Coquille’s river walk project is one of  68 projects vying for $5.5 million in State  Parks and Recreation funds this year. On  June 17 Loran Wiese and Dennis Graham  will be in Sun River to present Coquille’s  project to the state committee which will  decide which projects get funded this year.  The project committee plans for the  requested funding are to pave as much of  the multi use pathway as the grant and  locally raised funds will allow. The project  continues selling honor bricks to raise  funds for the project. Purchase forms are  available at the community center, city hall  and the Sentinel office. These bricks will  ultimately become a part of the trail surface  between the parking area near Fat Tuesdays  and the trestle. Two sizes are available  (4"x8" and 8"x8") at $50.00 and $75.00  respectively.

Sample bricks can be seen at  the Sentinel office and in the community  center near the entry to the large auditorium.  I had the opportunity to observe a similar  trail along Clear Creek in Golden,  Colorado while I was there for my 50th  year reunion of my graduation from  Colorado School of Mines. The multiplicity  of users was amazing! People of all ages  used the trail for walking, jogging, cycling  skate boarding, exercising their dogs, pushing  strollers filled with babies, visiting with  people residing or resting adjacent to the  trail, fishing just below the trail and bringing  kayaks to and from the Olympic Kayak  Competition Course in the creek. Every  few blocks there was a post containing a  dispenser for “Mutt Mitts” to be used to  clean up after the four legged trail users.  The only “poop” soiling the trail was that  left by members of a flock of Canadian  Geese that have taken up residence in a  nearby park.

Hanging flower baskets are going up  this week. The time for watering crews to  start their scheduled runs will begin next  week. The hanging flower basket project  committee says that they can still use a few  more volunteers for manning the watering  truck this summer. Watering is done on  Tuesday and Thursday each week and takes  about 1 ½ hours to make the rounds. The  committee says that the more 3-person crews  that are signed up, the less frequently each  crew has to be on duty. Interested persons  can sign up at the Coquille Garden Shop on  Central between Curves and the Motel.  The pool committee reports that even in  harsh economic times there are still a few  funding sources accepting grant applications.

This month a new grant application was submitted  to one of them. Currently efforts are  under way on an application to another funding  source. Their fund raising appears to be  on track to match last year’s total again this  year, in spite of the sad state of the national  economy. If they get the commitment they  are requesting from the Urban Renewal  Agency, they will far exceed last year.  Operation Welcome provides newcomers  special bags containing information about  services and merchants in Coquille.  Newcomers, or those knowing of newcomers,  are invited to call the Sentinel phone  number (396-3191) and ask for Dian with  their requests for these welcoming bags. The  objective of this project is to help newcomers  get situated and familiar with where they can  find locally the goods and services they need  for every day life.  Operation Coquille Inc. needs more volunteer  members willing to help carry out  community benefit projects for improving  our quality of life. Individuals can become  members by coming into the Sentinel office  on First St., completing a membership form,  and leaving the form with a dues payment on  our desk. (Dues are only $20 per year.)  Three new projects have been submitted  since the beginning of this year.