$4,075 Dubois County Foundation grant assists new Jasper dog park

The people in the photo are (l to r) Mayor Seitz, Clayton Boyles with the Dubois County Community Foundation, Josie, Jill Cravener,City representative to the 2014 Dubois County Leadership Academy, and Mike Oeding, Assistant Director of the Jasper Park & Recreation Department. — From left, Mayor Terry Seitz, Clayton Boyles with the Dubois County Community Foundation, Josie, Jill Cravener, city representative to the 2014 Dubois County Leadership Academy, and Mike Oeding, Assistant Director of the Jasper Park & Recreation Department.

A recent grant was made by Dubois County Community Foundation to the Jasper Park and Recreation Department to assist in completing the new dog park.

The $4,075.00 grant will be used to purchase and install the electronic entry key system for the park which is set to open this spring at Gutzweiler Park located near 16th Street.

The dog park was a capstone project through the 2014 Dubois County Leadership Academy.

“The grant will enable this project to come full circle with providing a safe and healthy environment for the community dog owners,” said Jill Cravener, a staff member at the Jasper Street Department and the mayor’s appointee to the Dubois County Leadership Academy.

In addition to Cravener, members of the Leadership Academy dog park project team The Barktastic Four, include Nichole Faulkner, Shane Denu, and Emma Wininger. The group partnered with the Jasper Park and Recreation Department to complete the project.

“The new Jasper dog park has been a grassroots project with a significant amount of community involvement from dog owners, charities, businesses and the City of Jasper Park & Recreation Department,” said Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz. “I applaud the effort.”