Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
OFFICIALS SHOWED a check from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority that was instrumental in funding the new Curry Neighborhood Trail. Pictured, from left, are Candy Pogliano, executive director of Gogebic Range Health Foundation, which led the effort; Tracey Barnes, housing specialist for MSHDA; Tonya Young, neighborhood enhancement team manager for MSHDA; John Garske, chairman of GRHF; Andrea Newby, program director for GRHF and Rick Semo, Ironwood City Council.
By STEVE NEWMAN
Ironwood - Monday morning, officials gathered to celebrate the building of a new branch on Ironwood's trail system. The new branch, which has been dubbed the "Curry Neighborhood Trail," begins by the Little League baseball field and meets the trail system by Miners Memorial Park. The trail was sponsored by Gogebic Range Health Foundation and funded by a combination of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, GRHF and a contribution from the city of Ironwood. A separate new branch of the trail, called the Curry Mine Trail, is a "rustic," or unpaved trail that goes around the old Curry Mine area and the large cottonwood tree."
According to Tom Bergman, community development director for the city, the cost of trail construction was under $61,000, with $50,000 paid by the MSHDA grant, $8,000 from the GRHF and the remainder covered by the city. The grant was written with the twin goals of community beautification and contributing to healthy lifestyles, according to Bergman. The new portion of trail is already being used by nearby Pioneer Park residents, according to Andrea Newby, program director of GRHF.
Foundation chairman John Garske thanked those who worked on getting the initiative funded, saying the new trails "mean a lot us." Garske credited Tom Bergman for coming up with the grant information, while GRHF had to be the sponsor since they were the ones eligible to do so. Garske stated that the partnerships with government agencies enable foundations such as GRHF to have "quadruple impact" because of the level of funding they can provide, and was pleased to bring tax dollars back to the area. He stated that GRHF got involved in order to "encourage people to get out and walk" and promote healthy lifestyles.
Future plans may include a trail from the present skate park area to meet up with the Curry trail, with Bergman saying it would be a "natural" addition.
