by Kate Evans
An uplifting new North Berkeley Community Park mural encourages kindness, positive character traits and saying no to drugs and alcohol.
Morgan County Parks and Recreation Director Dawn Beal said the group is trying to beautify the park and get the park changed around. The park has experienced some vandalism over the last several years.
The mural was completed around a month ago.
Layla Windle, Life or Drugs, Tri-State Support staff person, painted the mural, said Melody Stotler, Morgan County Partnership program coordinator and Life or Drugs, Tri-State Support Director.
The Morgan County Partnership and Life or Drugs, Tri-State Support each received $5,000 CADCA in Action (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) environmental strategy grants, Stotler said.
The funding was used for North Berkeley Community Park beautification and drug/alcohol/tobacco cessation efforts.
The Morgan County Partnership grant went toward creating the North Berkeley Park mural and contracting Windle to paint it, Stotler said.
The Life or Drugs grant funded park equipment being cleaned and repaired along with mulch and tree plantings. The two organizations worked in partnership on the project.
The Morgan County Partnership had previously gotten a grant for purchasing and installing security cameras and lights at North Berkeley Community Park. The equipment was purchased and they’re waiting for additional electric to be put in at the park so the additional cameras and lighting can be installed, Stotler said.
The Morgan County Partnership and Life or Drugs, Tri-State Support saw the need for more lighting and cameras to reduce dark areas in the park from being places where illegal activity could occur, Stotler said. They got involved and approached Parks and Recreation for the okay to apply for the grant funding to help, she said.
Brittany Buchanan, Life or Drugs, Tri-State Support case manager, oversaw the North Berkeley beautification project with Stotler’s assistance.
