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Today is the special state primary election for the 2nd Middlesex District senate seat. Voters in Ward One Precinct One and Ward Two Precinct One are not in this district and will not be voting. Polls are open 7am to 8pm.
The City of Somerville Election Department allows voters to bring our dogs with us to the polls: dogs must be on leash, remain close to their companions at all times and must not bother other people.
Strummer and her humans spent a hot and humid week in Lancaster, PA, visiting family. On August 8, she had the honor of meeting Ross Peebles, one of the Lancaster Barnstormers pitchers. It was the "Dog Days of Summer" at Clipper Magazine Stadium, and the Barnstormers beat the Atlantic City Surf 9-1 to move into first place in the Southern Division of the Atlantic League!
Among the organizations participating in the "Dog Days of Summer" was the Manheim Township Dog Owners Group (MTDOG), which supports off-leash recreation at Overlook Park, a 120-acre regional park in Manheim Township. The township occupies 23.4 square miles in the center of Lancaster County, bordering the City of Lancaster to the north. The population in 2000 was 33,697.
Later in the week, Steve Bussanmas, a member of the Overlook Community Foundation Board, gave me a tour of the site where a new dog park is under construction and spoke to me a bit about the process of including an off-leash recreational area in Overlook Park and of the role he anticipates the off-leash recreational area will play in the community.
When I asked Steve about his dog, I was surprised to learn that he is not a dog owner. He became a dog park advocate when his daughter moved to Atlanta, GA, and he was worried about her being alone. She adopted a dog, and, when he visited her in her new home town, he discovered that his daughter had become a part of the local community of dog owners. He returned to Manheim Township and helped to found MTDOG. As he said to the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners at the regular meeting of the Board on December 13, 2004, "Manheim Township does not have a downtown or a center:" he sees the potential for a dog park to bring members community together and, along with existing park amenities (a golf course, driving range, ball fields—both soccer and baseball—miniature golf, and public roller skating rink), to help make Overlook Park an activity and cultural center and to enhance the quality of life in the Township.
Initially the dog owners group hoped to locate the off-leash recreational are in another part of the park where there is a pond, but abutters, fearing that people who brought their dogs to play with other dogs in the park would allow their pets to jump the park's fences and terrorize their children, succeeded in getting the proposed area relocated to another part of the park. Opposition to the Foundation's overall mission to create an activity and cultural center and to enhance the quality of life in the Township continues and is fomented by factions in the Township that do not want tax dollars to be used to pay for the projects at Overlook Park.
The site of the future Overlook Dog Park features a small wooded section, a sunny area and plenty of space for the dogs to play. Access to the dog park will be controlled by a gated entry. Park users must have a valid key card to unlock the gates. In addition to a large common area, the dog park will have a fenced-in 3/4 acre area for small dogs (<30 lbs.) as well as a 2+ acre fenced-in area for large dogs (>30 lbs.). In its 2003 report to the Manheim Township Commissioners, the Foundation projects that in addition to user fees, revenue for the dog park will be generated by programming, dog shows, vaccination clinics, and grooming services, that can be organized in the common area.
Seventy-five percent of the initial costs for the dog park are being provided by a loan from the Township, but the local dog owners group is obligated to pay back the loan over the course of the next ten years. If the dog owners group makes improvements to the area, the cost of the improvements will be counted toward the payback of the loan.
The Circus is here!
For the past several weeks in Somerville parks, kids have been learning to perform circus acts—stilt-walking, unicycle riding, juggling, clowning... This weekend is the 20th anniversary performance of the OPENAIR Circus in Nunziato Field on Summer Street between Putnam Street and Vinal Avenue!
Performance schedule:
Friday, August 5: 7:00 PM
Saturday, August 6: 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 7: 2:00 PM
Strummer stayed home yesterday evening while the human members of the family dodged raindrops to check out the opening night performance.1 There seemed to be a rain delay, and we continued on to the Sherman Cafe for ice cream cones. We're looking forward to catching one of the remaining performances this weekend...
1Dogs are not allowed in Nunziato Field—probably why the OPENAIR Ciruus does not have any dog-training acts.
