Ber Juan Park huge asset to Rolla community

Thousands of residents and visitors alike have discovered the appeal, beauty and boundless recreational opportunities that are all part of Rolla’s 85-acre Ber Juan Park.

From both a recreational and aesthetic perspective, Ber Juan Park includes a tremendous range of activities and facilities that include the 63,-000-square-foot Health and Recreation complex (The Centre), an outdoor water park (SplashZone), state-of-the-art tennis facility (Ber Juan Tennis Complex), Ber Juan Sportsplex, 9-hole disc golf course, miles of walking/biking trails, exercise trails, skateboard park, Ber Juan Lake, a playground, pavilions, picnic areas, and plenty of room for other outdoor leisure activities.

If you are new to the area, or a life-long resident, I encourage you to take advantage of the many facilities and activities that are available throughout the week at Ber Juan Park, which is located off 10th Street just a couple of blocks from downtown Rolla. The easiest way to find Ber Juan Park is either from 10th Street, Holloway Street, 14th or 18th Streets where the vast boarders of the park are located.

I would like to extend a special thanks to the City’s Parks and Recreation Department for coordinating and hosting both the 6th Annual Youth Fishing Fair and U.S.T.A. Tennis Block Party on Saturday. These are very popular and well attended events, and I extend a special thanks to all of the other agencies, clubs, businesses and individuals who have worked together to help provide these unique activities for our community.

In closing I’d like to remind everyone who has not yet filled out your 2010 U.S. Census form, to please take a few minutes to fill them out and drop them in the mail at your earliest convenience. Every year, the federal government can allocate more than $300 billion to states and communities based, in part, on census data and Census data determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.

What’s also at stake for our community is the loss of $1,300 per year for every person not counted for the next 10 years. This means we could lose out on vital resources for our friends, neighbors and our family. This time around the census form is shorter, just 10 short questions, and your private information is kept just that – private for 72 years. Our community has a lot riding on this and it’s up to each of us to do our part. We are counting on you, so please be counted. Should you have any questions about the U.S. Census, please visit www.2010census.gov.