These are exciting times for La Grande parks!

First, we are on track to break ground on the new Riverside Park Playground this spring. The Riverside Committee, led by Sharron Langdon, Shayla Rollins, Jen Gleason, Andy Altenberg, Jeff Crews and Kelli Hildebrandt, has done an amazing job planning the project and then fundraising for it. They have raised nearly $280,000 locally, and this is matched by $408,184 from the Local Government Grant State Parks program.

To learn more about the new playground, go to lagrandeplayground.org/ or call Stu Spence at 541-962-1348. And there’s still time to contribute!

The second major project, already up and running, is the new Pump Track next to the Pioneer Skatepark. Sean Lerner (Eastern Oregon Wheelworks), Tyler Brooks (Brooks Painting) and their team, all members of the Blue Mountain Single Track Trails Club, wrote grants and raised over $100,000 locally to match another Oregon State Parks Local Government Grant. This got the design funded and executed, and it’s a huge hit!

Combined, these projects represent nearly a million-dollar investment in La Grande parks, La Grande youth, and La Grande’s future. Congratulations, and a huge thank you, from the Parks and Rec Commission!

David Moyal

La Grande

The author is chair of the La Grande Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and writes on behalf of the commission.