Grand opening of a new Ohio Valley dog park to be held on Thursday

A grand opening of a new Ohio Valley dog park will be held on Thursday.

The Belmont County Dog Park will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday at noon at dog park, located at 67485 Bannock Road, St. Clairsville, Ohio.

“I’m excited to welcome our donors, residents and our community canines to come and experience a great dog park.”, noted Sheriff Lucas. “This has been a project dear to my heart and I look forward to it being a legacy for Belmont County.” “This vision could never have become a reality if it wasn’t for the support of and donation of land by the Commissioners, a Natureworks Grants through ODNR, generous donors, and a lot of hard work. I would especially like to thank the staff and inmate work crew from the Belmont Correctional Institute for their assistance in getting the fence put up.

J.P. Dutton, President of the Board of Commissioners, states, “When Sheriff Lucas approached us about his vision for a dog park, the Commissioners were immediately on board. We worked together to locate appropriate county owned land and the vision became a reality. We could not be more pleased with this addition to our county facilities.”

Sheriff Lucas credits his Outreach Coordinator, Sherri VanTassel, for working hard to help raise the needed funds. “Sherri wrote the Natureworks Grant that gave us the seed money for the project, and she has continually managed the Belmont County Dog Park Facebook page and made phone calls to get discounts and financial support for various items for the park. The Outreach Coordinator is a volunteer position, so Sherri has done this while working full time as a private practice attorney and now an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.”

Lucas also notes that there were many businesses that either donated materials and labor or were willing to provide materials and services at a discount to bring the project to fruition. “We are blessed to live in a community where local businesses come out in support of projects that improve the quality of life of their community.” Donors, big and small, are recognized on signage at the park and additional names will be added as donations continue to be made.

Donations continue to be accepted to improve and maintain the dog park. Engraved bricks can continually be ordered by going to the dog park Facebook page and accessing the pinned post. Engraved bricks are designed, ordered and paid for directly on the site.

A pavilion still needs to be built to close out the Natureworks Grant and continued improvements will be made as residents begin to utilize the park. Sheriff Lucas urges everyone to please abide by the posted rules to ensure the safety of both our human and canine visitors. Lucas encourages the community to come out to celebrate the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and enjoy the dog park.

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