THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701040346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Anne Saita
LENGTH: 58 lines
A breath of fresh air is coming to the Albemarle in, of all places, a former trash dump.
Elizabeth City is planning its own version of Virginia Beach's Mount Trashmore, cleverly called Fun Junktion. It's scheduled to open this summer.
On 200 acres off Simpson Ditch Road in western Pasquotank County, the park will include playgrounds and nature trails, a swimming pond, a fishing lake, boardwalks, basketball courts and picnic and camping areas.
Elizabeth City already boasts 14 parks, but most are tucked into residential areas or are underused.
Exceptions include Waterfront and Charles Creek parks, but recreation is somewhat restricted at these downtown sites. No one can swim in the waters. Playground equipment is a little on the light side. There are plenty of picnic tables and benches, but solitude often is more of a mental state due to heavy traffic.
Soon, though, we'll have Fun Junktion, which also will continue to be the collection site for waste that is then transferred to a regional landfill in Bertie County.
For me, the best part of this public-private reclamation project is the four miles of trails that will meander along hills, through forest and around ponds.
Indigenous trees - white oak and loblolly pine - will be easily identified by cutouts of trees that, upon the push of a button, tell you about these natural resources.
Bluebird, wood duck and bat boxes will be scattered throughout the course, which someday will include a boardwalk extending into swampland. Wildlife, such as squirrels, rabbit and deer, have an open invitation.
The paths will be covered with mulch made from yard waste collected at various recycling centers. The paths will surely be easier to negotiate than sidewalk-less city streets and shoulder-less county roads.
If Fun Junktion is like other city parks that I've visited, the trails regularly will teem with walkers and runners who are courteous and respectful to all living things around them.
People will smile, at least inwardly, as they watch nature and neighbors come alive in a place where once only garbage piles grew.
And speaking of junk, a couple of columns ago I wrote about some of the ways direct marketers find mailboxes to fill with unsolicited mail.
I wrote about how names, addresses and preferences are passed through credit card and personal check information. I forgot about all the advertisers who waste our time with unwanted telephone solicitations.
Anne Blindt of the Albemarle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority in Belvidere passed along an address if you want to be taken off telephone lists.
Send your name, address and phone number to DMA Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, N.Y., 11735-9014.
Unfortunately, this deals only with national advertisers. You'll still be subject to local telephone solicitors.
One more thing to pass on from personal experience: You can pretty much plan on a year's supply of sweepstakes contests if you decide to enter one.
Consider it your consolation prize for being bypassed by the Prize Patrol.