JOHNSON CITY PARKS AND RECREATION SPECI AL
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~ CARVER EDUCATIONAL TRIP TEACHES, INSPIRES -
ADMINISTRATION HIGHLIGHTS
~ ATHLETIC DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ PARK SERVICES DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ GOLF DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS ~ RECREATION
A Walk in the Park Your Parks and Recreation Connection I S S U E
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Carver Educational Trip Teaches, Inspires On March 14, 33 students and nine chaparones from the Carver, Langston, LXI and Rise Up afterschool programs boarded a Knoxville Tours chartered bus and headed for Atlanta on what was the fifth spring break civil rights educational trip organized by the Carver Historical Field Trip Committee. “The kids got to read about, then visit, the sites where they took pictures and gained knowledge about the civil rights movement in a spirit of camaraderie,” said Herb Greenlee, Carver supervisor. “They also got to experience traveling. Some had never been out of Johnson City.” The group visited the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park, the home in which King was born and the Ebenezer Baptist Church where the slain civil rights leader was a pastor. They also visited a memorial to civil rights activist and former U.S congressman John Lewis. The field trip continued in Birmingham, Alabama, where students visited the 16 th Street Baptist Church, a key civil rights meeting place at which four black girls perished in a bombing in 1963, and the park where a civil rights rally was held over that city’s transportation system. Next stop: Selma, Alabama, where a tour guide described the civil rights march across the Edmond Pettus Bridge. Students also walked the bridge – the site of the brutal Bloody Sunday beatings of civil rights supporters marching for voting rights. This year’s trip concluded with a tour of the Museum of Natural History in Montgomery, Alabama. Students have been taking various trips since 1990. The Carver Field Trip Committee was formed by Greenlee and former Carver activities director Barbara Love Watterson in 2017. Trips are paid for by donations, and sites visited include the Martin Luther King Jr. statue/memorial and the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., the Lorraine Motel at which King was assassinated and the National Civil Rights Museum, both in Memphis.
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Administration Highlights ~
Commissioners approved bid on New Winged Deer Park sports complex.
Dedicated final phase of trails at the Mountain Bike Park at Winged Deer.
New cabinets and countertops in the Carver kitchen and new cabinets, frig/freezer, icemaker and warming unit being installed at the Langston Centre.
PO issued for fence installation at the BlueCross Healthy Place at Kiwanis Park play area, and workday by Kiwanis Club volunteers at park produced numerous improvements.
Working with SORBA Tri-Cities, department staff and volunteers to make trail improvements at Tannery Knobs.
Developing final proposal for Keefauver project.
Opened bids to convert tennis courts at MPCC to pickleball courts with tentative start date of early July.
Athletic Highlights ~
Registration for Summer Tennis Camp for ages 3 and up continues through May 30. Camp is June 1-July 7.
Youth soccer games ongoing with 1,300 participants.
Youth volleyball wraps up April 30 at Memorial Park Community Center with 134 participants.
Adult softball began April 18 with 43 teams registered.
Youth softball practice has begun with 120 children registered.
Park Services Highlights ~
New trail maps have been installed at the Bike Park and Winged Deer and Tannery Knobs Mountain Bike Park which now have QR codes that link visitors to interactive maps showing trail location and difficulty.
Civitan and Winged Deer Park soccer field surfaces improved following extensive maintenance.
Golf Highlights ~
Annual golf passes remain on sale.
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Recreation Services Highlights ~ MPCC - Registration open for summer camps, which are filling up
quickly.
Held inaugural Bunny Breakfast April 9 with more than 65 participants. The Easter bunny handed out storybooks and took pictures with all the children. Pancakes, bacon, fruit and pastries were served.
Held inaugural Hound Egg Hunt April 13. Pet owners and more than 30 dogs came out for the event. Staff had more than 1,000 treat-filled eggs for the dogs.
The Humane Society of Washington County was also present to get pup pictures and hand out treats.
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Start Smart Baseball started with 12 participants, and a new golf clinic got underway, also with 12 participants.
Carver - Held Easter Egg Coloring Days April
12, 13 and annual Easter Egg Hunt & Cookout April 14 at which cash prizes were awarded to participants.
Nature - This year’s Envirothon was held at Winged Deer Park at the
Meredith Pavilion. It is a competition between NE TN’s high schools. Fifteen teams competed. The winner will go on to compete against six other regional winners vying for first place with a Nashville celebration; then on to nationals. Aquatics - New boilers installed at MPCC pool.
Senior Services Highlights ~
A weekly diabetes prevention series is averaging 16 participants.
Garden to Table Leafy Greens had 31 participants.
Johnson City Senior Center Foundation’s Spring Forward for Seniors program provided three bags of food and household items to 200 low-income seniors.
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Administrative Office - Winged Deer Park - 4137 Bristol Highway - Johnson City, TN Phone: 423-283-5815 Fax: 423-283-5829 Email: jcparksinfo@johnsoncitytn.org - Website: www.johnsoncitytn.org Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Upcoming Events Summer Camp Registration Underway
June 1 - Youth/[Adult Tennis and Pickleball Lessons Begin
April 29 - City Nature Challenge Hikes - Nature
June 3,4,5 - USA Gold Qualifier - Winged Deer Park
April 30/May 1 - Tennessee Super NIT - Winged Deer Park
June 7 - High School/Adult Fastpitch Registration Ends
May 1 - High School/Adult Fastpitch Registration Begins
June 17,18,19 - Milligan Summer Showcase - Winged Deer Park
May 3 - Youth/Adult Tennis and Pickleball Registration Begins Online
June 21 - High School/Adult Fastpitch League Play Begins
May 6 - Mother-Son Date Night –MPCC
June 25,26 - USA Firecracker Classic - Winged Deer Park
May 7 - USSSA Mother’s Day Special - Winged Deer Park June 28 - Adult Fall Softball Registration Begins May 12 - Carver Awards Banquet - Craver Rec Center
July 1,2,3 - WDP Complex Closed For Holiday
May 14 - USA Battle of the Bats Bash - Winged Deer Park July 5 - Youth Soccer Registration Begins May 14 - Ride ‘n’ Roll Spring Car Show - MPCC
July 9,10 - USA Mid-Summer Classic - Winged Deer Park
May 20,21,22 - Border Battle - Winged Deer Park
July 14-17 - Future Stars Sports Fastpitch World Series Winged Deer Park
May 26 - End of School Block Party with 4Thirteen Carver Rec Center
July 20 - MPCC Night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark
May 26 - Thomas S. Wade Veterans Program - Carver Rec Center
July 26 - Girls Softball Registration Begins
May 28,29 - Memorial Day Classic - Winged Deer Park
July 26 - Adult Fall Softball Practices Begin