RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. (AP) - The community of Russiaville has been dreaming of a day when they have a nice community park with walking trails, a playground and plenty of activities for everyone.
Situated just north of the Russiaville Lion’s Club baseball diamonds, the new Community Center Park, which used to be a farm field, began taking shape Saturday morning as more than 80 volunteers planted 65 trees.
The volunteers were made up of Chrysler’s community service team and volunteers.
Josh Welch, chairperson for the Russiaville Park and Tree Board and project manager, said the group had five types of trees which are native to Indiana. The trees - a black gum, red maple, tulip trees, service berry and oak - were planted on six acres of open land near the Jeff Stout Community Center. The center was built in 2012 with the help of a state grant and is owned and operated by the town.
“It’s awesome,” Welch said of the project.
“We’re really pleased with the turnout,” he told the Kokomo Tribune (https://bit.ly/1qw7af2). “There’s a lot of people out here and a lot of families. Some people are just standing around which is a good problem to have.”
The tree planting is just the start of an urban forestry project through the Indiana DNR Division of Forestry, which awarded the town a $11,500 grant. Combined with community pledges, the total project budget is more than $23,000.
Welch said their ultimate goal is to put in a walking path, a playground and a shelter.
“This matching grant, along with Chrysler’s help, will allow us to plant trees that future generations will be able to enjoy and which will beautify our local community and benefit our environment for years to come,” Welch said.
“It’s nice for the ball people too,” he said of the Lion’s Club baseball and softball fields. “Right now if you want a walk path you have to go to Kokomo or Burlington. I think it’s going to be pretty cool.”
Reba Casler, a member of the park board, said she was amazed at the turnout.
“It’s wonderful,” she said of all the people volunteering.
“We’ve been dreaming of his day,” she said. “It’s been a good day with good weather. I think it’s good for the kids. Ten years later, they can look out here and say, ’I helped plant those trees.”
After working up a sweat and an appetite, the volunteers were treated to lunch by Gambinos Pizza in Russiaville. Panera Bread also donated lunch for the Chrysler employees.
Along with community members, a number of students from Purdue University Kokomo and Indian University Kokomo pitched in to help get the ball rolling.
As part of the project, IT students from Purdue College of Technology Kokomo developed a tree inventory database system and Earth and Sustainability Sciences students from IU Kokomo’s School of Sciences completed the actual survey of publicly owned trees in the town.
“We wanted to involve students and community members in the project,” said Rick Homkes, a professor at Purdue University Kokomo, who helped write the grant.
“This may have helped us in the grant application process, but it will also make project management more interesting because of the number of moving parts.”
Linda Downey, clerk treasurer for Russiaville, was happy to see their dream of having a beautiful park come true.
“I would like to see basketball courts, a sand volleyball court and place for seniors to exercise,” she said of her vision of the park.
“I grew up in Niles, Michigan, and I came here from Virginia,” she said with a shovel and rake in hand. “I started working for the ambulance service and that’s how I got involved with the town. I love this town.”
Chrysler worker Rick Movroydis’s love for baseball prompted him to give up his Saturday morning to volunteer.
Movroydis was among about 40 workers from Chrysler Group’s Indiana Transmission I and II, Kokomo Casting, Kokomo Transmission and Tipton Transmission Plants to volunteer.
“I love baseball and Russiaville is big in youth baseball,” he said after patting down the ground around a tree he helped plant.
“My son played for Northside Little League. The baseball tournaments around here are almost as good as the NCAA (basketball) tournament.”
A Wisconsin native, Movroydis has lived in Kokomo for 15 years.
“Kokomo’s a good town,” he said.
Jerry Gilliland, a Chrysler worker from Noblesville, agreed.
“I think it’s a good way to give back to the community,” he said.
Russiaville residents Beth and Jerry Davis gladly pitched in to help spruce up the small town.
“It’s going to be really nice,” said Beth after planting a service berry tree.
“We’re both employed at Functional Device here in town and are part of the park board,” she said. “We’ve been looking forward to having this walk path.”
Sandra Beals, a member of the Master Gardeners group, also was excited to part of the effort.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I’ve wanted to be a master gardener forever and this is one of the things I did when I retired.
“We planted four so far,” she said after planting a small service berry tree.
“I think it’s amazing,” she said of the turnout. “It’s good see Chrysler workers out here. It says a lot about the businesses in Kokomo.”
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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, https://www.ktonline.com
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