RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) - Volunteers in two cities have stepped up to help finish a more than 320-mile trail after the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission stopped work about halfway through.
A group of volunteers from Rushville and Gordon have taken the Cowboy Trail into their own hands after the state halted work despite having 120 miles left to develop, the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2sJdWEw ) reported.
“We’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty to help,” volunteer Ross Elwood said. “It’s been quite an experience, and it’s been fun, and it’s been a lot of work.”
The trail might not have been started at all by the state if Kris Ferguson wasn’t hit by the only car on Nebraska 27 six years ago and severely injured.
During her recovery, she pondered why the Cowboy Trail she lived near couldn’t be a safe place to bike or walk.
“This is a missed opportunity,” she said. “It’s beautiful out here, and we don’t have safe places to go.”
The state spent about $10 million to finish the trail from Norfolk to Valentine, but everything beyond that was still covered with broken ties and track trash.
The Games and Parks Commission said it can provide guidance, grants and materials, but not the time and attention the untamed trail needs.
Rushville and Gordon residents have come together, picking up debris and mowing down weeds.
“When we’ve asked for help, we get all kinds of people,” volunteer Trisha Loosvelt said. “We’d go down the trial, we’d pile those old, broken railroad ties into one big pile so the truck could stop and everybody would throw them in. Sometimes the weeds were so high, you could barely see the debris.”
The towns hope to finally be connected with 15 miles of smooth limestone by next year.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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