Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker. He brings to the job years of experience in Parks and Rec, as well as Public Works. Rip is a former Military Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army and is active with the Army Reserve.
Happy March, everyone! This tends to be the month where we see activity start to pick back up in our parks with the onset of warmer weather. With that in mind, I want to run through a quick list of things you need to know happening this month in Tucker’s parks.
PLAYGROUNDS
We had hoped to have all our new playgrounds installed by now, but if you’ve paid any attention to the weather over the past couple months you know that Mother Nature has done us no favors on this project. The good news is, we’ve made major progress on replacing the playground behind Tucker Recreation Center and we hope to have Henderson Park’s playgrounds finished up this month.
SOFTBALL
We have two adult sports groups that have come in to partner with us this spring on softball leagues. Roots Women’s League is going to offer a slow-pitch softball league for women 18 and older starting March 15 at Kelley Cofer Park. We are extremely excited to welcome them to the park, as well as Fusion Sports. They plan to offer a Monday night co-ed softball league starting on March 25. We hear all the time from adults in the community about wanting some outlets to get their competitive juices flowing. Well, here you go!
PI DAY PI-K
Any mathematician will tell you that March 14 is affectionately known as “Pi Day”. This year, we’re getting in the spirit by hosting a Pi Day Pi-K. At several times throughout the day, you’ll be able to run or walk a 3.14-kilometer course with friends, neighbors and members of our recreation staff. Those completing the feat will be treated to a slice of – what else? – pie from Matthews Cafeteria. Check out tuckerga.gov/parks for more details.
LEAD THE PACK
If you read this column with any regularity, you know that the City has been grappling with how to curb the illegal practice of folks letting their dogs run off-leash in our parks. It’s not a problem that’s unique to Tucker; far from it, in fact. But it’s our mission to try and do something about it. On March 16 at Henderson Park we will launch Lead the Pack, an initiative to educate dog owners about our leash law and have them pledge to keep their dogs leashed in our parks. We’re going to have some great local pet stores out there partnering with us and we will have custom City of Tucker leashes to give away to any pet owner who signs our pledge to comply with the leash law.
