Parks & Trails December 2018 Newsletter

City of Hot Springs
December 2018 Newsletter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Christmas Memories 3
Christmas Bird Count 5
Award & Grant News 6
Healthy Holidays! 10
Trail Footnotes 12
Easy Winter Craft 15

111 Opera Street  12/3
P.O. Box 700 Hot Springs Christmas Parade

Hot Springs, AR 71902  12/7
Christmas Memories
Call: 501-321-6871 Kenneth Adair Memorial Park
Email: [email protected] 358 Central Avenue
6:00-8:00 PM
Visit: www.cityhs.net
 12/4
Like us on Facebook: Oaklawn Rotary Christmas Parade
Hot Springs Parks & Trails Downtown Hot Springs
6:30 PM
Growing Healthy
Communities-Hot Springs  12/11
Arts Advisory Committee Meeting
Parks & Trails Conference Room
111 Opera Street, Ste. A
12:00 PM

 12/21
Winter Solstice (shortest day of the year)

 12/20
Parks & Trails Advisory Committee joint meeting
with the Friends of the Parks Board
Parks & Trails Conference Room
111 Opera Street, Ste. A
5:00 PM

 12/24-25
City Offices closed in observance of Christmas
Eve and
Christmas Day

 12/29
Christmas Bird Count
(See page 5 for details)

 12/31
New Year’s Eve!

2

3

Tune into FM 87.9 to listen to the music while driving down Central Avenue

4

It’s time for the National Audubon’s 119th

Christmas Bird Count. A time honored tradition

that started on Christmas Day in 1900. It was

organized by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman

who wanted to create an alternative to the

holiday known as “Side Hunt” where hunters

would compete to see who could shoot the most
birds, regardless of how rare the bird was, its

benefit or beauty. The purpose of the count is

to provide population data for use in science,

especially conservation biology, though many

people participate for recreation. Parents and

teachers often use the count as a learning

opportunity. Today’s youth spend less and less

time outdoors and the count is a great chance

for them to explore local parks and trails within

the count area. Young people interested in Ornithology, the scientific study of birds, will get the most

enjoyment out of taking part. Arkansas first joined the count in 1933 with one participating location and

has continued to add locations across the state since. The City of Hot Springs joined the count in 1941.

Although, the name of the count has remained the same, it is no longer confined to Christmas Day.

Now there are communities across the country that are counting on various days between December

14th and January 5th.

Hot Springs National Park Service Natural Resources Physical Scientist Shelley Todd will be

organizing the count for us again this year. Our local count will be held on Saturday, December 29th.

Shelley is coordinating with Leif Anderson of the Arkansas Forestry Service. Every count will be

performed in a circle with a diameter of 15 miles. A map of the Hot Springs circle is shown below.

There are various “Areas” within the circle and Ms. Todd can give you more information when you call to

sign-up to count. The results provide data on winter ranges of birds and are complementary to those of

the Breeding Bird Surveys which monitor the status and

trends of bird populations. Data from these surveys are an
important source of range maps found in field guides.

If you would like to participate in this year’s Location:
Christmas Bird Count, please contact Ms. Todd Hot Springs National Park
either by phone, 501-620-6751 or by email, Count Date:
12/29/2018

[email protected]. To be included in the official count Compiler:
you must contact her prior to the local count date (12/29) Shelley Todd
so she can account for your location and compile your Email:
data accurately. For more history and to view counts from [email protected]
last year, please visit the Audubon website at http:// Phone:
www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird- 501-620-6751

count. Have fun!

5

Former Parks & Trails Director Jean
Wallace stands with Leland Couch,
President of the Arkansas Recreation and
Parks Association (ARPA) Executive
Board, after being presented with a
Lifetime ARPA membership award during
their annual conference in Benton,
Arkansas in November.

The Arkansas Department of Parks and
Tourism awarded a $230,000 outdoor
recreation grant as a 50% match for the
completion of the David Watkins Park. The
funds will be used to complete the
amphitheater, restrooms, playground,
barrier free elevated walkway, edible
landscaping, memorial tree and graffiti
mosaic.

The City of Hot Springs—Growing Healthy
Communities applied and was awarded a
“Thriving Community” level by the Arkansas
Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP) again in
2018. The foundations of Growing Healthy
Communities are simple but laying them is by no
means easy. Hot Springs is excited to be a part of
this movement and will continue to work hard to
provide access to healthy foods and exercise for
all of our residents and citizens where we are able. As a Thriving Community we have built upon
the requirements of Emerging and Blossoming Communities and also 1) Demonstrated change
through data and 2) Demonstrated environmental and policy level changes. Providing this data
helps to show ArCOP how the City of Hot Springs’ efforts have made positive changes in our
community. Our ability to make lasting changes to both the environment and public policies is a
sign of success and sustainability. “Thriving” is ArCOP’s “Gold Standard” and we will continue to
strive to maintain this standard in our community in 2019.

