The Corydon Democrat
Wednesday, February 28, 2001

Creek Trail Group Ready to Pour Concrete

After years of planning and legal "groundwork," the Indian Creek Trail organization is on the threshold of actually putting a trail into the ground.

The Corydon Town Council and Indian Creek Trail officers agreed on the wording of an easement at the council meeting Monday night that will allow the non-profit group to get conservation easements signed by three property owners and start laying a concrete pedway within a matter of days.

The first stretch - funded with a $15,000 grant from the Harrison County Community Foundation - will run 950 feet along the south side of Little Indian Creek from Indian Creek General Store on South Mulberry Street to Rice Island Playground. It will be called Logan's Trail in memory of Logan Hall, the six-year-old son of Greg and Dana Hall of Corydon, who was killed by a car in the summer of 1998 just two blocks from the trailhead site.

Indian Creek Trail Chair Bill Gerdon said a contractor will be ready to pour concrete along Little Indian Creek a few days after easements have been signed by Dennis and Charlotte Mann, George Sloan, and the town of Corydon.

Indian Creek Trail attorney and board member Maryland Austin said Monday night that the group also hopes to start soon on a second stretch, probably asphalt, on the west side of Big Indian Creek.

It would run from the West Bridge to the North Bridge, in a flat, wooded area, once a cornfield, beneath Doolittle Hills subdivision and opposite the Keller Manufacturing Co. plant. The landowners there, Mike Sphire and Bill Doolittle, have expressed their desire to lease land for the trail. "There's a fair amount of land there, and it's very pretty," said Austin.

Tyson Foods officials have expressed interest in possibly extending the trail east beyond Rice Island to the chicken processing plant.

Austin said other sections of the trail are envisioned as continuing east beyond the North Bridge, following Big Indian Creek, behind the Keller soccer fields, perhaps as far north as I-64.

It is hoped that the trail would also run from Chestnut Street west to Hayswood Nature Reserve, although landowners in that area have not yet been formally contacted about possibly leasing or donating land.

The trail would be built to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The trail would be suitable for walkers, runners, hikers and bicyclists of all ages. Indiana law provides immunity from liability for property owners who lease land for such purposes and a small tax break, Austin told the town trustees. Indian Creek Trail will also get liability insurance from a group in Iowa that deals specifically with trails.

Persons interested in working with the Indian Creek Trail group or inquiring about memorial donations can contact Bill Gerdon or Marilyn Austin.