Centennial Park, located on the south side of Main Street in Carlyle started as a volunteer beautification project for the 2005 centennial, however, since then, the appearance of the park has been far from desirable.
In an effort to revive the park and add some much needed luster to the grounds, the Carlyle beautification committee is seeking to commence a community clean up of the park. The committee has designated Saturday, June 15 as Community Clean Day and asks volunteers to come out and help in the cleanup of the park. The event is slated to begin at 10 a.m. and will go up until 5 p.m. but the day also sees the committee arranging pick-up of old appliances from people's property. The $10 fee which is normally associated with the service has been waived to help foster willingness among community members to participate. Chairman of the beautification committee Jennifer Sedor said the park is in need of a revamp and urged all of Carlyle to come out in support.
"It has seen a lot of volunteers over the years and in the last few, no one has really given it any love, so it's been very over grown, the flower beds haven't been planted and it's looking very rough at this point," she said.
" Bring yourself, bring your family, bring your friends and any garden tools you may have we are trying to get the park back to its beautiful state"
Sedor said due to the cost of maintenance, they will be unable to plant flowers but will rather focus on other aspects of the park that would be more cost effective.
"We are going to be turning up the beds, planting a few more trees, laying down the landscape fabric and a layer of mulch to keep the weeds from growing back in and we will be reassigning some plants. So we're moving the rose garden from the courtyard and we are going to be revamping the heart shaped garden," she said.
Sedor highlighted that there is an ample amount of precious memories associated with the park. She indicated that many members of the community planted flowers there in memory of loved ones who passed away. And due to the lack of up-keep those plants were not watered and have been over grown with weeds and eventually died. A condition she described as sad because it broke the heart of some who planted flowers in the park.
The Carlyle beautification committee is also factoring other projects to run in conjunction with the clean-up of Centennial Park. This summer the committee will commence their Green and Clean campaign, a plan that has been in development in the last few months. The project seeks to involve the people of Carlyle in beautifying their property by adding an incentive offering prizes that will be sponsored by Carlyle Home Hardware and the Country Garden Greenhouse. The competition will have three categories that will be judged; Main Street businesses, residential properties and other business. Those interested are urged to contact the town office.