6

These two youngsters were photo-

graphed recently at Entergy Park, 530

Lakepark Drive, having a great time on

the climbing tower. The park has two

playgrounds. One is for toddlers 2-4

years old and another is for youth 5-12.

As you can see Laney, Parks & Trails

Advisory Committee Rick Dwyer’s

granddaughter, loves the climbing

tower at 2 years old as much as Parks

& Trails Director Anthony Whittington’s

son Zak loves it at 8 years old. There is

also a fishing pond and piers at the

park. “But the best thing about the park

Zak Whittington, 8 yrs. old Laney Dwyer, 2 yrs. old is the system of trails for biking and
walking,” said Phil and Nella Watson.

They come to the park to walk and enjoy the beautiful lake views. Many of their children,

grandchildren and great-grandchildren have spent time at the park for family photos, picnics, and

birthday parties. There are two large pavilions that are available to the public on a first come, first

served basis unless there is a paid reservation posted. Reservations can be made by calling Parks

& Trails at 501-321-6871 or filling out an Event Request form on the city’s website at

www.cityhs.net.

The Arkansas Recreation and Parks
Association presented the Festival of the
Year award to our Tikes, Trikes, and Trails
event that is held each year in October. The
event teaches youth the basics of trail riding
and bicycling safety. We would like to thank
Hot Springs bicycle police officer Sam
Spencer for his support of this event each
year. Also, the Hot Springs Intermediate
School Student Council for volunteering the
last few years. This event was created by city
Trails Coordinator Ken Freeman and his wife
Tracy 12 years ago.

7

Renting a city park pavilion is quick and easy.
Cost is minimal and clean up will be, too!

 Birthday Parties
 Family Reunions
 Wedding Receptions
 Baby Showers
 Retirement Farewells
 Fishing Derbies

Cost to reserve pavilions:
$10 per hour for city residents
$20 per hour for non-city residents

Additional fees may apply for large groups and special events. Please refer to our
Reservation Policy for fee schedules or call the Parks and Trails Department at
501-321-6871 for more information.

To make your reservation, call or come by the Parks and Trails Department at 111 Opera Street,
or fill out an interactive online form at www.cityhs.net. Reservations must be made a least two
(2) weeks prior to your event date. Postings in the information kiosks of each park reflect who
has a pavilion reserved and when each week (Monday - Sunday).

Parks & Trails employees Bill
Morris and Jeff Bairett (pictured)
joined Landscape Superintendent
Brian Fisher to attend the
Arkansas Monarch and Pollinator
Forum at the Garland County
Library. The training will help all
three men in their continued effort
to provide feeding areas for
migrating Monarch Butterflies in
the Hot Springs area.

8

Parks & Trails Director Brian Fisher and
Greenhouse Manager Daryl Edwards stand
on the lawn at the Majestic property in
downtown Hot Springs. They were there to
provide P.A. System assistance for the
announcement of the City’s Certificate of
Completion from ADEQ on Thursday,
November 15, 2018. These two gentlemen
have worked together for many years and
are known as “The Brian and Daryl Show” to
many schools and organizations in Hot
Springs. Their extra mile work ethic is greatly
appreciated!

On Friday, November 16th
Lakeside Middle School 7th
graders planted pansies on the
fence line along the
Transportation Plaza Trail
section of the Hot Springs Creek
Greenway Trail. Their hard work
was part of the LMS Day of
Caring and their teacher Gina
Tarbet thought a park or trail
project would be perfect for her
students.
We greatly appreciate their assistance! The Parks & Trails Department is grateful for all of the won-
derful volunteers that help us out all year long. Our community has a strong spirit of volunteerism!

9

The holidays are here and so are the
parties and gatherings with lots of
decadent foods to eat. This is the time
of year when most people tend to gain
weight, many will struggle to take it off,
and some never will. The good news is
that weight gain during the holidays is
not inevitable. Here are some tips to
help you avoid weight gain during the
season.

1) Be active: take a walk on the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail, ride a bike at
the new Northwoods Trails, or visit downtown Hot Springs and view the holiday
light displays.

2) Snack light if at all: unhealthy snacks like cookies and other goodies will be
readily available everywhere you turn during the holidays. Try to avoid snacking
but if you just have to try a cookie stop at one.

