Ranger’s Pantry, Trail Lights Off

The Kruth Talks

By Amber Kruth

Pet Food Bank

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that the city was accepting donations at local fire stations for a startup pet food bank? Well, All Around Storage, at 2650 S. City Lake Road, off 15th Street, has donated space to store the donated supply of pet food to serve the town’s first pet food bank. Fayetteville is one of only a few towns in the U.S. to have a pet food bank. Tyson Foods has contributed a selection from their FreshPet line. The pet food bank is for those who are struggling to buy food for their pets. Called Ranger’s Pantry, to qualify, you must be a resident of Fayetteville and meet certain income requirements. To pick up an application, go to Community Services at 125 W. Mountain St. The city will continue to accept donations at all Fayetteville fire stations.

Trail Lights Off

You know it’s not good news when the city of Fayetteville doesn’t post their press release on accessfayetteville.org, the city’s informational website. Mayor Lioneld Jordan announced part of the city’s regulatory budget plan is to turn off the trail lights between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., effective immediately. This counteracts the decision to leave the lights on during those hours after a study that calculated 1,300 persons use the trail between those hours. The tunnel sections will remain lit 24 hours. The decision was paired with other budget cuts, including a furlough day (closing all nonemergency city offices during a regular business day). It is anticipated that if the budget deficit isn’t as severe, then the lights will get turned back on. But don’t just wait for that change. If you feel the lights need to remain on for the safety and illumination of our community write the mayor. Maybe at the least we can keep a portion of the trail lit. Which section do you think? The mile around Washington Regional Medical Center? Gordon Long Park? Poplar Street? Wilson Park? Dickson Street? E-mail your reply to amkruth@hotmail.com.