Dog Park Closer to Opening

After months of work, the new dog park near 160th and Oak Park Avenue is nearly complete.

Dog Park Nears Completion

After months of work, the new dog park near 160th and Oak Park Avenue is nearly complete.

Soon residents of Oak Forest, the surrounding area and their furry, four-legged friends are going to have a new place to play.  After months of work by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and the Bark for a Park Committee, opening day of the dog friendly park at Bremen Grove is finally near. Although an official opening date hasn't been finalized, Cook County Forest Preserve spokesperson Karen Vaughan said the park should open in mid-November. Vaughan said that the dog park isn't something that the Forest Preserve District would generally take on, but after hearing from residents in the area, it made sense to look into developing a dog park in the South Suburbs. “During the process of developing the Oak Forest Heritage Master Plan, …

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All Dogs Go to Oak Forest: Park Set to Open Soon

The Bark For Your Park Committee held an open meeting Aug. 27, at Oak Forest's City Hall to discuss the soon-to-open dog park and take suggestions from residents on what exactly the park should offer.

It's nearly time to bust out the leashes and head to the new dog park in Oak Forest, near 160th and Oak Park Avenue. But, there's still a few weeks of planning and construction that must be completed before the park opens, in late September or October. While work—including pouring a concrete patio area and installing fencing—is still ongoing, Alderman Laura Clemons led a Bark for Your Park committee meeting on Aug. 27, to outline the progress on the park. “We've been surveying, the fence is just about up, they've split it, they've framed out the concrete patio and they've laid the cement for the posts for the gated in-and-out,” Clemons said. More than 30 people attended the meeting, which also featured a fluid flow of suggestions from …

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Confused

11:25 am on Thursday, September 27, 2012

The point is that he is a member of the community and is trying to express his concerns before the decision is made so he can try to be a part of that decision. I'm not saying I always agree with him but I appreciate that he is getting involved and raising questions. Allowing something to come to fruition without knowing the facts is completely irresponsible.   more ›

Officials Announce Casting Call for Dog Park Video

Are you ready for your close-up? Oak Forest officials have announced an open casting call for participants in the community spirit video portion in the Bark for Your Park $100K Dog Park contest.

Lights. Camera. Bark? That may just be the direction of a community spirit video the city of Oak Forest is filming for the final leg of the PetSafe Bark for Your Park $100,000 contest. Oak Forest is one of 15 cities in the final round of the competition and winning the contest would net the city the $100K to build a dog park. Voting is still open and now officials are rounding up local enthusiasts (and their pet pooches) to show their support in the video. The production will be filmed at Oak Forest City Hall, at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 23.  "We will need owners and their pooches to sit in City Hall Chambers, as well as to be a part of a large group cheer," said Laura Clemons, 1st Ward Alderman who has helped lead the charge for a dog park…

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Dog Park Crew Reaches ‘Tentative Agreement’ with Forest Preserve

Bark For A Park committee head says a national contest could help fill the coffers and is encouraging residents to lend their support.

A proposed dog park might be closer to a reality than ever before. The Bark For A Park committee and Forest Preserve District of Cook County have a “tentative agreement" for use of seven acres at 159th Street and Oak Park Avenue, said First Ward Alderwoman Laura Clemons. She declined to elaborate on that agreement on a portion of land at Bremen Grove Forest Preserve. The site was one of two locations whittled down from a list that include the possibility of a portion of the Oak Forest Health Center campus. Sign up for Oak Forest Patch daily newsletter and keep tabs on what's going on! Bark For a Park is close to meeting its goal of raising $10,000, Clemons said. After holding three fundraisers, the committee has collected about $8,000 and …

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Dog Park Supporters Step Up and Pucker Up to Raise Funds

Oak Forest Ald. Laura Clemons and her team of supporters continued the plight for a pooch playground, with a wine-tasting fundraiser March 18.