3) Get plenty of sleep: whether it’s early morning Black Friday shopping or late
night gift wrapping, the temptation to skip sleep plagues us all. But sleep
deprivation may cause weight gain and lower your metabolism.

4) Limit liquid calories: alcohol, soda, and other sweetened beverages are full
of empty calories that can actually increase appetite and lead to weight gain. Try
to limit these and let your calories come from the foods you eat instead.

5) Use the buddy system: finding a health buddy at work or home can
significantly increase your efforts to prevent weight gain. The motivation and
accountability is invaluable.

6) Skip seconds: as mentioned in #2 stopping at one serving can help you
avoid unwanted calories and help you avoid weight gain. Take a little time once
you finish your first plate to assess whether you are truly hungry before you fill up
again.

7) Manage stress: the demands of the season can cause stress which can
raise cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone release in response to stress and
when it is too high it can increase your chances to gain weight. Exercise,
meditation, yoga, naps and deep breathing are all ways to help you manage your
stress levels and keep you in the spirit of the holiday season.

10

Richard Stephens, Friends Vice President John Simpson, Don Thompson, Friends President Ned Skoog,
Friends Treasurer Doug Arnold and Parks & Trails Director Anthony Whittington worked a water station
on Whittington Avenue during the Spa Running Festival on Saturday, November 17.

November has been a super busy month! First, Friends To renew your
members were joined by Parks and Trails Director membership
Anthony Whittington at the water station we provided or become a
during the Spa Running Festival on November 17th
(pictured above). Second, we were so excited to see “Park Friend”
the newest section of the Hot Springs Creek Greenway mail your annual
Trail open with an official dedication ceremony on
November 28th! The Utility Services Center Trail, membership fee
Phase 3 has been lovingly dubbed the “Happy Ole Troll
Trail” by all those who have been actively involved with Family-$35
it’s design and development. The reason is because it Adult-$25
allows travelers to go under Golf Links Road. You won’t Youth-$10
actually run into any trolls but you will definitely run into
trail enthusiasts! This is already a well used and Business-$50
beloved portion of the greenway. We wish all Organization-$50
readers and greenway trail users a very Happy Holiday
season and we’ll see you on the trail! to: Friends of the Parks,
P.O. Box 996,

Hot Springs, AR 71902-0996
www.hsfriendsoftheparks.org

Ned Skoog

President,
Friends of the Parks

11

Ken Freeman, aka “The Trail Guy”

Trails Coordinator

For the Trail Guy, and hopefully for a lot of my fellow
trail enthusiasts, November had enough exciting trail
events that it was actually difficult to properly celebrate
all of them in just one month. Lots of trail users have
been waiting, not so patiently sometimes, for years to
be allowed access to the Northwoods Trails area.
Friday, November 16th, brought an end to that wait
with the official ribbon cutting and opening of the trails
in the Phase 1 area of the Northwoods Trails. None of
us like waiting, but the Trails Solutions team of the
International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA)
build multiuse sustainable trails and bike optimized
trails that make us feel better about the wait. Not all of
the trails scheduled to be built in Phase 1 are
completed, but there are enough trails there now to let
you see how awesome it will be when the phase is
done and hopefully Visit Hot Springs will be able to
find a way to start the process to getting a second phase of trails designed and built in the
Northwoods.

If you have been on them and like them, let others know, and if you haven’t been on them yet, don’t
take my word for it, get out there on a trail for yourself. Following the official trail opening there was
a Slow Roll bicycle ride starting at Spa City Cycling on Park Avenue and riding on Park Avenue and
around the Whittington Avenue area of the Hot Springs National Park. It was just at dark when the
Slow Roll started so it was particularly festive with lots of lighted bikes. Officer Spencer, bicycle pa-

trolman, led the way, and his fellow po-
lice officers kept the rest of us safe as we
rolled along behind. Saturday, Novem-
ber 17th, at noon there was a ceremony
at Garland County’s Cedar Glades Park
to recognize that there is now a trail con-
nection from the Big Pine Mountain Trail
at Cedar Glades Park to the Zig Zag Trail
of the Northwoods Trails system.

For more information and maps of the
Northwoods Trails system visit the Bike

12

Hot Springs webpage at https://
www.hotsprings.org/pages/bike-hot-springs/. You
can also call them at 501-321-2027.

