COMMUNITY SPIRIT: Parks and Rec works to keep city beautiful

Mar. 25—The Tahlequah Parks and Recreation Department has been working behind the scenes, including most recently at the Purple Heart memorial statue.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Brian Speake said Don Nichols, Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter commander, reached out to his crew to clean up and improve the area, because he is trying to get it certified as a national memorial.

"It's a really neat feature that we have in our town. When stuff like that comes up, we definitely want to be a part of it," Speake said.

Speake said his crew arranged the area so it will be less difficult to mow and maintain.

"They had a [chainlink] fence that had been hit by a car," Speake said. "We took that out and then just [did] a little bit of groundwork to smooth things out, to make it a little easier to mow."

Tahlequah Parks and Recreation Department keepd several areas around Tahlequah clean, safe, and inviting to the public.

"If you don't see us out there, we've probably gotten our job done," Speake said.

Speake said he and his crew are always working to make Tahlequah look better to the public. The department has 12 full-time employees, with four to five part-time employees. Since the crew is also over the the golf course, the Anthis Brennan Sports Complex, and the pool complex, that number will rise for summer, with lifeguards and concession workers.

"With this weather being what it's been the past couple of weeks, and springtime actually hitting now, we've got projects scattered all over town we're trying to get done," Speake said.

Speake said one project is a collaboration with Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, which hosts My Tahlequah April 6. Organizers plan to plant fruit trees, clean up the creek, and freshen up flower beds in front of city welcome signs.

The group also installed new playground equipment last year at Ross Park and refurbished equipment at various parks. Speake said the department is putting in a new pickleball court at Southridge Park, and making Mission Park an educational destination, with rain gardens, pollinators and attractants for various wildlife.

"It's going to be unlike anything in the Tahlequah area," Speake said. "It's going to be something totally different, but we're trying to set it up where schools can go out there and do little field trips as educational [outings]."