unavailable for 50 years," Kiesling says. The $16,000 footbridge was fabricated by George Thoroughman of Laron Inc., a machine and fabrication shop. "I’m not a kayaker," said Thoroughman, a new Gold Hill resident. "But I’m a hiker and they’re building that walking trail through there. I’m also into mechanical things. So I told him I’d donate building the bridge and help him put it together." Thoroughman’s creation has been waiting for installation for several months, Kiesling said. Kiesling and Thoroughman are looking for volunteers who can bring a willing spirit — along with a strong back— to help assemble the new bridge this Saturday. "It’s like an erector set," said Kiesling. Volunteers should also bring gloves, clippers and shovels to help prepare the installation area, he said. "Or they can just come and see what’s new," Kiesling said. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s