Knox County Parks & Recreation

Contact: Ellen Blasius
215-6607
June 12, 2009

Powell Scouts Adopt Their Park

Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop 154 from Powell are the newest members of Knox County Parks and Recreation’s Adopt-a-Park program.  The scouts, ages seven to 18, have adopted Powell Station Park, 2318 Emory Road.  The boys will begin their clean up activities on Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m., as part of their weekly meeting, said Cubmaster Paul Shepherd and Scoutmaster Frank Rose.

Knox County is in the process of erecting signs at the parks that have been “Adopted” by local organizations, families and individuals.  The volunteers will help keep an eye on the parks, do light maintenance and litter pick-up, and occasionally assist with special projects in their parks.  “The adopters are really our eyes and ears in the parks,” said Doug Bataille, Senior Director of Parks and Recreation for Knox County.  “Our maintenance crews do a great job, but they can’t see everything that goes on day to day in each park.  That’s where this program comes in.  These are folks who either live nearby or frequent the park, so they can let us know about potential problems sooner than we might otherwise hear about them,” he added.

Adopters are asked to visit the park and report any unusual activities or maintenance issues they see.  “With the recent storms we’ve had, several trees have either lost limbs or fallen completely. One large limb fell across a greenway and we were notified by Claude Jones, who has adopted Walker Springs Park.  He found it on his morning walk, emailed us when he returned, and we were able to send a crew out there to take care of it,” Bataille said.

Eight of the County’s parks and greenways have been adopted since the program began in March.  Other locations are still available for adoption and are listed on the Knox County Parks and Recreation website, www.knoxcounty.org/parks/adoptapark.

The Scouts’ Adopt-a-Park sign will be placed Wednesday prior to their meeting.