By Wayne Clark

News Editor

MONTGOMERY  – State Senator Gerald Dial (R-Lineville) has announced that he has secured funding from the Alabama Department of Economic & Community Affairs (ADECA) in the amount of $41,840 to help fund the creation of a new walking trail in Lanett.

“I want to thank Kenneth Boswell and ADECA for working with me to secure this grant for the City of Lanett,” Dial said. “Advocating for constituents is one of the most important parts of my job as a legislator, and I’m proud to advocate on behalf of the people of Chambers County.”

The City of Lanett plans to construct a single-purpose walking trail on the playground area across from W.O. Lance Elementary School. The proposed walking path will be approximately 2,150 feet in length and eight feet wide. The grant will help with construction of the trail, as well as security lighting, signage, landscaping, and engineering services.

City officials have been considering having such a trail for some time. Drawings done for the city by Harris-Gray, West Point, show a serpentine path extending throughout the site of the former Lanett High building that stood from 1924 to 1980.

Concrete steps that connected the site’s three terraces are still in place and could be used on the new trail. There’s also the possibility of building a pavilion that could serve to host gatherings for the park setting.

Mayor Kyle McCoy believes that amenities such as the new walking trail and the downtown streetscape project will promote healthy lifestyles on the part of city residents. The new walking trail and the new city sidewalks will encourage people to get out and walk on a regular basis  and to enjoy being in the heart of town.

The kinds of improvements that will be taking place downtown and along North Lanier to the state line could also be coming to First Street from Gilmer to South Eighth Street between Veterans’ Park and W.O. Lance Elementary.