Wallace opens new dog park
Last week a special ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new Wallace Dog Park. Pictured are Brenda Johnson (far left holding the ribbon), From the left (front row) are Bonnie DeRoos, Amy Lynn, Jill Cooper, and Jim Shields. In the back are Mike Priebe, Pete Lefler, Michele Bisconer, and Chris Bischoff. Not pictured are Rick Norris, Phil Rounds and Rick Ligenza.
Courtesy photo
WALLACE — The Wallace Dog Park is open and ready for visitors.
After weeks of planning and working, the new park opened its gates last Thursday afternoon with a ribbon cutting celebration.
The park, located on the west end of Wallace’s Visitor’s Center, was a group effort by many members of the Wallace community — but also received substantial support from across the Silver Valley community.
Amy Lynn, one of the main organizers with the project said the plans are to continue to upgrade the park as more funds become available, but at this point a lot of the feedback she received from folks was that it was just nice to have a fenced area for their dogs to run around and play fetch.
“We were torn, because we had a lot of people wanting some of the agility stuff, but we also had a lot of people come up here while we were working and tell us that they were excited for a place to just let their dogs run,” Lynn said.
The ribbon cutting also set the table for the Wallace Chamber’s annual volunteer awards ceremony, so it was a full first day at the new park.
The park features a double gated entry for safety, solar powered lights for the evenings, several different benches, a covered patio area, and even access to water and a fixed bowl that will allow the four-legged visitors the opportunity to grab a drink after playing hard.
Lynn explained further that while not a Wallace Chamber project, former chamber president Bonnie DeRoos wanted to see the dog park get put in.
“She (DeRoos) called Jill Cooper and myself. We raised the money, got the volunteers and did the work. It took us about six weeks to get it done,” Lynn said.
Lynn would like to extend a special thanks to the Wallace Elks, Dave Smith GMC, Zanetti Bros. and Premier Paving and Sealcoating for their donations to the project, as well as the many community volunteers who helped get the park ready for their opening.