By Bella Osgood EAGLE TIMES STAFF WRITER
NEWPORT — The town of Newport was informed of a Community Dog Park Contest in 2020, by Newport’s then Economic Development Director Christine Benner. The town that won this contest would receive funding to build a new dog park in their town, based on votes from citizens of each community. The non-profit “David’s Dawgs” sponsored the contest application for Newport and Newport won the contest later that year. After their success, David’s Dawgs also decided to include a community garden in this project as well, which was organized by Stacey Hammerlind.
To qualify for the contest, David’s Dawgs had to sponsor the application, in addition to providing letters of recommendation “as to why a dog park would be important to the town,” according to David’s Dawgs member Annette Menard. They later had to gain approval of town officials, once they completed the qualification stage.
It is still uncertain when this project will be completed, because the town only recently hired a company to build it. Interim Town Manager Paul Brown recently hired an engineer for the project, which will be in the field behind Advanced Auto Parts. The park will include flower beds, walkways, benches and an area for dogs to play. The garden also will include fruit trees and planting beds for community members to plant their own flowers and vegetables.
“We would like to thank Christine Benner for all the hard work and dedication to get this whole project going for us and the numerous businesses that wrote their letters of recommendations, along with the selectmen for approving the rest, as well as everyone that voted for the project,” says Menard.
She added that local animal rescue centers also need an enclosed area for dog training and safety, further underscoring the benefits of this project. “The location allows people with no car to walk to the park/garden and is conveniently located [to] allow people from all walks of life to connect and enjoy these great additions,” she said.
She said that David’s Dawgs is raising money for future park maintenance. If they raise enough money, they hope to be able to provide community members with financial assistance to help get yearly shots for their pets.
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