Published: August 26, 2009 01:10 am      

Trail’s first phase near completion

THE ISSUE:The Panhandle Pathway in Cass and Pulaski counties.

OUR VIEW:Volunteers’ hard work could lead to a connection with Kokomo’s Nickel Plate Trail.

Congratulations to Friends of the Panhandle Pathway on their progress toward completing the first phase of a 21-mile trail.

Pavement has been laid on the section from Star City to Winamac. Plans call for the trail eventually to extend to Kenneth near Logansport’s France Park.

The idea for the trail dates to 2005, and organizers admit they’ve occasionally grown weary of the various bureaucratic hoops they’ve been forced to clear, but they say having a section of the trail finished and seeing people use it has given them renewed determination to continue their efforts.

Through a series of state and federal grants, the Panhandle group is converting the old A&R Railroad from Winamac to Kenneth to a trail. Over the summer, workers poured a concrete deck on a bridge over the Tippecanoe River, and on Friday, they wrapped up paving.

For now, the bridge is closed awaiting the installation of railings. Volunteers hope to finish that and the installation of signs and barricades within the next month.

In the meantime, they urge trail users to be cautious.

If you aren’t among those who have already ventured out to check out the first few miles of trial, we’d encourage you to do so. There’s a paved parking lot in Star City that organizers recommend as a starting point.

Brush and debris have already been cleared along the next phase of the trail from Star City to Kenneth, and construction of that section will start next spring and should be finished by fall.

Plans call for trails in Logansport eventually to be connected to both the Panhandle Pathway and to the Nickel Plate Trail from Kokomo to Rochester.

All of these trails have been helped along by grants, but none would have been possible without the sweat of volunteers.

Volunteers have cleared many of these pathways. They’ve picked up trash, and they’ve taken money out of their own pockets to pay for landscaping.

If you’d like to get involved, these volunteers could use your help.

In the meantime, we owe all of them a debt of gratitude.

– Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, and Kokomo Tribune