Greenville City Parks board discusses grant, bandshell dedication

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GREENVILLE — The Greenville Municipal Band’s first concert of the season, titled “A Celebration of Independence,” will be held July 1, according to Park Board president Dale Musser, who spoke at the board’s monthly meeting Tuesday.

A dedication ceremony for the new Marling Bandshell will take place at about 6 p.m. that evening, with members of the Darke County Chamber of Commerce cutting the ribbon on the newly built structure. Several people are expected to speak at the event, which will also include fireworks. The band will begin playing at approximately 7 p.m.

Members of local nonprofit Friends of the Greenville Parks Jenny Clark, Kay Sloat, and Jana Deeter were also present for the meeting. Clark updated board members on the progress of a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that the group has been awarded. $33,000 in grant funds are expected to become available July 1.

The Friends plan to use the funds to restore the island in the Greenville City Park’s pond, including pulling out stumps, taking down dead trees, miscellaneous landscaping work, and fixing the wooden stockade towers around the pond, which have begun to lean due to water and termite damage. Clark also discussed having a statue of Chief Little Turtle placed on the island. Little Turtle is the Miami Indian chief who signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, along with General Anthony Wayne, thereby ending the Northwest Indian War.

Jana Deeter, meanwhile, suggested measuring off distances on the park’s trails so that parkgoers know how far they’ve walked.

“You could start by the entrance across from Harmon Field,” Deeter said. “I’d be glad to go out there and help you paint.”

Park manager Deb Fall announced that Walmart will be holding their annual Fishing Tournament in the park May 6. The retail giant recently awarded the parks department with a $1,000 grant, according to Fall, in order to stock the pond, mostly with grass carp, bass, catfish, and hybrid bluegills from Shelby Fish Farmers..

“Hopefully we can continue doing this every year, because it’s a great way to help keep the pond stocked,” Fall said.

Finally, a Greenville resident who lives near the park told board members she has witnessed a man fishing there almost every day, often leaving empty cans of Sam’s Cola strewn around the park. She claimed to have also witnessed the man talking to himself, as well as urinating on the side of a nearby apartment building.

“I’ve talked to him many time,” Deb Fall advised the board. “He’s not going to listen to anything we say.” Board members advised the resident to call the police if she sees the man again.

Local nonprofit Friends of the Darke County Parks plans to use part of a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to resotre the stockade towers near the Greenville City Park’s pond.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_IMG_6008.jpgLocal nonprofit Friends of the Darke County Parks plans to use part of a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to resotre the stockade towers near the Greenville City Park’s pond. Tony Baker | The Daily Advocate

By Tony Baker

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The writer may be reached at 937-569-4315. To join the conversation and get updates on Facebook, search Advocate 360. For more features online, go to dailyadvocate.com

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