Dogged pursuit

Royal City girl seeks funds for park

ROYAL CITY — Never try to tell Kristi Jenks that something can’t be done. Jenks, 10, began the effort to create a dog park in Royal City last year, and she’s still pushing steadily. “I was watching TV, maybe two years ago,” she said. “And it was where these people help kids accomplish things that they've already started, and one of them was for a dog park for training service dogs. That night I took Silver for a walk. And I was telling my mom, and I said we need to get a dog park in Royal City.” Last year she took her idea to the Royal City Council, and they thought a dog park was a great idea. The city even had a patch of land designated for a park that it wasn’t using, at the north end of Beech Avenue. “There's an empty field… and they don't know what to do with it,” said Kristi’s mom, Heather Jenks. “And they said they need more park space but don't have any money to help. So if she can make it happen, they would love that.”