By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Women Who Lead, formerly known as the Wonder Women League celebrated the lighting of the Hays Dog Park Wednesday night.
Lighting for the dog park has been the No. 1 request to the City of Hays Parks Department.
Residents say if the park had lights, they could take their dogs out to the park early in the morning before going to work and later in the evening after work. There have also been reports of coyotes in the park after dark, and lighting would help alleviate the problem and provide greater safety.
"Women Who Lead has focused on projects to improve the quality of life for residents in Ellis County. Projects have generally focused on children and families and the elderly, but this is the first time we've benefited dogs," Ruth Ruder, Women Who Lead, vice chairwoman, said.
Women Who Lead formed a committee, led by chairwoman Joslyn Brungardt, and were able to join with community partners to make the lighting project happen.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for the city of Hays to get to light the dog park, and we are just ecstatic that we could get to help out. Women Who Lead is a great group," she said.
The cost of the project was $12,600, but $5,6o0 of that came from in-kind donations from contractors. Businesses, individuals and Women Who Lead donated another $6,300 toward the project.
Major sponsors of the project included Midwest Energy, M&D of Hays, Ralph’s Electric and City of Hays Parks Department.
"I think you will agree that the dog park is a wonderful addition to our city," Ruder said, "and we are so fortunate to have a place where dog owners can bring their pets for exercise."
During the lighting ceremony on Wednesday, Women Who Lead made a $1,500 donation to Friends of the Dog Park. The group recently built single-use dog areas for dogs who may have behavior issues that require. them to separate from other dogs. The group hopes to use the Women Who Lead donation to purchase agility equipment for the park, which it hopes to have in place by spring.
"This park started 10 years ago as a glimmer, and it's been a true community effort," Kim Perez, Friends of the Hays Dog Park board member, said. "All of our donors, all of our volunteers, we want to thank you for that."
Woman Who Lead also spearheaded a food, treat and toy drive for the Humane Society of the High Plains. They were able to fill a truck with several thousand dollars worth of donations. Bags of dog and cat food were also presented to the Community Assistance Center. This bulk food will be broken into smaller bags for families in need who have pets.
Individuals made monetary donations to these two organizations as part of the drive, and those donations were presented to the two organizations Wednesday night.
Hillside Veterinary Clinic, Hays Veterinary Hospital and Barkley Suites also donated to the event.
You can follow Women Who Lead on Facebook. A Women Who Lead website will be launching soon.
Editor's note: Cristina Janney is a member of Women Who Lead.