“The renovations ongoing at Dorie Miller Park are almost finished,” said Public Works Director Roger Pence at the July Lewisburg City Council meeting.

Pence was referring to Phase I of the renovation plans for the park, which includes a restroom and food prep area to the shelter on the hillside and the paving of a new parking lot and the road to it. A second shelter will be constructed near the playground in Phase II, with an additional restroom facility and an enlargement of the main parking area along Feamster Road. If all goes well, a new playground installation, planned for 2018, will be the final phase of the park renovation plan.

Lewisburg’s Parks Commission has taken on this project with the cooperation and approval of numerous community members who frequent the park. Safety measures were their first concerns, and the removal of the shelter and small parking area that abutted and crowded the intersection at Maple Street and Feamster Road, where traffic mishaps might endanger children, was high on their list for improvements.

Josh Baldwin, who served as parks commission chair, has relinquished that position, along with his seat on the city council. He was recognized at the Tuesday night meeting for his seven-year stint on the  council and for his significant contributions in heading up the

upgrade and restoration of Dorie Miller Park, among other accomplishments. He was honored with a poem written by council member Beverly White and presented with a plaque acknowledging his contributions to the city and community of Lewisburg by Mayor John Manchester.

White will replace Baldwin as chair on the parks commission. Baldwin’s seat on the council has been filled by recently elected Kim Morgan Dean.

In other business:

• Police Chief Tim Stover reported that a new K-9 dog is in training to be a vital member of the department. Patrolman Todd Williams is the handler for the two-year-old belgian malinois, named “Rocky,” who will report for duty following a three week training period at Logan Haus Kennels, Stover said.
• Fire Chief Joey Thomas said rumors have been floating around that some of the department’s fire trucks could not get through the tunnel at Caldwell, concerning residents in the area. He said a video was made to prove it can be done – even the biggest truck made it through the tunnel, although “not at speed.”

Thomas stated in his report, that the department covered three structure fires for the month of June, with one fire within city limits and two in the first due area.

• A speed hump has been installed on Maple Street, said council member Mark Etten, reporting from the finance committee. Three humps were previously approved, one each for Maple, Court and Church streets, and, he said, community members in those areas are asking for more. An expansion of two more humps were approved to make a total of two on both Court and Church streets. A second hump for Maple Street is under consideration.
• Mindfulness of the dangers of exploding fireworks in public and crowded places, was a discussion held in a recent meeting of the public safety committee, chaired by council member Joseph Lutz. Exploding fireworks and those that are propelled into the air, Lutz said, are illegal within city limits. The downtown historic district is especially vulnerable to fires, and fireworks, other than sparklers, are or should be strictly forbidden. Lutz also asked that people be mindful that dogs are often terrified by the noise, and veterans can have reactions, too, to the repeated explosion sounds. The Lewisburg Police Department generally take a common sense approach, Lutz said. Unless the department receives a call, they try to be reasonable during holiday periods. Nevertheless, he asked that the public should take precautions during the Fourth of July and New Years Eve celebrations.