T~
New dog park is dream come true for local woman
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Forsyth County's Department of
Parks and Recreation is welcoming
the addition of a decidedly new edi
tion, with the opening of Horizon's
Happy Hounds, another dog park in
Forsyth County.
"It's an area that's about three
acres in size that we're turning it
into a fenced-in area for dogs,"
explained Forsyth County Parks
Superintendent Michael Anderson.
"Once you get inside, you can let
your dog off-leashaand (it will be)
able to run in that open area and get
exercise."
Born of a swath of untouched
land at Horizons Park, Horizons
Happy Hounds is on the brink of
completion.
"We're pretty much putting the
finishing touches on it," Anderson
said. "It's going to be a real posi
tive feature for our system."
Complete with intricate fencing
designed to keep pets contained, yet
free, park benches and landscaping,
the park is home to many amenities.
Waste stations are plentiful so that
cleanup is convenient,' and the park
has special "doggy" water foun
tains.
Horizons Happy Hounds is the
actualization of a deep-seated
dream for community member
Darlene Pruitt and her adult daugh
ter, Jenny. The two were the impe
tuses behind the park's creation.
Jenny Pruitt was the first to
bring up the idea of creating a dog
park in the area, to ease some of the
strain of the city's existing dog park
in Washington Park.
"I guess it all started with my
Photo b\ I ayU I
Horizon's Happy Hounds will soon open.
daughter ... She really wanted to
build this dog park," stated Darlene
Pruitt, who describes herself and
her daughter as animal activists.
"Of course, she really didn't
have any resources - she didn't
have any land, she didn't have any
money to really get started on a
project that huge. We really put it
on the back burner as just a dream
that may someday come true and
then again, it may be one of those
forgotten dreams."
Darlene Pruitt adopted an
abused puppy - a Border Collie /
Sheltie mix she named Nami, in
2005, and says that everything
changed for her after that.
"When I got this puppy, it really
opened my eyes to recognizing the
need that we really do have," she
related. "When I investigated, I
found out that Charlotte had Five
(dog parks) and Greensboro had
four, and you know, that we were
really being left behind."
A series of phone calls led the
Pruitts to the Forsyth County
Department Recreation Parks.
"They suggested that we go out
and look at Horizons Park so I did
that on my own and they were right.
it was an absolute perfect location -
already had the parking lot, the land
was just sitting there," Darlcne
recalled. "They gave me an esti
mate and I gathered a committee of
people together who were incredi
ble, and we started fundraising."
The committee, which was
intentionally diverse in its ethnicity,
also submitted an application for a
grant through the Winston-Salem
Foundation, which subsequently
awarded it $40,000 toward its
$54,000 goal.
Another $8,000 was garnered
through a series of fundraisers
which ranged from "Bark in the
Park" to dog washes, bake sales,
even "Santa Paws" pictures featur
ing the beloved pets with Santa
Claus The county agreed to pro
vide the remaining dollars neces
sary to make the park a reality.
Pruitt says she has never done a
project of this scale before, and
likened the intensity of it to child
birth.
"It's incredible to me; I'm
amazed at the entire process," she
remarked. "It's a lot like carrying a
child and going through the pain of
the labor - because you go through
a lot of the pain whenever you're
working your bones off - but now
that it's here, you forget the pain
and you just rejoice."
Though the project came to
fruition through no small amount of
hard work, Pruitt says the process
was surprisingly seamless overall.
"I just feel like everything hap
pens in divine order and the way
that all of this came together was
just like putting the pieces of the
puzzle together," she commented.
"It was incredible - I've never seen
anything work so orchestrated, and
I really knew it was coming from a
higher source."
The Pruitts and their faithful
committee have organized a special
event for the opening of Horizons
Happy Hounds July 21. The event
will include appearances by many
pet-friendly vendors, as well as ani
mal-oriented nonprofits.
"Oh, we're so excited - it's just
the most beautiful place - we're
really proud." Pruitt gushed. "It's
state-of-the-art ... it's exceeded my
expectations. I'm happy that it's
over and that we can play sooh."
Summer reading
from page AI
ed parks and theaters.
