LONG BEACH RECREATION DOG PARK ASSN.
NEWS FOR 2006

Last updated Aug. 10, 2006

Aug. 10, 2006

New officers: At the Board of Directors' regular meeting officers and committee leaders were chosen for the '06-'07 fiscal year. Carolyn Reed was the sole holdover officer from last year.

President: Jim Knutson ("Cinder")	Treasurer: John DeRosa ("Honey Bunny")
Vice president: Jim Walters ("Luther" and "Goldie")	Secretary: Carolyn Reed ("Roddy," "Sarah," "Cody")

Jim Knutson served as president of the association from 2000-03, resigning when he moved out of town. He returned to Long Beach this summer and has rejoined the association. Welcome back, Jim!

July 27, 2006

Election: Three new association members will be joining the Board of Directors in August -- Marti Gossland ("Sasha") of Lakewood, Natalie Rice ("Slice") of Long Beach and John De Rosa ("Honey") of Long Beach. Returning to the board will be Carolyn Reed ("Roddy," "Sarah" and "Cody") and Jim Walters ("Luther" and "Goldie"), both of Long Beach. The two incumbents and two newcomers were virtually assured seats in the election as five seats were open due to two members moving out of town. The wild card in the race was the fifth seat, which was won by the write-in candidate with the most votes.

The results:

The board's third incumbent whose seat was up for election this year -- Jackie LaBarre ("Nicky" and "Champ") -- decided not to run. Buzz Minnich ("Sage") and Ray King ("Dougal," "Lucy" and "Scooter") vacated their seats this past year when they moved out of town. Both had one year left on their terms.

June 30, 2006

Vandalism: Taggers struck the bathroom again in late June, spray-painting the walls, mirror and fixtures. We can't emphasize enough the importance of locking the bathroom door behind you when you're finished. Please do not block the door open or extend the deadbolt to keep the door from closing. You may think you are doing fellow park-goers a favor, but the sad reality is that an open door is an invitation for vandals. To obtain a key to the restroom that the Dog Park shares with the golf course next door, send a $5 deposit in the form of a check to: Recreation Dog Park, P.O. Box 8337, Long Beach CA 90808. When you return your key, you get your $5 back.

Feb. 28, 2006

Ice Dogs Benefit: A total of 31 hockey fans attended our Feb. 26 outing at Long Beach Arena to watch the local team come from behind in the final minute of the game to beat the Idaho Steelheads, 3-2. Long Beach got off to a quick 1-0 lead in the first period, but the visitors scored to goals to go up, 2-1. With just a little over a minute to go, the Dogs put one in the net for a tie and then slapped the puck in one more time with 46 seconds on the clock for the win. The night raised $319 for the association.

Jan. 20, 2006

Expansion: In their effort to expand off-leash dog exercise areas throughout the city, officials of the Department of Parks, Recreation & Marine have announced that the city will expand the Dog Park on East 7th Street in addition to finding a locale for a third canine exercise area. Geoffrey Hall, special projects officer of the Parks Department, says that the city would like to push the west boundary of the current Dog Park an additional 190 feet. The additional land would push the park's limits to a little over 2 acres.Details on new fencing, gates, lights, sprinklers, ground cover, etc. will be worked out with the Recreation Dog Park Assn.'s Board of Directors in the next few months. The board's majority favored a trial plan: keeping the new area separate and limiting its visitors to a two-dog maximum.

In addition to the annex, Parks Department officials still want to establish a third exercise area -- preferably on the west side. (The second, the beach's Dog Zone opened in August, 2003.) "With the Dog Park and the Dog Zone both on the east side, we'd really like to put the new dog park on the other side of town," Hall said. "As the city develops its green belt along the Los Angeles River, we'd really like to try to include a dog park there." Hall said that although El Dorado Park has been frequently mentioned as the site of a new dog park, the best locales there don't have parking nearby.

Jan. 20, 2006

Donation: The association would like to extend its deepest thanks to Lori Edwards ("Mojo" "Twist" and "Angelica") for making a $1,000 donation toward finishing our new-and-improved fence. The fence-replacement project is now in it third and final stage: running on the south side from the middle of the park to the west end. At $26 per foot plus another set of gates, Maintenance and Planning Co-Chairman Fred Nicas has estimated that about $6,000 to $7,000 was needed to wrap it up. Lori's donation puts us closer to that goal. The entire project is being funded through association memberships, tax-deductible donations and fundraisers. The original, lighter-weight fence served the park for more than a decade. That fencing, which was used when the association obtained it, had become misshaped and had holes in it.

News for 2005