www.roanoke.com

This entry is lifted directly from the NewVaConnects blog, with a few AP style edits because I just can't let my journalism degree go to waste.

Saturday, Sept. 27 - Dogs for Dogs in Highland Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A day of fun is planned for the entire family, including four-legged members (dogs are welcome on leash, please). Cash donations will be accepted at this event, and official dog park T-shirts ($15 each) and dog park bumper stickers ($5 each) will be sold. A schedule of the day’s activities includes:

• Dog Park Informational Showcase – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents of the Old Southwest neighborhood and greater Roanoke community are invited to learn more about plans for this fenced, off-leash, public dog park. Information will be provided on fencing materials, gating, benches, waste receptacles, landscaping, and more. The proposed one-acre site within Highland Park will be roped-off so residents can visualize the dog park’s dimensions.

• Buddy Wash and Nail Trim – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For a $10 donation, dogs will be bathed, and for an additional $10 donation, veterinary professionals will provide nail trims.

• Dogs for Dogs – noon to 2 p.m. Enjoy a lunchtime meal of hot dogs, chips, and a soft drink for a $5 donation. The Roanoke Dog Park Steering Committee thanks Kroger for their generous donation of food and supplies for the “Dogs for Dogs” fundraising event.

• Roanoke’s Greatest Dog Talent Show – 2 p.m. Everyone believes their dog is the world’s greatest. By making a $5 donation, proud pet parents finally have the opportunity to prove it. Contest categories range from “Best Trick,” “Best Dressed,” and “Mirror Image” (person and dog who look most alike), to “Biggest Dog,” “Smallest Dog,” and “Best in Show” (overall crowd favorite). Prizes, including dog park T-shirts, pet treats, and pet store gift certificates, will be awarded.

To volunteer - email Lauren Ellerman at lellerman@frithlawfirm.com.

Tonight is Cocktails for a Cause at Trio Bistro Bar Bottle, a fundraiser for the Roanoke Dog Park. The event starts at 5:35 and ends at 7:35.

Here's a list of the goodies that will be available for bidding in the silent auction:

• 3 Redskins tickets and parking pass for the November 30, 2008 game vs. NY Giants
• 4 rounds of golf at Hidden Valley Country Club
• Dinner at Trio!
• Heated dog beds, barking collars, doggie blankets, Kelty Dog back-pack
• Maggie Moo’s gift certificates
• Chocolate Paper gift basket
• Tickets to Chateau Morrissette's Oct. 11, 2008 Beach Music and Wine Event
• 1 night at Rose Hill Bed and Breakfast
• Grace's Place pizza certificate
• Village Flowers gift certificate
• Fleet Feet gift certificate
• Burberry watch
• Pop's Ice Cream gift certificate
• Photography gift certificates
• Massage and tanning gift certificates
• Claire V. bag
• Skin care gift certificates

This is a great way to socialize with other dog park supporters, maybe snag some cool stuff, and help build that fence.

Click here to read Mason Adams' breaking news story about the ARB approval of one acre in the corner of Highland Park as the site for an off-leash dog park in Roanoke.

The next step is to raise the rest of the money needed to make the enclosed pooch playground a reality. Click here for updates on the fundraising efforts.

You can support the public, off-leash dog park in the proposed location in Highland Park tomorrow at the Arcitectural Review Board meeting at the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building, fourth floor in Council Chambers at 5 p.m.

While approval is close, it is not a sealed deal at this point.

The dog park committee is asking "...anyone/ everyone who has supported our dog park effort to attend the ARB meeting Thursday and lend their presence and voice to the cause. It is our fear, that if the ARB does not approve our location, our months of fundraising and work could be for naught."

If you want a space in a city park where you can let your dog run off leash and play with other pooches, now is the time to show up.

There was plenty of community support for the proposed site for the off-leash dog park inside Highland Park at last night's public discussion.

Those who spoke in favor of the park clearly outnumbered the few people who said they were not in favor of the proposed location. Several citizens pointed out that adding a fenced dog park to that particular area of the park would increase the presence of law-abiding citizens, and likely run off the unsavory element that frequent it now.

One speaker held up a picture of a prostitute soliciting a customer. She then held up a picture of a dog and said she would rather see the dog in Highland Park.

While one detractor said she believed an off-leash area would only benefit a small minority of citizens, another speaker countered that tennis courts only benefit a small minority who play tennis. All amenities are not utilized by everyone who uses the park.

Two residents who live near both sides of the park spoke in favor of the location, saying they did not believe the increased noise and traffic would be a problem.

Steve Bushor, director of the city's parks and recreation department, said he would take all the comments at the meeting, plus the two phone calls and many e-mails he has accumulated on the topic, and present it to the architectural review board at a meeting on Aug. 14 at 5 p.m.

See today's Roanoke Times for Mason Adams' story about the meeting and to see a map of the proposed location.

Tonight's scheduled meeting about the dog park location has been moved from the first-floor Emergency Operations Center in the Municipal Building to the Council Chambers, also located in the Municipal Building but on the fourth floor.

This will be your chance to voice your opinion about the off-leash dog park proposed for Highland Park. If you can't attend the meeting, send an e-mail to the Roanoke City Parks and Recreation director, Steve Buschor at steven.buschor@roanokeva.gov and let him know your opinion.

The public meeting about the dog park is scheduled for Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Governor's School, 2104 Grandin Rd SW, next to Patrick Henry High, according to the NewVaConnects blog.

Anyone who is a city resident and supports the dog park can express an opinion in three minutes or less.

Click here to read Mason Adams' report about last night's neighborhood meeting about the proposed city dog park's location in Highland Park.

Another, more widely-pubicized meeting will be planned by the city's parks and recreation department to seek more input from all city residents, including those who live in Old Southwest.

I will post the meeting time and place here as soon as it is set, but if you live in the city you should be getting an announcement about the forum in the mail.

Residents who live near Highland Park have voiced concerns that the park will cause problems, including smell, noise and an interuption of sledding on the one to two days a year Roanoke gets enough flurries to cover the ground.

Joe Shields of Old Southwest Inc, addressed those concerns at last night's neighborhood meeting, and assured residents that the dog park would be regulated. He said dogs would be controlled and supervised by adults while in the park, and pointed out that by increasing the number of law-abiding citizens and their dogs in the area, it could help keep away less desireable folks and reduce crime.

Do you support the Roanoke Dog Park in Highland Park?

If so, the park's project coordinators are asking you to attend this afternoon's Architectural Review Board meeting.

WHERE: Roanoke City Municipal Building, City Council Chamber, 4th Floor
WHEN: Today at 5:00pm
WHY: Dog park organizers feel that attendance at these public meetings demonstates community support for the city's application.

Do you live in Old Southwest? The next neighborhood meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, July 17, at 7 p.m. at the Alexander Gish house, 612 Walnut Street, where the dog park vote will occur.

The Roanoke Dog Park is likely headed for a different location.

The park was originally planned for a half-acre of Fishburn Park, an area already designated as off-leash but lacking a fence to keep dogs safe from busy Brambleton Avenue.

Members of the dog park committee announced in an e-mail today that Fishburn is no longer considered the ideal location and they are now looking at Highland Park in Old Southwest.

Among the reasons listed for choosing Highland over Fishburn is that Highland is not near a major road, more than an acre of land with mature trees and a water source is available, and one side of the area is already fenced.

Highland is closer to downtown, which I know will make the urban dog families I interviewed a few months ago happy.

Perhaps most importantly, the neighborhood seems to want the park. Residents can meet with the dog park committee members in an open neighborhood meeting on Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at the Gish House, 641 Walnut Avenue SW.