Volunteers worked to create the handicapped-accessible path at Howard Prairie Resort

When a new handicapped-accessible trail at Howard Prairie Resort is dedicated at 11:30 this morning, anglers in wheelchairs will be able to fish from the jetty for the first time.

The project includes a picnic area with four tables under the trees on the shore of Howard Prairie Lake and a blacktop path that winds its way out the jetty and can be reached from a parking area without crossing any obstacles.

The dedication is being held in conjunction with a fishing tournament that starts at 5:30 a.m.

The facility was built by more than 100 volunteers working thousands of hours on Saturdays for more than two months. Sources close to the project say its unsung hero is a man whose name won’t be on any plaque.

"The one guy who is truly responsible for making this happen is Richard Anderson," says Chris Johnston, who runs the marina next to the new handicapped-accessible trail and picnic area.

Brad Weller, of Central Point, says volunteers laid more than 1,000 yards of 4-by-6 curbing for the path. Weller takes men in wheelchair vans to outdoor destinations. He says volunteers raised about $35,000 for the project.

Anderson, who works at LTM, was the group’s "inside connection," Weller says. "He knew the laborers. He got LTM and Rogue Agate to donate the materials."

Resort operator Jim Johnston watched volunteers working 13-hour days at the mile-high resort east of Ashland.

"It was dreamed up by one guy, the dreamer, who passed it to the go-getter, and he passed it to the engineer," Jim Johnston says. "The way it goes is the fellow who made it work doesn’t get a whole lot of recognition. But he (Anderson) enlisted over 100 people and supplies and built the thing."

Jim Johnston says that one day in April, people couldn’t get into the parking lot because of all the trucks waiting to deliver asphalt.

"If it was 4 p.m. and they wanted to go home, Richard would say no, you volunteered, you stay until it’s done," Jim Johnston says.

This weekend, volunteers are to be on hand to help wheelchair fishermen land any fish they catch, since the water is low this year.

Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail bvarble@mailtribune.com