Bolivar-Zoar Rotary Club works on new connecting trail near Zoar
Members of the Bolivar-Zoar Rotary Club turned out to clean up and perform prep work needed for the new connector trail.
Saturday, March 27 brought sunshine and warm temperatures perfect for working outdoors. Volunteers from the Bolivar-Zoar Rotary Club, tools in hand and babies in tow, gathered to do some needed prep work for a new connecting trail along the Towpath Trail.
According to Jon Elsasser, the club’s treasurer, the goal is to build a trail connecting the Canal Lands Park trailhead with the old iron bridge and eventually lead from the bridge into the village of Zoar. The plan also includes the boardwalk to span the canal on the way to the iron bridge.
“The goal is to get people off of the road for safety reasons,” Elsasser said. “If you want to get from the trailhead to the iron bridge today, you have to cross Dover-Zoar Road and walk along Towpath Road. We also want to place a small picnic shelter and some benches in the area.”
So far the project has been funded by the club, and volunteer work has been performed by club members. Elsasser said volunteer work keeps the costs down, but there are still materials to be purchased. The club’s fundraising activities fuel those purchases.
Three of those fundraising projects are coming soon. Shred Day will be Saturday, April 24 in the Ohio Billing parking lot at 10911 state Route 212 in Bolivar. Individuals and companies can bring documents for shredding for a fee of $5 per container the size of a banker’s box.
“We’ll also be using the Ohio Billing parking lot during the Wilshire Garage Sale from May 6-8,” Elsasser said. “People who would rather not hold the sales at their homes can set up tables in the parking lot for a fee, which goes to support projects like this one.”
Elsasser, who also is a member of the Zoar Community Association, said the club will prepare the food for the food tent at Maifest in Zoar on Saturday, May 8.
Elsasser estimates completing the connecting trail and picnic shelter by mid-2022. He said the club also is working with Jesse Rothacher, park manager for Tuscarawas County Parks, and Jayne Clay, executive assistant of the Tuscarawas County commissioners, on the boardwalk over the canal. He expects it to be complete sometime in either 2022 or 2023.
The new trail and boardwalk is part of an overall joint connector trails project involving the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, Lawrence Township Board of Trustees and the Village of Zoar.