On the other end of town, on November 28th the
City celebrated the official opening and dedication
of the next section of the Hot Springs Creek
Greenway Trail, the Utility Services Center Trail,
Phase 3 (a.k.a., Happy Ole Troll Trail).
It was a crispy, sunny day, and the concrete
boardwalk’s overlook area provided the perfect
spot for the ceremony. The completion of this trail
section marks the completion of over 2.5 miles of
continuous multiuse trail paralleling Hot Springs
Creek south from the Transportation Depot, and
the transition from a trail in a developed, built up
area to a trail in a more woodland setting. I feel
somewhat guilty taking up your time having you
read this when there are new trails here in our city
for you to try out. The bottom line is that we are
blessed to have new trail options, and we should
get out there and use them. I look forward to
seeing you out on one of our new trails.

Top Photo: rare group photo of the
Parks & Trails staff.

Second Photo: beginning of board-
walk at the Happy Ole Troll Trail.

Third Photo: District 5 Director Ka-
ren Garcia presents a donation to
Friends of the Parks President Ned
Skoog. She recognized the non-profit
for all their years of hard work and
dedication in seeing the greenway
through all the way “To The Lake!”

Bottom Photo: Hot Springs Mayor
Pat McCabe stands with former Parks
& Trails Director Jean Wallace after
the dedication.

13

More and more Hot Springs residents and visitors are flocking to parks and trails for fitness and
fun! Whether you are on the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail or a city park trail, it’s good to
follow these simple etiquette rules so everyone has a safe and enjoyable time on the trails.
Be Safe
Always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle
Use bicycle lights and reflectors after dusk/before dawn
Wear bright or light colored clothing so you’re easily seen
Be aware of your surroundings
Carry a charged cell phone and proper identification
Communicate to family and friends where you’re going
Carry water
Utilize the buddy system when possible
Observe posted park rules and hours
Keep an eye on children
Travel at a safe speed
Slow down on curves
Do not ride on wet or muddy nature trails
Dismount and walk you bike on steep nature trails to avoid locking your breaking or skidding
Stay to right and pass with care
Always pass on the left
Ring a bell or give clear, verbal warning to nearby trail users before passing
Yield to oncoming traffic when passing
Bikes yield to pedestrians
Single file in groups
Motorized vehicles are prohibited on trails except motorized wheelchairs
Be Courteous
Stay on the trails to protect vegetation and minimize erosion
“Leave No Trace”- carry out what’s carried in
Do not disturb wildlife
Keep to the edge when stopped to allow others to pass
Be Responsible with pets
Keep all pets on a short leash
Pick-up pet waste

14

Trails In Your City Parks

Park Name and Location Surface Type ADA Length

Baseball Trail Park - 1201 Whittington Ave Asphalt Yes 1/6 Mile
Yes 1/4 Mile
Chattanooga Park - 530 Chattanooga St Asphalt
1/5 Mile
Desoto Park - 1700 Park Ave Asphalt Yes
1/5 mile
Family Park - 215 Family Park Rd Asphalt Yes
1/4 Mile
Entergy Park - 530 Lakepark Dr Asphalt Yes 2/10 Mile
North Loop Trail Asphalt Yes 3/4 Mile
Wildlife Observation Trail
Natural Surface No 1/5 Mile
Water Tower Loop Trail
1/2 Mile
Lakefront Trail Natural Surface No 1/10 Mile
1/10 Mile
Fenceline Trail Natural Surface No 1/10 Mile
3/10 Mile
Eagle Scout Trail Natural Surface No 1 Mile
1/2 Mile
Playground Connector Trail Asphalt Yes 1/4 Mile
Pavilion on the Point Asphalt No
Sunnybrook Connector Trail Asphalt Yes 1/4 Mile
No 1/2 Mile
Hill Wheatley Park - 688 Majestic Lodge Rd Natural Surface 2/3 Mile
No 1/2 Mile
Hinsley Park - Kingsway and Meadowlake Natural Surface Yes 1/4 Mile
1/4 Mile
Wade Street Park - 300 Wade St Asphalt

Hot Springs Creek Greenway- Concrete Yes
Transportation Plaza Trail Asphalt Yes
Valley Street Creekwalk Concrete Yes
Jaycee Trail and Friendship Park Trail Asphalt Yes
Hollywood Trail Asphalt Yes
Blue Heron Trail
Asphalt Yes
Utility Service Center Trail

15

What you need
 toilet paper rolls or kitchen paper rolls

(you can buy paper craft rolls online)
 white paper or white paint
 colored paper (orange is a must for carrot nose)
 black marker
 scissors
 glue

Cut the white paper and glue it around the
paper roll. Alternatively you can also paint the
paper roll white. Cut a strip of colored paper
for the scarf and a carrot shape out of orange
paper.
Wrap the strip of paper around the paper roll
(just above the middle).

Glue together to make a scarf.

Draw eyes, mouth and buttons with a black
marker. Glue on the nose and your Paper Roll
Snowman Craft is done!

16

17

18