Standing by the Tuckaseigee River in the route of a proposed pilot greenway link between Dillsboro's two river parks, Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver (left), Jackson County Greenways Commission Chairman Jim Dukes, (second from right) and Greenways Commission Coordinator Mary Yonce (right) accept a $10,000 Duke Duke Energy Foundation check from Fred Alexander, Duke Power-Nantahala Area district manager. The money will be used to assist with the preparation of a countywide greenway design, Dukes said. - Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling |
Jackson County's Greenways Commission has received a $10,000 donation from Duke Energy Foundation that will be used to fund a countywide greenways plan.
"This generous gift will move us much further down the road in our planning process and attract even larger grants," said Mary Yonce, Greenway Commission coordinator. Jackson County has joined with the towns of Dillsboro, Forest Hills, Sylva and Webster, along with Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College to create the Greenways Commission, which is charged with developing an interconnected greenway trail system that will allow pedestrian and bicycle travel among the various nodes of the system, including partnering towns, universities and parks. Begun as a task force of interested citizens in February 2000, the commission now has an interlocal agreement that outlines its purpose and the duties of the Commission. It has also developed a conceptual vision for a greenway system throughout Jackson County. Commission members are currently working on an educational pilot project in Dillsboro at the River Access Park that will serve to give the public an idea of what a greenway is and its benefit to a community. For more information or to get involved, contact Mary Yonce at 586-7575 or Jim Dukes at 586-9770. The next meeting of the Greenways Commission is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Sylva's City Hall.
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