A new article in Courier Times about the dog park!

Hey everyone, I hope all is well; there is a new article in the Courier Times about the plans for the dog park, here is the link, take a read at it

Sorry to keep this short, I am currently on summer vacation, so I’m writing this at the air port; later this week however I will post a new blog entry more in detail.

Take care!

Updates: December 2008

So it’s been a while since I have posted anything here. My apologies for keeping folks waiting for a post. No the dog park initiative hasn’t died. It’s moving but slowly. The election season certainly slowed things down, and the holiday season is here, and that means uber busyness on my part. Family and stuff. In January 2009, I plan on refreshing my efforts back to full scale in hopes to pressure the officials to move a head and officially approve this, and get it moving forth.

A big concern lately is the economy. As we are in a recession, the issue of money is even more problematic. I remember reading that the Falls Township dog park cost some where in the 50k arena. So these things aren’t cheap, but they do pay off, and are great for the community.

Some have emailed me asking “cause of Falls opening does that mean the effort is over with?”, my answer is no. For us Newtowners, Richboro-ers, Upper Makefield, New Hope, etc the drive is still equivalent to that of Mercer County Park’s dog park, or Hamilton’s Veterans Park dog park, or Fort Washington’s dog park. We need a dog park a whole lot closer, and we have the land to do it, and the demand as well. It’s just a matter of time.

If you read the local papers, like Newtown Advance, Yardley Advance, Bristol Pilot, you may have notice me in the paper, and apparently there is an article being written in the Centurion about this effort. I hope all this local coverage will rev up more local support. There has also been talk in at various County Commissioner’s meetings in the public comment section at the end of the meeting. I spoke at one meeting and Mike Gallagher spoke at another meeting to the commissioners, both public comment conversations we had with the commissioners were very progressive in good news. The dates of these meetings were October 15, 2008, and November 5, 2008, you can listen to the conversations via audio at the meeting web page at the following link: http://www.buckscounty.org/government/publicMeetings/2008index.aspx

That’s really all that’s been going on. It’s been said that an engineering team is looking at the area of interest which is excellent news. That and all 3 commissioners are in support of the dog park concept as stated on audio.

So that’s that, I hope you all have a great holiday, and a great New Years. I’m sure I will be, as come January, it’s back to advocation of the dog park, oh and full time school

Patrick

Forming an online community..

Want to get updates emailed directly to your email box? Want to participate in online discussions about how to get officials to support his? Want to participate in the discussion of how the dog park should be designed, and ways of raising money? Join my yahoo group by clicking here, no you don’t have to have a yahoo email account.

Blogya later

One of the many Letters of Support

So since I don’t have a scanner I had to use the print screen option to get this letter of support as an image to be able to post in a blog. The letter appears as an image below, instead of me just copy/pasting the txt into the blog, I wanted to keep the white off set to keep the letter feel to it. So enjoy!

Letter from PA State Senator Chuck Mcilhinney,

In the coming days I’ll post a few more letters of support from other known names around the county.

Blogya later!

CNN!

So I posted a I-Report article regarding the dog park, and guess what? It was on CNN! You can read the I-Report article by clicking here.

On to other news, I have been pretty busy with a lot of side things in regards to the dog park. Getting the hand-signed petition together. While talking to various officials in regards of the dog park. It’s not that I’m not posting here a lot because I have ‘given up’, it’s because I am juggling a good amount of home work at the moment. Plus I am looking for a new FT job…which blah…is time consuming!

I am working on another entry for here in regards to some of the big letters of support that I have received and would like to share with all of you. My scanner is down so I’ll be needing to make a stop at Staples or a friends house some time soon.

Well, other than that, keep on supporting, spread the word and blog/petition links, and thanks for all the help. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Patrick

A new side blog.

I just wanted to post here so the readers of this blog can know about the new blog that I have created for non-dog park relating issues, the address is as follows www.patrickflanigan.wordpress.com

So far there are only 2 entries, because the blog is fairly new. I hope to publish some more stuff in near time while I keep up with any news regarding the dog park initiative here on this blog.

Till next time, wooooooooogie!

Woohoo!

So if you get the Newtown Advance, you may of notice there is an article within this weeks issue written by Petra Schlatter. If you don’t get the Newtown Advance, don’t feel left out, get yourself a copy at the local grocery store, or click here to read the article.

Othere than that, I am actively working on getting this dog park on the move, it is going to take some time, but hey, all good things do take some time. Whether it by on Township property, or at a County park like Core Creek, or at Tyler State Park, we’re gonna keep pushing for this, it’s the only way.

Sorry for such a short entry today, though I do have to finish the laundry and get some food for this week, so cya!

Patrick

PIFInitiatives@gmail.com

May 7th, 2008: Park and Recreation Meeting

I can’t say too much as to what was achieved, though that doesn’t mean not a lot was. I myself have come down with a cold and have been moving at a slower pace than I normally run at.