Molly Buckley, one of
the program's case man
agers, said the program
helps keep children reading
at a time when they normal
ly wouldn't be.
"During the summer the
kids don't really (read), I
mean unless they really
enjoy reading, it's some
thing they're not going to do
and we want to expose them
to new things. Giving them
a book is a great thing
because it's a brand new
book they get to keep every
week. So they get experi
ence reading, they get to do
different activities," said
Buckley.
Buckley said, when it's
Spin-off
from page AW
Jones"), Kiko Ellsworth
("Stan Johnson"), Sonya
Eddy ("Epiphany Johnson"),
Minae Noji ("Kelly Lee"),
Bradford Anderson ("Damian
Spinelli"), Adrian Alvarado
("Cruz Rodriquez"), Derk
Cheetwood ("Max
Giambetti"), Richard Gant
("Russell Ford") and Wendy
Braun ("Ms. Sneed").
"General Hospital: Night
Shift" began production on
Friday, April 20. Robert Guza
Jr., head writer for "General
Hospital" and Jill Farren
Phelps, executive producer,
"General Hospital" will write
and executive produce
"General Hospital: Night
Shift."
Recently awarded 5
reading time,, they divide the
kids up Jfy age and reading
level into smaller groups led
by case managers. She said
they'll go around the group
and take turns reading. The
case managers will go over
words the kids might not
understand before they read
and will lead them in con
versations and activities
about what they read.
The young participants
have done a wide range of
activities and trips so far. To
go along with "A River Ran
Wild" they went to
Kernersville Lake Park for
reading and paddle boating.
They also went to Triad
Stage in Greensboro, where
they got a front row seats for
"Carolina Jack's Last
Adventure," a musical that
had the children singing
even after it was over. The
Kiko Ellsworth
Daytime Emmy Awards,
including a record ninth for
Best Daytime Drama,
"General Hospital" celebrated
44 years of broadcasting on
children have also written
their own poems.
"I think they're having a
really good time. They're
making new friends," said
Buckley. "1 think they're
glad to be out doing differ
ent things."
Future- activities for this
summer include a trip to a
juggling show and a plant
ing activity where the kids
will get to paint their own
pots and an outdoor picnic.
Even with all the other
activities they do, the kids
still enjoy the reading.
When asked, more than half
the kids said they enjoy the
reading more than the field
trips and other activities,
Williams said.
Buckley said the summer
reading program is a nice
change of pace for the case
workers who are usually
April 1 , 2007, and is the
longest-running dramatic seri
al on the ABC Television
Network, having aired its
11,000th episode earlier this
year. "General Hospital" con
sistently rates as one of the
top daytime programs with
Women 18-49.
SOAPnet offers same-day
episodes of popular daytime
dramas including "All My
Children," "Days of our
Lives," "One Life to Live,"
"General Hospital" and "The
Young and the Restless" at
night for convenient viewing.
In addition, the network pro
vides inside access to stars
and storylines with original
programs, including the biog
raphy show "Soapography."
"1 Day With..." andj]re reali
ty series, "I Wanna Be^PSoap
Star."
charged with matching up a
child with his or her Big
Brother or Big Sister and
supervising the match. She
said she hopes BBBS can
get more volunteers so they
can get everyone on the
waiting list matched up with
a Big Brother or Big Sister
so the fun and enrichment
they have during programs
like the summer reading
program becomes a staple in
their lives.
Those interested it)
becoming a Big Brother or
Big Sister can either visit
the local BBBS web site at
www.bbbsnc.org or call
(336) 724-7993.
Photo provided
Molly Buckley on the lake with some of the kids.
Wife. Mother. College student.
II I
Its a challenge to juggle all the
responsibilities of home life,
children and a family while
going to college. Salem does
such a good job of understand
ing that and being flexible. They
helped me schedule the class
es I needed in order to achieve
the tremendous goal of earning a
college degree."
? Angela Farmer C'05
Philosophy major
Information Sessions:
Thursday, July 12 at
12 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m.
Main Hall
SALEM
COLLEGE
Continuing Studies
Call VUt. 72 1. 2669, visit www.salcni.edu or drop in for more information
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