The article below appeared in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum April 28, 2006

"I have fished before, but it is hard. There is no good place for me to fish being in a wheelchair," Groves said as he listened to plans about a new handicap-accessible fishing dock to be built at Lowe-Volk Pond.

Ryan Dyer, who gets around well on a motorized wheelchair, is also delighted.

"It will be fun. I am very happy about it," Dyer said.

The Crawford County Park District is dedicated to providing access to all of its programs, events and parks for all visitors, including creating the handicap-accessible fishing dock for the pond beside the Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center on Ohio 598 near Leesville.

"The Friends of the Crawford Park District have collected enough donations to begin the concrete work next week. We are now asking the public and area businesses to help us raise the rest of the money to complete the dock," said Ed Gruenwald, executive director of the park district.

They hope to have it complete by July.

The 200-square-foot dock will be a floating module that has been proven safe, meets all American Disabilities Act Requirements and will hold a lot of weight. That type of dock is being used all over the country and is built so a disabled person can cast and fish easily. The dock will be built by volunteers, with no special tools needed, and will feature a cement walkway and a 360-square-foot patio with handicap-accessible picnic tables. Total cost will be about $17,000.

Chuck Frobose, superintendent of Fairway-Waycraft, thinks the project will help many.

"Not only will this project benefit our people at Fairway, but also the many disabled veterans in the area. We totally support this project," Frobose said.

Rich Carpenter, Crawford Park District Commissioner, agrees with Frobose.

"This will be a great place for any mobility-impaired person in our community to get some activity," Carpenter said.

While the nature center at Lowe-Volk is only four years old, it is growing to offer something for everyone.

"People are still learning about us and what we offer. Our attendance at events keeps going up, so we're catching on as a place for families and individuals to participate in fun activities. We are excited to make the fishing dock happen, but need public support to complete this very important project," the former director said.

Next up for the center will be creating a handicap-accessible trail to the scenic overlook at Lowe-Volk Woods.

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 419-563-9226

Originally published April 28, 2006

Handicapped Fishing Dock To Be Built

The Crawford Park District is dedicated to providing access to all of our programs, events and parks for all park visitors.  To accomplish this, The Friends of the Crawford Park District is currently accepting donations for a wheelchair accessible fishing dock at Lowe-Volk Park. The fishing dock would connect with the Americans with Disabilities Act compliant visitors center via a concrete walkway.  The dock would include a patio area with a wheelchair friendly picnic table.

The park has already received some very generous donations, but we are a long way toward our goal of $17,000.  We have been able to keep costs down by utilizing a modular floating dock system. We will be able to lower the cost even further by using volunteers to help assemble the dock. This modular dock system has been used by various parks throughout the country.  It has a proven track record of safety and durability.

Please consider donating.  These projects are a benefit to the entire community. Donation can be mailed to the Lowe-Volk Nature Center at 2401 SR 598, Crestline, Ohio 44827 Please include a note informing us that your donation is for the handicapped dock. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at 419-683-9000.

Highlights of the Handicapped Fishing Deck at Lowe-Volk Park Pond

1. The deck would be 10 ft by 20 ft in size, and it would meet all American Disabilities Act requirements.

2. The deck is designed to float on the pond.

3. It is made of low maintenance materials including plastic, stainless steel and galvanized steel materials.

4. It is sold by, David Williams & Associates of Alliance, Ohio.

5. This deck can be assembled by volunteers on site. No special tools are needed.

6. The project would include an 18 foot by 20 foot  area of concrete, this patio which would be large enough to handle a group of five or six wheelchairs. This would allow the park district’s staff to have handicapped accessible programs outdoors.

7. The concrete walk leading to this area would be 60" wide.

8. The project includes a large handicapped accessible picnic table that seats 10 and can accommodate 3         wheelchairs

9.   The total cost of this project would be about $17,000.00.