Photo: (from left) OCCF Board President Kerrie Zubrod, Mike Breeding, Karen Brantingham and Jessica Blackburn. Photo courtesy Ozark County Times
Ozark County Wellness Committee (OCWC) member Karen Brantingham recently accepted a $20,000 donation from the Ozark County Community Foundation (OCCF) for improvements to the walking trail project the committee started in 2020, according to an Ozark County Times report. The funds will go toward making the trail more accessible for visitors and may also help purchase signage, benches and possible lighting.
OCCF donated $25,000 to the project last year. The OCWC was formed in 2018 after the Ozark County Health Department (OCHD) was chosen as one of 12 organizations around the state to participate in Building Communities for Better Health, a government-funded program managed through the Centers for Disease Control.
With the aid of other grants and donations, the committee has taken on several renovation projects at City of Gainesville-owned Hoerman Memorial Park, which sits next to Gainesville Elementary School on U.S. Highway 160.
Updates have included repairing and resurfacing the basketball courts; installing new basketball goals, picnic tables and trash cans; refinishing the former tennis courts and transitioning half of the courts to new pickle ball courts; and building a trail system that connects with the park loop and track and extends into the wooded area near the school’s stadium.
The OCWC is soliciting donations to help fund continuing improvements to the park. Checks may be made payable to OCWC and mailed to OCHD P.O. Box 180, Gainesville, MO 65655, or call the OCHD at (417) 679-3334 to arrange donation details.
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