Local representatives travel to Charleston to receive a $120,000 grant for Tucker County Rocks. Pictured are Dan Lehmann, Heart of the Highlands Trail System; Robert Burns, Executive Director of the Tucker Community Foundation; Julie Dzaak, Heart of the Highlands Trail System; Allen Staggers, FirstEnergy; Gary Lipscomb, Town of Davis Council Member; Diane Hinkle, Development Director for Tucker Community Foundation; Governor Earl Ray Tomblin; David Cooper, President of the Board of Tucker Community Foundation; Alan Tomson, Town of Davis Council Member; Bob Jacobus, Region VII; and Robert Orndorff, Dominion Foundation.
CHARLESTON – Governor Earl Ray Tomblin joined with representatives from the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Federal Highway Administration’s West Virginia Division Office March 26 to award more than $5.6 million in Transportation Alternatives Program and Recreational Trails Program grants to 42 projects across West Virginia. Tucker County Rocks! Received $120,000 from the Recreational Trails Program grant.
“Today’s grant presentations are the start of many anticipated infrastructure improvements in cities and towns across the Mountain State,” Tomblin said. “These projects will not only help make communities safer, but also more accessible and enjoyable for the people who call them home.”
Tucker Community Foundation Development Director Diane Hinkle said the total project includes $150,000. “The $30,000 is our match requirement for that grant,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle said the grant will pay for design and development of a park and a new section of trail.
“The park will be located in the corner of the Davis Ball Park,” Hinkle said. “The Boulder Park will be tucked back in the Southeast Corner.”
Hinkle said the landscape borders for the park will come from Corridor H, which is scheduled to exit into Davis in the fall of 2015. She said building the road unearthed tons of rocks that represent the opportunities and challenges a major highway presents when it intersects with a small, rural mountain town. The Town of Davis is a gateway for Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley Resort, the Monongahela National Forest and the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia.
“The three climbing boulders in the Tucker County Rocks! Park will be manufactured,” Hinkle said. “Those will come later.”
Hinkle said there are several steps that must be completed before the project will be given the directive to proceed. “It is likely that we will not get the notice to proceed until next spring,” Hinkle said. “We were hopeful that we could start work this summer, but grant requirements require we will have to wait.”
Hinkle said the grant match is coming from the Heart of the Highlands. “They will do the bike trail construction that will lead from the Boulder Park to the proposed Rail Trail that is part of the Corridor H mitigation plan. Initially, the trail will lead from the Boulder Park, to Route 93. The Department of Highways has agreed to do a signed crossing across Route 93. For the interim, the trail will be in the shoulder of the road.”
Future plans for the Tucker Boulder Park include three climbing boulders with routes for every skill and fitness level. The park and trail head will be located in the southeast corner of the Davis Ball Park on Rt. 32. The property was donated to the Town of Davis for recreational purposes by Western Pocahontas Properties.
The Tucker Boulder Park is a collaborative project of Tucker Community Foundation, Western Pocahontas Properties, Heart of the Highlands, the Town of Davis, Dominion Foundation and many generous donors.
Hinkle said the group is continuing their fundraising for approximately $70,000 additional funds to complete this phase. Levels of donations include Mountaineer, which is $10,000 or more – will have the donor’s name etched in stone at the park; and Crux, donation of $1,000 to $9,999, will have recognition wall listing. Donors at these levels will be invited to the dedication reception; will receive a Tucker County Rocks Shirt and a website listing.
Those donating in the Ascent category will receive a Tucker County Rocks Shirt, for a donation of $100 to $999; and Anchor, with a donation of $1 to $99, will receive an invitation to the dedication reception and a website listing.
Anyone wishing to make a donation may contact the Tucker Community Foundation by calling 304-478-2930 or 304-259-5008. Additional information is available online at tuckerfoundation.net.
