Heavy rains creating havoc for county crews

It’s been slow but steady at the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department, mostly due to all the recent rain. The Halls Greenway and the Ten Mile Creek Greenway are absolutely flooded!

We actually had to close half the dog park at Concord (the side for the big dogs) because a tree fell and took out the fence. We’ve had a crew out there now fixing it and replacing the gate. We expect it to be open before the weekend. And speaking of dog parks. Our crews continue their great work at Beverly Park, installing some 1,100 feet of fencing for the new dog park out there.

Our one-man machine Frank Christian has been working on the mowers, equipping them with safety warning lights and he also hiked up and down House Mountain, looking for places to install cameras and actually installing some.

Additionally, we have a crew at the Melton Hill Community Club ball field, working hard to make sure it’s playable. Our carpenters are building a floating dock to help the folks cleaning up the Knox County Water Trail on Beaver Creek and hope to have that ready soon.

This week, though, the water trail team has spent much of its time overseeing maintenance on their equipment, since the creek is way too flooded to have them in the water. Also, we are working to bring the playground at Maloney Road Park up to ADA code.

We had a crew haul boxes from the courthouse to the county archives. This is one of those things we’ve done for years – to help pitch in and lend other departments a hand when they need it. Believe me, it’s a ton of stuff they have to move!

The New Harvest Park Farmers Market kicks off April 14. Before that, though, we plan to work with our Nourish Knoxville Partners on a special project to get the park’s trails ready! More information on that coming soon.

On the recreation side:

Adult softball registration runs from March 1-11 for the Sportspark in Karns. Additionally, we are offering kickball for the first time!
Weekend tournaments, too, start in early March at the Sportspark.
Girls and boys lacrosse practices are ongoing at John Tarleton Park.
Boys soccer is taking place now at Tommy Schumpert Park and adult soccer will crank up Feb. 27 on Sundays and Wednesdays at Tommy Schumpert Park.

Enjoy these photos from work around the county: