7/29/11 UPDATE <> UPDATE <> UPDATE <> UPDATE
The Dog Park has been approved!
It will be at Endicott Park behind the Children's Playground. Now we have to raise money. Anyone that would like to help us, please, contact Matt at MFaino@hotmail.com
or come to a meeting (see schedule above). We need energetic people to come up with good fundraising ideas and the know how to implement them. All donations (of course) are gladly accepted. Hope to hear from you soon.
Hi, We are looking for Animal Lovers who reside in Danvers to join a committee, or help in any other way you can, to work towards getting a Dog Park in Danvers, Ma. If you would like us to contact you by phone, then please leave your phone number in the comments section. We are a grass roots organization, just beginning to work towards our goal. We would like to encourage everyone to write a Letter to the Editor, about a dog park, to either The Danvers Herald or The Salem News. Once we have a group of interested people, we will use this site to inform you of upcoming meetings and to keep you updated on what we're up to and how you can help. If you have suggestions, ideas or just want to lend support,
we want to hear from you.
Mail to the Danvers Herald at: Danvers Herald, Cathryn Keefe O'Hare, editor, 72 Cherry Hill Drive, Beverly, Ma 01915 Fax to: 978-739-8501 or E-mail to: danvers@cnc.com
Mail to The Salem News at: Letters to the Editor, Salem News, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, Ma 01915 Fax to: 978-927-4524 or E-mail to: nbenton@salemnews.com
The following is our mission statement: Our goal is to establish a fenced in, off leash dog park where well-behaved canine citizens can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property or wildlife. To develop a beautiful, well maintained space open to all dog lovers and friends who are willing to uphold the park's rules and restrictions. To view this park as a community project, in partnership with the Town of Danvers, designed to satisfy the needs of dog owners and non-dog owners alike.
ON 4/16/09 THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DANVERS HERALD, WRITTEN BY Myrna Fearer
Leash Law to have more bite - For the Public Health Department, spring brings problems of owners violating the leash law and green grass dotted with dog poop in town parks and strips of green grass in front of residents' homes.
And this doesn't please Peter Mirandi, Public Health director, or Jean Marcotti, animal care specialist, "I take it personally when those dirty dog owners leave their dog's mess behind," Mirandi said. Marcotti, however, finds that there are people who not only break the law, but also defy it with attitude. Recently, Marcotti saw a dog off leash, and said all anyone can do is send warning letters.
"We have signs in each and every park that say, 'Dogs welcome on leash,''' said Mirandi.
Mirandi said unless there was a fine involved, the owner might ignore a warning. He (or she) would respond to a fine, he said.
After hearing the complaints and realizing the problem, the Board of Health made some recommendations that would give the law, which includes a pooper-scooper section, some credibility.
"Jean Marcotti has been advocating the need to write tickets and the board has ordered me to acquire legal counsel to fine violators of the leash law," Mirandi said in a follow up interview. "By next month, the mechanics will be in place to issue a ticket to an owner who violates the leash law or the pooper-scooper law."
ON APRIL 23, 2009, DONNA MOOERS, 30 CHASE STREET, WROTE THE FOLLOWING LETTER TO THE EDITOR, IN ANSWER TO THE ABOVE ARTICLE:
Editor, Danvers Herald
The attached is my opinion regarding the recent column by Myrna Fearer regarding the leash law.
I am a responsible dog owner who also believes that dogs need exercise and socialization. I always pick up and respect the rights of others. I am tired of being the bad guy. The dog poop I find on my lawn is left by the owners of dogs on leashes, how are you going to fine them? Some towns address this issue with dog parks and other towns allow beach use until May 1. Why not allow us to use the parks from October 1 until April 1 when sports begin. Who would be affected in the winter? With approximately 2000 dogs in Danvers, we have no outlet. The town of Danvers supports organized sports but does not support any other needs i.e. green spaces, walking trails, or other non-sports activities. Why is it that each spring you focus on the dog owners once again? You, the Public Health Director, take it personally that "those dirty dog owners leave their dog's mess behind". When I walk my dog on a leash through Plains Park, I often observe men and boys relieving themselves. I take it personally that the Board of Health is not addressing this very obvious problem and is not concerned about providing toilets during the sports season. I take it personally that your office is not concerned that Plains Park is now a rubble dump for the town and that there is a voluminous amount of trash left behind, including used condoms, broken glass and plastic bottles despite the carry in and carry out signs. This will draw rats and become a health issue for the neighbors. I take it pesonally that as a citizen I am mandated to recycle but the Recreation Dept. is not. There are no recycle bins in place at the ball fields. Recycling is "mandatory" in Danvers. I take it personally that as a neighbor of Plains Park I cannot have a quiet cookout in my own yard without the thwunk of an aluminum bat on ball or a loudspeaker system on even one day of my weekend. Where is the consideration for my health and welfare? In short, I take it personally that all the dog owners of Danvers are "dirty dog owners" and are held accountable for the actions of a few. Treat us like human beings and we might lose the "attitude" and find some better solutions.
FIRST MEETING HELD ON 4/29/09, 6:00PM, HAD THE FOLOWING ATTENDEES:
Donna Mooers, Ben Doherty, Gail Tyrrell, Judy Reardon, David Reardon, Fran Murphy, Andre Ruest, Eric Lerher, Michelle Henson, Chris Williamson, Donna Henson & Glenn Robbins
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7th, 6:30pm at the Danversbank Eastman building (across from Movie Works video store) Entrance is at the rear of the building, parking is there also. Everyone is welcome. Any questions, please call Donna at 978-777-4321, ext 210.
SECOND MEETING HELD ON 5/7/09, 6:30PM, HAD THE FOLLOWING ATTENDEES:
Gail Tyrell, Donna Henson, Glenn Robbins, Michelle Henson, Chris Williamson, Donna Mooers, Judy Reardon, Dave Reardon, Melissa Gaeta, Frank Whitehall, Gerald Clark, Beatrix Clark
Gail Tyrell was voted Chairperson, Donna Henson was voted Secretary. Flyers, signs and signature sheets were passed out to everyone in attendance. Chris will be in charge of putting 30 signs throughout Danvers, in stores and restaurants. Glenn will arrange room for next meeting and it will be posted on this site, Michelle will see to having notices posted on Danvers Local TV station, all members will begin to get signatures and pass out brochures and cards directing people to this web-site. Michelle spoke to someone at town hall and found out that we cannot put signs up in parks, however we can set up tables to get signatures in front of the post office or on the streets, as long as we do not block any entrances or exits and we get permission if we are in front of a store or restaurant from the manager.
With upcoming festivities in Danvers for Family Festival, we will try to get table space at the following events for sign up sheets and information. Endicott Park Day, June 20th, 11am to 3pm, Endicott park... Dog Party, June 21st, 11am to 1pm, Behind the Library... Fireworks, July 3rd, 4pm to 9pm, Plains Park... We need people to man the tables and collect signatures, if you're willing to do this, please sign up for a 2 hour shift by coming to our next meeting which should be coming up the first week of June. Stay tuned.......................
PLEASE, COME SEE US AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY SIGNING A PETITION.
This letter to the Editor appeared in the Danvers Herald on 5/21/09
DANVERS NEEDS A DOG PARK
i am writing to address the problems associated with being a dog owner in Danvers. Dogs, like people, are social animals; they enjoy being around and interacting with other dogs. Dog owners are generally friendly, outgoing people who enjoy watching their dogs playing and having fun. There is no place in Danvers for this to happen. Danvers addresses the specialized needs of many groups: tennis players get tennis courts, ballplayers get ball fields, children get playgrounds, skateboarders get skate parks, basketball players get basketball courts. Why not dog owners? A park where our dogs could romp is a sure fire way to have a town full of well-socialized, happy dogs and, as any veterinarian would tell you, a well-socialized dog is less aggressive.
Then there is the issue of the elderly and infirm who are not able to walk their dogs and would relish the chance to sit on a bench while their dogs frolic with others. We owners would enjoy the chance to interact as well. I travel frequently with my dog and have been to dog parks and beaches all up and down the East Coast. Surely a beautiful town like ours could provide the same. It would be nice to see the Town Council give some thought to making a large group of tax paying, dog license paying citizens feel included in the town's outdoor spaces.
written by: Donna Henson, Chestnut Street
NEXT MEETING IS FRIDAY, 6/5/09 AT 6:30, HELD AT DANVERSBANK (ACROSS FROM VIDEO STORE) ENTER THROUGH REAR OF BUILDING TO COMMUNITY ROOM. EVERYONE IS WELCOME! SEE YOU ALL THERE!
Meeting notes: Kathy Ciman from the Danvers Family Festival attended the first part of the meeting and offered some of the following thoughts and observations:
1st She officially invited us to be a part of Dog Party and suggested we work up a statement about our mission and an announcement about our booth to be read over the loudspeaker. Also she was going to have a celebrity guest speaker who could read something out about the Park project if we wanted.
2nd She suggested that we might want to look into joining with "Strays in Need" and seeing if we could help each other.
3rd She felt we should consider whether a fee for use of dog park would be charged.
Once Kathy left we passed around sheets for members to sign up to man booths at a number of Family Festival Events. Matt agreed to take on the responsibility of getting us a regular meeting schedule. Cindy agreed to call the Salem Dog Park and see if some sort of an alliance could be arranged, perhaps they have members who would agree to come to one of our meetings and talk about how they approached the city with the idea, how much space they asked for, how they arranged financing, etc. If that wasn't possible perhaps we could access they're records or meeting notes for this info. Donna will arrange for signs, tables, canopy, chairs and literature for all sign up booths. We will be doing a 2 person booth with each pair of volunteers signing up for a 1 1/2 hour to 2 1/2 hour shift at an event.