Oak Forest Ald. Laura Clemons asked folks pay for a smooch from a pooch—with hopes of raising more money for an Oak Forest dog park.  For $1 a kiss, supporters pitched in for a place for local pooches to play, as four local pooches manned a pooch kissing booth. The brainchild of Clemons, the dog park continues to inch closer to fruition with Bark for a Park fundraisers like the wine-tasting Sunday at the Oak Forest Communtity Center. Attendees sampled goods from Wine-Styles, along with pizza, cheese and crackers and other treats. They also browsed and bid on basket prizes from local businesses in a silent auction.  The committee is halfway to its spring goal of $10,000, and Clemons was pleased with the turnout of approximately 100 people. …

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Help Raise a Buck for 'Bark in the Park'

The next fundraiser for an Oak Forest dog park is just more than two weeks away—and dog park supporters hope you'll help them inch closer to their goal.

Supporters of an Oak Forest Dog Park have raised just under half of the estimated $10,000 needed to build the park and on March 18, they'll get back to business. The group of volunteers, led by Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward), will host a wine-tasting fundraiser, complete with samplings of 6–8 wines, cheese, dips, pizza and other finger foods. Guests can also step right up to a pooch smooch booth, where a donation buys a kiss from a local canine. The event will be held at the Oak Forest Community Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets will be $20.00 per person, $30.00 for a couple. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the park, the location for which is still to be determined. The group has narrowed its search down to two plots—acreage near …

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Dog Park Crew Closer to Marking a Territory

Ald. Laura Clemons and her group of volunteers pursuing an Oak Forest dog park are closer than ever to determining the exact spot for the park.

The list of proposed locations for an Oak Forest dog park has been whittled down from many, to two. The two remaining possibilities include acreage near 135th and Ridgeland, and land on the southeast corner of 159th and Oak Park Avenue. Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward) hopes to have a final answer from the Cook County Forest Preserve District within the next month or two. One answer is clear: a portion of the Oak Forest Health Center campus previously being considered is officially out of the running. This might come as a relief to some residents originally opposed to the idea. For residents living near the proposed area, their concerns ranged from noise, to dog attacks, to vehicle traffic, to you guessed it, the smell of Spot's droppings. …

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Mary Attreau

5:50 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Too far away for me   more ›

'Bark for a Park' Group Preps for Future Fundraisers

Volunteers looking to bring a dog park to Oak Forest will meet again Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. to discuss upcoming fundraising efforts. It's an open meeting and all are welcome.

Bark now or forever hold your peace—just until the next meeting, that is! Supporters of a dog park in Oak Forest are invited to join in the next planning session, to be held Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. in City Hall. The agenda includes the group's upcoming wine tasting event (scheduled for March 18), and other ideas to help raise money for the $10,000 park. The group is just shy of halfway to its $10,000 goal, wrote Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward) on the group's Facebook page. The location of the park is yet to be determined. Clemons recently attended a meeting about the future of a portion of the Oak Forest Health Center campus, to advocate its use as a dog park.   You 'Like' Us? You Really Do?  

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Oak Forest Puts Another Paw Forward for the Canine Kind

The Bark for a Park committee held its second fundraiser for an Oak Forest Dog Park at Oak Forest Community Center, Wednesday, Nov. 2.

The Oak Forest community proved it's not too ruff to show its support for a dog park. The Bark for a Park committee and its leader Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward) hosted a Nov. 2 all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner to raise funds for Oak Forest's own dog park.  Volunteers served dinner and raffled off prizes throughout the night at the Oak Forest Community Center. For a $10 ticket, guests received: salad, all-you-can-eat pasta, garlic bread, dessert and soft drinks or water.  The event brought in $1,170 from the raffle baskets and dog crate prize. Roughly 110 people bought tickets at the door ($1,100), and pre-event sales at about $1,190. Clemons estimates they served about 300 people total.  "We were thrilled to see so many families and their …

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Lauren Traut

10:50 am on Friday, November 4, 2011

Hi, Veruka, I'm sorry you didn't know about the event, and I understand you're disappointed you missed it. Can I make a suggestion? Bookmark Oak Forest Patch, and check back frequently. We've been following the dog park process from the very first meeting, and we plan to continue. Also, you can find Bark for a Park on Facebook (if you're a user), where the committee publishes notice of each …   more ›