Roaring River State Park hosts public informational meeting
Roaring River State Park superintendent, Joel Topham, above, reviewed accomplishments and revealed plans for upcoming projects to interested residents during a public informational meeting Thursday night at the park.
Photo by Adriana Keeton.
Photo by Adriana Keeton.
August 18, 2021
Sheila Harris
An public informational meeting hosted by representatives from Roaring River and Big Sugar Creek State Parks was held Thursday, August 12, at the River Shelter at Roaring River Park.
Roaring River Park superintendent, Joel Topham, reviewed the many projects the park implemented over the past year, including four room renovations at Emory Melton Inn, 14 camping site upgrades, a new fish cleaning station, repairing potholes, installation of memorial picnic tables and plenty of tree-trimming, and stump removal and grinding.
Several projects are on the agenda for the upcoming year, Topham said.
Those projects include:
• The construction of a 8-foot high donor wall, which will run for a length of almost 18 feet near the fish-cleaning station. The wall will contain a decorative limestone slab and a bronze plaque to honor those who donated to the fish-cleaning station, a “historic project,” as noted by state park officials.
• The replacement of Cabin #7 subfloor.
• The replacement of a section of the Deer Leap boardwalk.
• The replacement of 200 amp service at Shower House #3.
• The installation of new hallway lighting at Emory Melton Inn.
• Preparation of ground for a pollinator garden in Campground 3.
• The seeding of wildflowers to attract pollinators. Over 4.5 pounds of native seeds have already been harvested from the park (so far), Topham says.
• The continuation of the exploration of Roaring River Cave, with members of KISS Rebreathers dive team and filmographers from Northwest Arkansas Adventure Dive scheduled to return in August, September and October.
According to Topham, in conjunction with MoDOT, the repaving of the entire park, except for individual campsites, is also on the agenda for later in the year.
“We were supposed to do this last year,” Topham said, “but COVID got in the way.”
Through the sale of revenue bonds for shovel-ready state park projects, Topham said plans are also in place to upgrade 31 camp sites at the lower end of Campground 3.
“We already have the blue-prints drawn up and will move forward with the addition of 50 amp service and water and sewer availability to the sites,” he said.
Sheila Harris
An public informational meeting hosted by representatives from Roaring River and Big Sugar Creek State Parks was held Thursday, August 12, at the River Shelter at Roaring River Park.
Roaring River Park superintendent, Joel Topham, reviewed the many projects the park implemented over the past year, including four room renovations at Emory Melton Inn, 14 camping site upgrades, a new fish cleaning station, repairing potholes, installation of memorial picnic tables and plenty of tree-trimming, and stump removal and grinding.
Several projects are on the agenda for the upcoming year, Topham said.
Those projects include:
• The construction of a 8-foot high donor wall, which will run for a length of almost 18 feet near the fish-cleaning station. The wall will contain a decorative limestone slab and a bronze plaque to honor those who donated to the fish-cleaning station, a “historic project,” as noted by state park officials.
• The replacement of Cabin #7 subfloor.
• The replacement of a section of the Deer Leap boardwalk.
• The replacement of 200 amp service at Shower House #3.
• The installation of new hallway lighting at Emory Melton Inn.
• Preparation of ground for a pollinator garden in Campground 3.
• The seeding of wildflowers to attract pollinators. Over 4.5 pounds of native seeds have already been harvested from the park (so far), Topham says.
• The continuation of the exploration of Roaring River Cave, with members of KISS Rebreathers dive team and filmographers from Northwest Arkansas Adventure Dive scheduled to return in August, September and October.
According to Topham, in conjunction with MoDOT, the repaving of the entire park, except for individual campsites, is also on the agenda for later in the year.
“We were supposed to do this last year,” Topham said, “but COVID got in the way.”
Through the sale of revenue bonds for shovel-ready state park projects, Topham said plans are also in place to upgrade 31 camp sites at the lower end of Campground 3.
“We already have the blue-prints drawn up and will move forward with the addition of 50 amp service and water and sewer availability to the sites,” he said.
