New Look at Willowbrook Park for Gutzwiller Memorial • Aptos Times is a Winner

COMMUNITY NEWS

New Look at Willowbrook Park for Gutzwiller Memorial

The County of Santa Cruz Department of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services invites the public to explore the conceptual drawings for the planned renovations to the play area at Willowbrook County Park — one component of reimagining the entire park in memory of Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller.

“Unveiling this next element is an exciting milestone in the Reimagining Willowbrook Park Project,” said Parks Director Jeff Gaffney said. “Amenities like this play feature and the memorial seating area will be both a tribute to Sgt. Gutzwiller and a great community benefit to the families like his that enjoy this park so much.”

County Parks along with the Santa Cruz County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, County Park Friends and Supervisor Zach Friend are releasing the initial drawings for updating the playground with new surfacing to make the play area accessible to more children.

Other updates will include the construction and installation of a memorial seating area on the south side of the pedestrian walkway bridge, park entry enhancements, a new flagpole and updates to the sport courts.

“Damon was a devoted father and public servant and this project will provide a safe and inclusive place for his kids and other children to play and remember him,” Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend said.

Current funding goals have yet to be met and opportunities to be a part of the legacy renovations of Willowbrook County Park are still available. n •••

For more information or to learn more about opportunities to participate in this project visit www.countyparkfriends.org/ willowbrook.

Aptos Times is a Winner

Editor Jondi Gumz won third place in headline category in the 2021 Best of the West journalism contest with “Nisene Marks: A park loved to death / Cars, cyclists and hikers on narrow road delay ambulance response.”

Judge Samantha Ruland, digital producer at Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote: “It was a thought-provoking headline that brought attention to an enormous problem in the community. The Aptos Times did a great job in a limited space of playing on a popular catch phrase.” The story was the first in a series exploring safety issues at Nisene Marks State Park, which had become a refuge for residents in the pandemic.

Alicia Inez Guzmán of Searchlight New Mexico, won first place with “You’ve reached 17,494 students. Please leave a message. / New Mexico paid millions to a Utah company to text, email and phone “disengaged” students. Was it the right call?”

Second place went to Dave Bowman of the Los Angels Times for the print headline: “Thin Mints on your phone? Enable those cookies / Covid rules prohibit in-person sales, so Girl Scouts go digital to reach customers.” Ruland wrote, “All the entries were well thought out and impressive. They Jondi Gumz showed just how clever and experienced these writers and editors are, with minds wired for the artful craft that is headline writing. No longer are we writing for one audience. We have print to consider, web, social media. It takes great skill to make a headline that stands out on just one of those mediums and many of these contestants came up with headlines that did that on more than one if not all.” n

“It was a thought-provoking headline that brought attention to an enormous problem in the community. The Aptos Times did a great job in a limited space of playing on a popular catch phrase.”

— Judge Samantha Ruland, Philadelphia Inquirer