BELLVILLE — Community groups banded together to clean up trails in Bellville’s Palm Park Saturday morning.
Mayor Terri Brenkus said she is proud of everyone who helped with the project. She estimated between 40 and 50 volunteers assisted with clearing brush and marking the trails.
The cleanup efforts have already begun to generate more interest in the park and its trails, according to the mayor.
Palm Park, located at 4777 Bellville North Road, features two trails that were overgrown and difficult, at best, to utilize. One trail is shorter, Brenkus said, beginning behind the Boy Scout cabin. The second trail is longer and features some steeper terrain.
Volunteer groups from the Bellville area included members of Chompers Tree Services, which donated five hours of time to the effort.
“We’re a Christian business and this is all about giving back to the community,” Kyle Hickinbotham explained.
Volunteers from Chompers said they were contacted by Mayor Brenkus and were glad to help. The group came early to cut down dead trees ahead of the other volunteer groups.
They led a safety talk for other volunteers and worked throughout the morning. For safety reasons, only Chompers actually cut down the trees while other volunteers could cut on trees already down, Brenkus said.
Boy Scouts from Troop 126 helped the effort by laying out the trails with yellow markers. Camping out on location Friday night, they were ready first thing in the morning to clear brush and make the trails easier to identify.
“We’re working on a Paul Bunyan award,” scout leader Randy Echelberger said. Two skills for that award, he said, are “tool safety and trail work.”
He also noted that some of the older scouts practiced their leadership skills as they worked with younger scouts.
There were about 15 members of Troop 126 participating. Echelberger said they are considering a couple of possible Eagle Scout projects such as small bridges, tree identification, and steps along the trails — all to improve the experience for hikers.
Local residents, including employees from Beachy Chiropractic, volunteered throughout the morning to make the park more usable. Members of the American Legion Post 535 provided lunch for the volunteers.
Brenkus said some have raised the possibility of adding additional trails in the future.
A “trail clean up committee” of Isaiah and Dahlia Pabst, Brian Wade, Kyle Hickinbotham, Echelberger and the mayor organized the project.
“The whole thing has been a group effort,” Brenkus said.
Bellville’s “beautification committee” says other projects are on the way. A flower bed at the corner of Ohio 13 and 97 on the north end of Bellville is expected to be a reality soon. The cleanup of that corner and the flowerbed is a result of a local grant through the Richland County Development Group. Liberty Gardens won the contract to install the flowerbed.
The mayor added that the beautification committee meets the first Monday of each month at the Wishmaker House at either 6 or 7 p.m. Anyone interested may contact the Bellville Mayor’s office.
