Wheelchair paths take shape at Howard Prairie

By JILL BRISKEY
Mail Tribune

Maneuvering a wheelchair across gravel is hard enough, but moving one over the rough terrain surrounding Howard Prairie Lake can be nearly impossible.

Knowing that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the lake's beauty, Brad Weller, maintenance supervisor at Linda Vista Care Center in Ashland, spearheaded a project to build wheelchair accessible paths and sidewalks more than a year ago.

Businesses and community members donated labor, materials and equipment. The Bull Pen, a group of Linda Vista staff and patients, was able to raise more than $14,000, which was matched by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Three wheelchair accessible picnic areas were leveled and paved at Howard Prairie Resort, and paved pathways were added from the parking lot to adjacent restrooms. Two wheelchair accessible sites also were installed at Emigrant Lake.

Now the project at Howard Prairie is nearly complete, Weller said.

Plans still call for the installation of a path that skirts the lake's shore, from the picnic area to a proposed pier that hasn't been built. Weller said benches still need to be built and installed.

"This is a project that should have been done years ago," he added.

But the work, which the Bull Pen hopes to complete by July 4, has been put on hold until more donations come in.

The organization needs an estimated $30,000 to complete the project, but have only $5,500 left in their accounts.

"We're succeeding in what we want to do. We're almost there," Weller said. "We're trying to generate as much as we can."

The group also is seeking metal materials - tubing and flat bars - that will be used to build benches.

Weller faces a time crunch. The pier must be completed soon before water levels rise.

"We're up against Mother Nature. If that lake fills, we're sunk," he added.

Donations can be sent to Jackson County Parks, Wheelchair Access, 400 Antelope Road, White City 97503. Anyone with questions can contact Weller at 482-2341.

Donors who give more than $1,000 will have a bronze plaque added to the site, with an inscription of their choosing.

Any money left over from the project will be used to install handicap accessible amenities at another Jackson County location, although the next project has not been identified.

Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail jbriskey@mailtribune.com 

Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us
Copyright © 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.