Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line 08-11-2026: Duane Long shares updates on the Dixon Park District

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Talk Line 08-11-2026: Duane Long shares updates on the Dixon Park District · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Suk Valley, and welcome back to the Waking Crew.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: I'm Brandon Clark, your host. It's eight seventeen on your Tuesday,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: August eleventh morning, and it's time for talk line. I'm
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: joining the booth once again by our good friends from
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the Dixon Park District, Dwayne Long, cutting through the muggy
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: humidity to join us in person as always, sir, how
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: are you.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having us I'm doing great, appreciate you having
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: us here.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love having you in Man, it's a good time.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: It's always a good time to talk about the Dixon
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Park District. But this is one of those times where
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: we're always making the most out of it while we
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: can before an old man winter sets in and separates
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the die hards from the cash holes.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Kind of our time span for the park District.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: It's weird how we have times. But school's back in session,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: as we talked about off air, and that's kind of
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: one of our time spans for the part district. So
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: our programs kind of change a little bit go from
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: summer to school time. So it's weird how we have
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: seasonal times at the park District. Yeah, but I mean
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: completely makes sense. I mean, while the parks are always open,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: the programs are you know, running year round and going
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: appropriately with that. Yeah, you're gonna have kids going to school,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: you're gonna have all the sports kicking off we were
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: talking about, and so it's just going to lead to
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: some great stuff. But we're going to start off today.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: You've got a report on the status of our parks. Yeah,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: I just want to let everybody know that all of
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: our parks are open. The splash pads are still going strong,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: the playgrounds are up, the snuff boat rams, get your
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: last boating in for the year here coming up, and
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: don't forget about our facility, and don't forget about the
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Nature Center. Very busy place out there. So finish up
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: strong here in the summer. The parks are yours to enjoy.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Everything's open and ready for you.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, seeing a lot of great posts about the Nature
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Center and what they've been doing out there. But I
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: love seeing that. Yeah, it's great to know. It's been
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: a busy, busy summer for you guys getting through a
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: lot of things and so kind of leading in, you know,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: as we're talking with different programs, we're going to go
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: into recreation programs.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have a few programs here in adult football
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: are Adult flag football is one of them. September thirteenth.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: We have Kids Table August twenty fifth, in the Kitchen,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: so Sharyl Moeller does and in the kitchen which basically
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: she teaches young kids how to cook and stuff. So
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: it's kind of neat that is September first, and then
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: she's also doing a pop up party September eleventh. So
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: we're kind of in that mid phase right here of
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: kind of getting ready for school stuff. So our programs
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: haven't ramped up for that yet, so we're kind of
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: in the mid phase here. So a few reck programs,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: not too much, but just finishing off the summer here.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, And I mean as the year progresses on,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the you know, more and moral come through. But good
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: to know where that is. Nature Center program still going on.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have a Nature Fun for a little one
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: September fourth, and Wild and Free Saturdays ten to twelve,
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Family Fun Night September twelfth, Full Moon Hike September sixth,
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: and just to throw things out there a little ahead
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: of time, the Halloween Spooky Hike is coming up October
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: twenty third, and don't want to let anybody forget about
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the farmers market. Eight to one through October tenth so
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: sounds like October tenth so a long ways off. It's not.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: It's right around. Things are coming in, the vegetables are
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: coming in. All your stuff for your farmers market typically
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: are coming in right now, so it's a good time
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: to head down there. But October fourth is the last
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: day for that.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Man, it is. I gotta get fall minded like the
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: rest of everybody. I think I've been trying to hold
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: onto the last vestiges of summer. And I had my
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: oldest boy already decorating his place for falling. I'm like,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: what are you doing, man? He's like, it's fall, Dad,
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: And I'm like.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: I'm not ready either. I'm not ready for it. I'm like,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: tell that to the humidity, right right, right, for sure, No,
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: I am not ready for fall either. I enjoy fall.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: It's kind of a wind down, a little bit little
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: rust for the partners to get ready. But we're not
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: done with the summer yet. I think we got another
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: solid month here to enjoy it.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I completely agree, and I'm going to look forward
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: to it. Update on the OSLAED grant for EC Smith Park.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we talked about this last time. We're
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: just kind of narrowing things down a little bit. We're
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: gonna do one pickleball court, two tennis courts, and a
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: half a basketball court on the existing three tennis courts
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: up there. And the reason for that is there's a
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: tennis court grant out there that you can get thirty
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: five thousand dollars per court, So we're gonna do two
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: tennis courts, a pickle ball court, a basketball court and
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: make it for everybody instead of just three tennis nets
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: up there. Also that I'll have new eightya sidewalks to
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: the tennis courts and also a twenty by twenty foot
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: sunshade with pitning tables under that you could rent out
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: or just go there and enjoy. So Easy Smith is
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: getting a lot done to it. Hopefully that OSLA grant
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: we find out in January and we'd start that in
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: the spring, but September one we're starting the new playground there,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: so construction starts September first, So September one, don't go
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: to E. C. Smith. It's gonna be tour part. It's
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: gonna of orange fencing all around it. Probably for solid
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: two months. That's how much the construction is gonna take.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: So we're getting a brand new playground, benches, garbage cans,
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: drinking fountain. It's getting a whole shebang down there by
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: the playground. So everything will be removed that's there and
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: rebuilt with concrete, curb, rubber surface, swings, playground, and it's
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: gonna be exciting. So you're gonna see orange fence there
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: next month and it'll be up for two months and
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: we'll get her done.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: You guys are taking E. C. Smith new school clothes shopping. Man,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: it's gonna be decked down, fuss done. Yeah, it's gonna
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: be fun. Night park hasn't had when I was a
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: maintenance director. I think the last time we put a
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: swing in there is probably twenty years ago.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Is the last improvement in there. So and that playground
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: there when I first started here, when I was like
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: twenty three. I think it's the Kawanas club that built
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: that playground back when they could do stuff like that,
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: you know, but it's outdated. That playground's outdated. It's a
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: wood playground. You don't see those very often anymore. And
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: then this one's going to be bigger, better, and stronger.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: As I say, yeah, rubber surface for safety, a lot
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: more for the kids to do so at this playground.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: So it's going to be really neat much improvement. We're
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: trying to work our way around the parks. We've done
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: a really good job with the staff in the house
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: getting these parks up. The snuff got a lot of
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: parks and Dixon, so we're trying to make our rounds
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: on them.
