N.C Rep. Phil Haire of Sylva, left, looks on as Jay Coward, second from left, accepts a $5,000 donation from Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver and Tim Garrett, right, director of the Southwestern N.C. Resource Conservation and Development Council last Thursday (March 22) at the Pinnacle Park entrance on Fisher Creek Road. The money will be used to construct an accessible trail at the park, said Coward, who is president of Pinnacle Park Foundation. - Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling |
A substantial portion of funding is now in place to help local officials make Sylva's largest natural area more accessible to all who wish to enjoy it.
The Pinnacle Park Foundation has received a $5,000 grant to assist with the construction of stream crossings, other accessible improvements and new trail development at the 1,088-acre park located north of Sylva. Professional engineer Victor Lofquist will donate the engineering for the required bridges, said Sylva attorney Jay Coward, president of the foundation that is overseeing park development on the upper Fisher Creek watershed that formerly provided drinking water for the town of Sylva. The property is owned by the town of Sylva, which has granted the foundation a 25-year lease to manage the property as a public park. The trail construction grant is from the Southwestern N.C. Resource Conservation and Development Council, a non-profit organization supported by the local governments of Jackson, Swain, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon and Haywood counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, that assists local communities and governments with public projects that deal with natural resources. Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver is a member of the council's board of directors. Most of the grading for the accessible trail has been completed, and plans have already received necessary state approval, Coward said. The trail was designed by Western Carolina University students under the direction of Professor Ginny Peterson. |