Volunteers help develop Pine Hill

August 19, 2004|by RICHARD F. BELISLE

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Work by volunteers such as Larry W. McFadden is always welcome at Washington Township's Pine Hill Regional Recreation Park, said Gerald Zeigler, the township's code enforcement officer and general manager of the 174-acre park.

The park, off Mentzer Gap Road, is being developed with money earned from donations, grants and the $600 impact fees for recreation that the township charges for each new building lot.

Earlier this week, Township Manager Michael Christopher announced that a couple who wished to remain anonymous is donating $25,000 toward the construction of an in-line skating and skateboard facility at the park.

Area Boy Scouts working on their Eagle badges have worked on significant projects.

McFadden, 63, of 14362 Harbaugh Church Road, said he has been cutting brush off the sides of the hiking trails for about eight years.

"I cut any brush or branches that stick out on the trail," he said.

Hikers can brush against branches, which can be a habitat for deer ticks, he said.

McFadden said he spends as much time as he can maintaining trails at Pine Hill.

"I'm retired, so it gives me something to do," he said.

Three main trails - Deer, Overlook and Fox Crossing - run through the park, as do a couple of shorter ones for a total of more than three miles, Zeigler said.

Signs mark each trail, and red, green and yellow markers mark off each 100 feet.

The township bought the first 140-acre tract that is now the park in 1992 for $130,000. Ten more acres were added in 1998 and another 24 were added in 2001.

Ball fields - soccer, softball and baseball - dot the park's landscape, as do large and small pavilions, a playground that is being developed and a gazebo that is under construction.

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