Community donations will sustain upkeep of scenic Oak Grove Park through the middle of 2019. The park is located about three miles southwest of Hood River.
Emily FitzgeraldFriends of Oak Grove Park donated $4,255 to the Hood River County general fund last week for maintenance of the park from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2019.
Committee members are fundraising in an effort to keep the park open after it was cut from the county’s 2018-19 budget, along with the County Cemetery and both Panorama Point and Ruthton parks.
Sindy Hasegawa and Patricia Huff of the Oak Park group appeared before the commission Sept. 17 to make the donation official. Commission members thanked the group for taking steps to fill a need.
The tree-laden park is located southwest of Hood River, at the intersection of County Club Road and Portland Drive, adjacent to Oak Grove store.
Park amenities include a picnic area and lawns, small ballfield with backstop and the Taro Asai tennis courts. Restrooms are closed for the winter starting in October.
“We’re here tonight because we really want to give you this money. So, tell us, who do we send the check to?” Huff asked.
County Administrator Jeff Hecksel raised his hand and joked, “To me, but be sure you make it out to Hood River County.”
Huff said that a key reason to formalize the donation is for help in continued fundraising.
“People don’t want to give more money for a park they don’t know is going to be open,” she said.
The park is officially open and, as with any year, contract crews will continue basic maintenance through November, County Facilities Manager Mikal Diwan said. Starting Jan. 1, maintenance will be paid for at least through mid-2019, thanks to the Friends group.
Friends of Oak Grove Park “is a dedicated community group working towards the common goal of the beauty and peace of the Oak Grove Park,” the group states on its Facebook page, “We support and encourage the founding members’ original intention that the park remain ‘a neighborhood park where families can enjoy a peaceful picnic’ for generations to come.”
Huff and Hasegawa thanked Diwan for putting up an information kiosk at the park, located southwest of Hood River at the intersection of Country Club and Portland Drive. Donations can be made to Friends of Oak Grove Park, 2120 Country Club Road.
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