FLMSP Receives State Recognition for its Quick Action after June Storm

by Randy Durrum

Friends of the Little Miami State park received recognition for its coordinated response when severe weather closed the trail in June. Ohio State Parks honored FLMSP at its regular meeting on August 19. Jim Henahan, Community Partnerships Manager of OSP, presented a certificate of appreciation to Adopt-a-Trail coordinator Aaron Rourke, who accepted on behalf of FLMSP.

Our volunteers quickly cleared the trail after the storm of Friday, June 29. Weather services described the weather event as a derecho, a violent system that stretched across the midwest to the east coast. Segment adopters were summoned and labored as a coordinated team throughout the weekend. Despite extensive deadfall on the trail, the workers cleared 20 of 24 segments by the end of Saturday. Ohio State Parks then moved in to pulverize and remove the debris.

The certificate cites the “outstanding assistance to Ohio State Parks staff in clearing the trail following the June 29, 2012 storm.” The certificate also emphasizes the “true partnership between the friends’ group and Ohio State Parks for the benefit of trail users.”

In presenting the certificate to Rourke, Henahan cited the extraordinary effort of the FMLSP crews. He also said how their rapid response exemplified how Ohio State Parks has come to rely on the efforts of 57 friends groups in Ohio. In all, 7,000 volunteers across the state gave 400,000 hours of service to the parks in 2011.

To join our efforts in keeping the trail open and well-maintained, consider joining Friends of the Little Miami State Park. You will be participating in a partnership with Ohio State Parks and communities along the trail. Click the "Join Us" tab above for membership information.

(Photo: Aaron Rourke, Adopt-a-Trail coordinator, and Jim Henahan, Ohio State Parks Community Partnerships Manager)

A $10,000 grant will enable Friends of the Little Miami State Park to further our program of trail maintenance and safety. Organizers of Loveland’s Amazing Race, an annual charitable “fun” race based in Miami Township, will present the award to FLMSP on August 27th, 6:30 pm, at Bob Roncker’s Running Spot in Loveland.

Loveland’s Amazing Race (historicloveland.com/lovelandsamazingrace.html), which took place June 16, is billed as a “full day of good natured competition, music, fun and laughs.” The competition progresses through Loveland and challenges participants in tests of balance, strength and problem solving skills. FLMSP participated in the race by managing the food pavilion with ten volunteers.

Besides sponsoring an entertaining day for the community, Loveland’s Amazing Race donated to selected charities. Since the 2006 race, they have donated over $300,000. Other recipients this year in addition to FLMSP were In Return (http://www.inreturn.org/history.html), Buckeye Search and Rescue (www.buckeyesardogs.org/) and Ohio Valley Voices (http://ohiovalleyvoices.org/).

FLMSP will spend most of the grant, about $7,000, on a single-pass blower. The new tool will efficiently clear the 50 miles of the Little Miami State Park trail from Avoca Park near Milford, through Loveland, to Hedges Road south of Xenia. Clearing the trail creates a safer environment for trail users, especially bikers when the trail is wet. The FLMSP board will decide how to spend the remainder of the grant in the near future.

The grant comes at a good time for FLMSP, as severe weather events have increasingly taxed our resources. After the June 29 storm, FLMSP mobilized its trail adopters to clear the trail. By the end of their first day of operation, adopters had opened all but eight of 20 blocked sections. By leveraging the grant from Loveland’s Amazing Race, FLMSP will be able to respond even more efficiently to emergency events.

The date for the next Loveland’s Amazing Race is June 15th, 2013. Details and registration can be found at www.LovelandsAmazingRace.com. Registration has already opened. If you want to join, register soon because the event has historically sold out quickly.

All mile markers are now freshly painted, thanks to trail adopter Don Mills

Take a ride or a walk along the Little Miami State Park today, and you will notice a distinct improvement. Don Mills, a trail adopter for Friends of the Little Miami State Park (FLMSP), has repainted all 100 mile markers on the multi-use trail. He finished Tuesday, June 5.

The markers do more than just help you casually check your journey’s progress. They help users keeptrack of their progress toward exercise goals, and they provide location information to emergency (EMS) and law enforcement personnel. The markers are also beneficial to state workers and volunteers by providing location information where maintenance is needed.

By Kelly Sullivan, Don Mills, Bill Schwinn and Randy Durrum

Our 50-mile long multi-use trail from Xenia to Cincinnati is safer and better looking today thanks to a local church’s service initiative. Crossroads Church and other Cincinnati congregations partnered with Friends of the Little Miami State Park (FLMSP) on a work day May 19. Major portions of the pathway now have improved sightlines and a cleaner appearance.

Officers of FLMSP contacted Crossroads Church of Florence, Mason and Oakley, who agreed to make them part of their Go Cincinnati project. Go Cincinnati is an annual workday designed to assist community-based organizations throughout the area. Last year, according to their website (http://www.crossroads.net/goCincinnati), over 7,000 people from Crossroads and partner churches served the homeless, painted schools, cleaned neighborhoods and offered spiritual comfort for those in need. This year they planned to take on over 335 new projects.