News and events in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Starting Saturday, horses will no longer be allowed on trails in Haw Ridge Park in Oak Ridge.
Horses have significantly damaged trails, especially the small, narrow ones common in the park, a city press release said. The animals have eroded trails, left manure piles, and damaged bridge and boardwalk structures, the release said.
The founder of an organization that helps people with disabilities and other challenges through therapy with horses will speak at a Kiwanis Club meeting at lunchtime Tuesday.
Lynn Petr is the founder and executive director of the Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding in Loudon County. STAR serves children and adults there and in 10 surrounding counties, according to information from the Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge.
Steve Dittner, president of Friends of Haw Ridge, talks about plans to build a bike skills area on unfinished soccer fields off Edgemoor Road in Oak Ridge.
A city board has recommended that horses be banned from Haw Ridge Park for now, and a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the park wants to build a bike skills area on an abandoned, unfinished soccer field off Edgemoor Road.
Friends of Haw Ridge expects to vote on a plan for the bike skills area on June 28, said Steve Dittner, the organization’s president. The plan could then be presented to the city.
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