Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority (CCCRA), the Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail in Johnstown is adding on the miles. The new section of trail now extends 1.7 miles farther, from Bridge St. to Messenger St. The original trail stretches 1.4 miles from Michigan Ave. to Bridge St.

This popular urban riverside trail follows the Stonycreek River from the Riverside community to Sandyvale Memorial Gardens & Conservancy and now totals 3.1 miles. The CCCRA finished surfacing the trail last winter.

The Jim Mayer Family Fun Run marked the official grand opening of the extension with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 14th.The trail was named and dedicated in 1992 in memory of James E. Mayer, hiker, explorer, attorney, and magistrate who extended his concern for his clients and his family to the environment. Visit our website for trailhead locations.

Jim Mayer Trail Expands 1.7 Miles

Cambria County Trails Series

Friends of the Trails Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority

The Ghost Town Trail ▪ The Path of the Flood Trail ▪ The Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail

The first-ever 2016 Cambria County Trails Series was created to promote awareness of the Cambria County Trails and to benefit the new Friends of the Trails program. Over 50 people came out for The Jim Mayer Family Fun Run 5K/Kids’ Trail Trot on May 14th. The 5k course featured the new 1.7 mile extension of The Jim Mayer Trail. Sponsors included The Jim Mayer Family, The EADS Group, Pet Zone Inn, and Family Dentistry Associates.

The Ghost Town Trail Challenge took place on June 18th, the longest Saturday of the year. The Challenge, which was to finish the event by sunset, included three distance options: the 50K (32 miles), 25K (16 miles), and 13K (8 miles). Over 100 people participated in the event from six different states and one other country: PA, MD, NY, VA, DE, OH, and Spain. Sponsors included Saint Francis University, First Student, Robindale Energy, Mount Aloysius College, Up-N-Running, Advantage Foot Care, Applebee’s, The Big Stone Inn, Ebensburg Area Running Club, Ebensburg Insurance Agency, Al’s Pizza, and Coca-Cola.

Jim Mayer Trail Extension Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: (L to R) Clifford Kitner (CCCRA Executive Director), Kate Doyle (Jim Mayer family), Dennis Ritko (CCCRA Board Member), Rob McCombie (CCCRA Board Member), President Commissioner Tom Chernisky, Tom Kakabar (Chairman, CCCRA Board), Tom Fritz (CCCRA Board Member), Chris Brag, Becky Mayer, Mike Kane, Fritz Mayer, and Elizabeth Mayer (members of the Jim Mayer family). Photo by CCCRA Intern Erica Claycomb.

www.cambriaconservationrecreation.com Summer 2016

Clifford Kitner, Executive Director

Cambria County Conservation &

Recreation Authority

Greetings from the Executive Director

It’s been a little over a year now since I started with the CCCRA, and a lot has been accomplished in that time. First , The CCCRA has finished the Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail 1.7 mile extension with the help of a National Road Heritage Corridor Grant and funding from CamTran, as well as funding assistance and labor from our own organization. It was the first section of trail we built ‘in-house.’

The CCCRA also continues to work on the C and I section of the Ghost Town Trail through a PennDot TAP Grant secured by the previous Executive Director Delores Columbus. The CCCRA recently secured funding assistance from the Community Initiatives Fund and the Penelec Fund for the Future of Greater Johnstown of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. The 9.34 mile extension will go from the end of the current Rexis Branch at White Mill Crossing, past the Belsano Crossing, to North Street in Cardiff. The project will include the

construction of two bridges and is expected to begin in the spring of 2017.

The Ehrenfeld Mine Reclamation Project is also moving forward. The CCCRA is working with The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to remove the boney pile out of Ehrenfeld. This project is intended to eliminate public health and safety concerns arising from abandoned mine land features that are located within close proximity to residents. In addition to health and safety concerns, this project will help to mitigate environmental concerns associated with sediment and pollution loadings into the Little

Conemaugh River Basin. The removal began in May and is expected to be completed within 3 years.

The CCCRA is also assisting Lisa Rager, Marlene Singer, and Tom Callihan (a group of residents from Oakland) in their efforts to rebuild the Verna K. Blough playground. The current playground was built in 1973 on the site of the former Oakland Elementary School; it was renamed in 1977 in honor of Verna K. Blough, a teacher at the school, upon her retirement from the Greater Johnstown School District.

As you can see, we have been very busy as an organization. We invite you to check out our new website and encourage you to become a Friend of the Trails, but most importantly, we invite you to get out an use the Cambria County Trails — just for the health of it.