A few people came out to show their support which is much appreciated, those people have also now joined the movement towards getting ‘real’ signatures for a ‘real’ petition. What I mean by real is, what I didn’t think of when I started the I-Petition was that the officials want addresses of each individual that would prove
the authenticity of the signature. This doesn’t mean we are still at square one, granted, I am much further than I was last year when I first blogged about the idea for the old Acme center. I have letters of support from some big names, however they may count to the officials they do provide stepping stones to letters of support from others within the township, which then counts.

From the I-Petition, I have 574 emails, which I plan on emailing every one asking them to one send in letters of support, as well as a print out of page that will just ask for a signature and address and other info, the page will be put together with others in order create a real petition from the 500 and so more people who signed the internet petition. Probably to save on stamp cost, I’ll list my PO Box address for people to send just both, then I can forward  the letters to the Board of Supervisors from there.

Also in the email I plan on sending out the link to an invitation to a yahoo group that is an open forum/discussion regarding the topic of the dog park in Newtown movement, we can also cover the topic of the movement for Core Creek and other areas in Bucks County.

While at the meeting one of the good things that came out was that Falls Township is going to have a bid on their dog park project, from there we can learn a lot about how much it’s gonna cost and what it all entails. However even though Falls and Bensalem are both getting dog parks, I can only stress that Newtown should follow through with this as well. I myself am tired of driving the 30 + minutes to go to current operating dog parks. Bensalem and Falls is still a good amount of driving in a good amount of traffic. If the effort with the township fails, then we will move on to County, then on to State. It never hurts to try, and thats what I plan on doing, and with that I need all of the help I can get from supporters such as you the reader.

Finally, while at the Park and Recreational Meeting, the issue of people using fenced in Baseball fields in the township, such as the ones at Chandler Fields as off leash dog areas. They asked if I can get the message out to folks who read this blog to please not use these fields. I agree. These fields are currently intended for the use of athletic purposes. Kids are playing in these fields, and it is unsanitary to not pick up after your dogs there. While it is also hazardous if your dog or dogs are to dig a hole for kids to step in. The fields cost a lot to keep up to maintenance, the more they need to be fixed the more tax dollars are spent on them. I agree, it is frustrating that there are no local enclosed areas where we can let our dogs run off leash with other dogs, however that is exactly why I am pushing for a dog park in Newtown. So we have a place to go, and not have to drive such a distance to enjoy such a luxury. This is why it is important for you as residents and supporters of the dog parkfor Newtown initiative to attend such meetings as the Park and Recreations, and the Board of Supervisors meetings, and to participate and give your voice to the officials to show them that this is something you want as well.

I think that pretty much covers it for now. The emails will be sent out some time next week. For now I plan on taking it easy for the weekend, to fight off what remains of this current cold.

Patrick

It’s time!

Below is the text version of the flier that I had printed out, and have handed out to different businesses. Please…if a dog park in Newtown is what you want, we need you to voice your support in Public Comment at the May 7th 2008, and May 14th, 2008 meetings, for more information please continue to read the flier:

—-

Newtown Dog Park

The other day, I received an email from Cynthia Wade :

“Every community should have a dog park.  Dog parks, along with other neighborhood amenities, show that a community is alive, connected, vibrant and caring for its citizens, both human and canine.”

Cynthia Wade
Director, SHELTER DOGS
Broadcast on HBO, Winner of 5 Awards

Did you know that there are currently no dog parks in Bucks County, however Montgomery County and Mercer County (NJ) have several?  The closest operating dog parks are ~30 minutes away.

Not including the coming dog parks in Falls Township, and Bensalem Township, which are still a drive for us residents of Newtown and neighboring townships.

Dog Parks allow dogs to run off-leash and are very advantageous to give dogs the exercise they need as well as allow them to socialize with other dogs in a controlled area.

Let’s build a Dog Park in Newtown  Or possibly in other neighboring towns such as Yardley, Wrightstown, Washington Crossing, Middletown, Holland, Richboro. Why not? After all, look at how many athletic fields there are. Dogs need to exercise and socialize too. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Dog Park near where you live ?

Join the movement, and come to the Newtown Township’s Park and Recreation Department Meeting on Wednesday,  May 7th, and the Board of Supervisor’s meeting on Wednesday, May 14th. Both start at 7:30 PM. Both are at 100 Municipal Drive, Newtown, PA. We need all the support we can get, to show to the elected officials that this is a demand for our area

Thank you,
Patrick Flanigan

www.buckscountydogparks.com
PIFInitiatives@gmail.com

How to sign the i-petition:

So I have gotten a few suggestions regarding making the link to the i-petition easier to get to.

So first, click here.

That will take you to the i-petition.

Second, go down to the form and fill out your name, email, and if you wish to leave a comment feel free to write something. If you wish to keep Anonymous, there is an option that you can click on while at the form to make it that way.

Also If you do not wish to receive any newsletters from the Ipetition site itself, de-click the option “Yes, I want iPetitions to contact me on similar campaigns or petitions.”

After you click sign the petition, your signature is then recorded, there will be a page that asks for a donation, you do not have to donate, and from there you can simply “x” out of the site and go about whatever you plan on doing after words.

I hope that helps.

Patrick.