Runners benefited from help

To the editor:

What a wonderful community in which we live. The Michael Janecek Trail Improvement Project was completed in time for the Palmer Invitational X-Country Meet this past Saturday thanks to the vision of Michael and Gayle Janecek and the dedication and big hearts of parents, athletes, teachers, friends and businesses who volunteered time and labor or reduced their prices to make this project happen. Our trail project was completed for just under $3,000. In 2007, the Palmer X-Country Booster Club received a grant of $3,000 thanks to Wendy Mahan seeing a need and volunteering many hours to get this generous grant from ConocoPhillips.

Volunteers put in more than 1,000 man hours widening and lengthening the trail. These folks worked to cut trees, pile and chip brush, haul and stack wood, pull stumps, build a new hill for the course, bulldoze the trail and hydroseed part of the trail. Palmer X-Country Booster Club can’t possibly thank enough the following volunteers and businesses for their support of this project: Russ Dunlap; Alaska Operating Engineers Local 302, instructor Mike Holcomb and operators Kyle Roundtree, Philesha Peters, Scott Ballard, Eric Johnson, and Jesse Reakoff; Mike Waddell of Alaska Demolitions; Mike Hoot; Dan Moore; Mark Strabel; Tracy Moffitt of Quality Topsoil; Roger Bliss of Wheel Dog Trucking; Phillip Kelly of Affordable Hydroseeding; APR; United Rental; and finally Scott Johnson of Dirt Works and Job Corps Operating Engineers Local 302 who are finishing off the hill where the old hockey rink used to be. Allison Enters is the instructor and the student operators are: James Active III, Peter Andrew, Paul Eiler, Thomas Aghupuk, Lisa Carl —foreman, Sarah Geffe, Donald Allbright, Jesse Crocker, and Chris Ruiz — foreman. Thank you one and all.

Katie Mangelsdorf

Palmer X-Country Booster Club