Clifford Kitner Executive Director, CCCRA

CFA Presents Check for Ehrenfeld Coal Pile Removal to CCCRA Board

Mike Kane, President and Executive Director of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, presented the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority with a $25,000 check to help finance the Ehrenfeld Coal Refuse Pile Removal Project.

Pictured (L to R) are CCCRA Board Members Larry Custer, Rick Bloom, Jim Panero, John Strittmatter, Brad Clemenson; President Commissioner Tom Chernisky; Board Member Chuck Gironda; President and Executive Director of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Mike Kane; CCCRA Executive Director Clifford Kitner; Solicitor George Gvozdich Jr.; Tom Simmons, Aid to Sen. Wozniak; CCCRA Board Chairman Tom Kakabar; Board Members Ray Gorman and Dennis Ritko; CCCRA Program Specialist Leanna Bird, and Board Member John Hurley.

2016 CCCRA Board Members not pictured include Tom Fritz, Rob McCombie, Steve Mikesic, Renée Daly, and Andy Kaza.

Photograph taken by CCCRA Intern Erica Claycomb at the YPCC in Ebensburg.

A trail user enjoys a morning run past the new art murals on the Jim Mayer Trail.

Friends of the Trails - Membership Levels

Please check one:

Senior/Student ($10) - Standard

Individual ($20) - Standard

Family ($35)

Standard + 4 stickers

Friend ($50)

Standard + 5 stickers

Patron ($100)

Standard + 5 stickers

Silver Business Sponsor ($150)

Standard + 5 stickers

Gold Business Sponsor ($250)

Standard + 5 stickers

NAME

_________________________________ ADDRESS

_________________________________ CITY STATE ZIP

_________________________________

EMAIL_____________________________

*Please clip and mail form with a check (made payable to Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority) to: Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority

401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 240

Ebensburg, PA 15931

You can also become a Friend of the Trails by visiting our web-site: www.cambriaconservationrecreation.com.

2016 Friends of the Trails Membership

The Friends of the Trails program, launched by The CCCRA in April 2016, funded its first trail enhancement project in June, which consists of two art murals on the old trolley bridge walls , near the Bridge St. Trailhead, along The Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail in Johnstown. The CCCRA and the Bottleworks Ethnic Arts Center partnered together to bring nature-inspired art to Johnstown's most popular urban trail.

Community volunteers, along with CCCRA and Bottleworks staff, spent June 24-25 prepping the site for the artists by clearing back brush, power- washing the walls, and priming the walls.

Artists Richard Hower, John Shook, and Todd Stiffler, with help from community volunteers and trail users, then painted the murals on June 27th. Richard and John are cousins who collaborate together in mediums ranging from watercolor to stone carving.

Additional Friends of the Trails projects that the CCCRA is

currently working on include increased directional signage for the

Path of the Flood Trail and a new trailhead parking lot at the

Portage St. Trailhead of the Path of the Flood Trail. To become a

‘Friend’ and support projects like these, see below.

‘Friends of the Trails’ Funds Art Murals

If you believe that great trails make great communities, we ask for your support to enhance and expand our regional treasures, the Cambria County Trails. The three major community trails that we manage include The Ghost Town Trail, The Path of the Flood Trail, and The Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail, which collectively total nearly 40 miles.

With your tax-deductible membership donation, we can deliver projects that will enhance and expand our trails, making them even better for generations to come.

All tax-deductible membership donations include these standard benefits: Quarterly CCCRA newsletter. Oval sticker with Cambria County Trails logo. Discounted Cambria County Trails Series registration fees. 2016 Annual Report (includes member recognition).

Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority

401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 240

Ebensburg, PA 15931

Cleaning Up The Cambria County Trails

Standard U.S. Postage

PAID Johnstown, PA Permit No. 5

Community members and local organizations came together to clean up all The Ghost Town Trail, The Path of the Flood Trail, and the Jim Mayer Trail in celebration of Earth Day this past spring. Over 90 total tires and 110 total bags of trash were collected on all three trails. Volunteers for the clean ups came from Mount Olive United Methodist Church (Sidman), the Greater Johnstown community, the Johnstown High School Interact Club, and the Ebensburg Area Girl Scouts. Sponsors for the clean ups included Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Keep America Beautiful, Lowe’s, Domino’s Pizza, Al’s Pizza (Nanty Glo) and the Nanty Glo Shop ‘n Save.

Six youth and two adult leaders came from Indiana through The Mennonite Mission Network to enhance and beautify the Jim Mayer Trail through the CCCRA’s Friends of the Trail program. The group of volunteers weeded and mulched flowerbeds at the Bridge St. and Riverside trail heads and painted the trail parking area fence on Bridge St. The Johnstown Home Depot donated the mulch and paint for the project.