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  Speaker 1: So E. C.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Smith is next on the agenda. So it's definitely going
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: to get a new playground, you know, drinking fountain, garbage
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: cans and new benches. But we got to wait to
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: see if the tennis courts get redone and the eighty
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: A sidewalks come in for the grant, and we'll be
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: able to start that in the spring. We'll make that
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: announcement on your radio station in January. You'll be the
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: first to know if we win that grant. Well, there
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: you go.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: The breaking news will come across WIXN on that update.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for you. Of course,
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: on that is making the most out of that grant
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: money and trying to hustle your way for it. These
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: are competitive grants folks. You don't just click a button
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: and get sent a check for thousands of dollars. It
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: takes hours of writing and competitiveness against other you know,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Part District and other agencies that want that money. And
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Dixon Park District always trying to do whatever they can
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: with free money before ever thinking about anything else. And
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: you guys have kind a dang good trick.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, we're in a situation that we have
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: to so with our finances and our budgets small. If
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: we want to do capital improvement projects, we have to
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: win grants. There's a lot of things in our budget
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: that says we can't do this capital improvement project unless
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: we win the grant. Some agencies just go ahead and
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: do it if they don't win the grant. We do not.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: We have to delay it, table it, come to it
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: next year, come to it in two years. We have
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: to win that grant. So that's why we spend the
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: time and money when we write the grants. We do
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: them right, We hire the right people, we hire the
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: right engineers. You will get one shot at these things,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: you know, for that cycle. So we really depend on
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: unlike other agencies where hey, we want a grant, we
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: can do this great project. If we don't win a grant,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: we don't do the project. So that's kind of the
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: big difference with our budget.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's called it's fiscal responsibility. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: it's sticking to your guns. And sometimes it ain't always sexy, yep,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: but you know what, The bills are paid, the parks
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: are up, things are up to stuff, and nobody's running
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: around saying where are we going to get money for
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: something else because we spend it on this thing and
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: you know, we fill up short and so we see,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: you know what, we'll just rob our ound piggybank. Why
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: or not, we'll worry about it later. Yeah, it's always
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: a problem when you rob for yourself and the bill
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: comes to find you, you know, a couple of days,
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: a couple of months later.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: We just don't do that.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: The part district.
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  Speaker 2: We don't dip into fun balances for capital improvement projects.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: We don't have that luxury. We do have fun balance,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: but we don't do that to dip into there. You know,
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: eventually the rainy day is it is raining, yeah, so
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: I mean we don't want that day to come and
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: we are we're fiscally responsible Our budget is very healthy.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: We just got done talking to our auditors last week.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: They gave us an a plus. Everything's great on our budget.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Our fund balances are perfect. All of our accounts are great.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: And that's with all the projects we've done in the
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: last eight years. So you know, with all that done,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: we haven't dipped into a bunch of fun balances to
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: make these things. We're doing that out of the taxes
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: you pay that year. So we try to stay within
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: our budget year. So if you pay taxes that year,
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: that's what we budget for. That's what we do playgrounds
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: with vote docs where we have to do. We don't
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: go into a fund balance. We don't go into extras.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: We don't go into that, and hence here comes the grants.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: So it's easy math. If we get fifty thousand dollars
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: extra to do a playground, we write a grant for
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: fifty we can do one hundred thousand dollars playground. It's
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: really easy math. It's not confusing just because it's government.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: It's really easy. Double your money on a grant or
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: don't do it. That's kind of our policy. Like I mean,
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: I like that. That's nice and simple. It keeps it
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: right where you ought to be. And there's no question.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: We can either knock this out of the park and
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: not have to worry about it, or we're not. We're
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: not messing with it. We're not touching it. You know.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: The key to that is, you know some things that
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: need to be done for sure, so it just takes
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: a little extra maintenance until you get that hump of
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: getting that grant.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: For like E. C.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Smith Playground, it's not in the best shape. It's a
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: wood playground. It's safe, don't get me wrong, but you
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: know it's a wood playground. So you know last year
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: we you know, couldn't do it. So this year we're
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: doing it. But we had to do some minor repairs
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: there to keep that playground safe. So them are the
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: trade offs. If you can't do something right away, you
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: have to throw a little extra maintenance at it to
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: make it safe and strong and durable for the public.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: So there is trade offs to that, but you gotta
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: do what you gotta do. It's just like at home.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: There's no difference. If you can't afford it, then you
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: don't buy it. If you can't afford the payment, then
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: don't buy it. And that's kind of the theory. Even
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: though it's government, that's the way we act at the
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: park district.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Heay, well, it's working for you, and so I just
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: just keep at it. Man, I know we only got
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: a couple of minutes left. Anything else you wanted to
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: throw out there today, we just.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: Want to throw out that. Last Thursday, we did that
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: golf cart free rides for Page Park for Project Rock
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: and I got the privilege to stand down there with
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: the people. We had a line of thirty five people
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: from three o'clock to seven o'clock. The line never went down.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: We had six golf carts going with six volunteer drivers.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: A counselman Vanier put that on. Amanda White organized it.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: What a great event. It turned out really good. And
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: the surprising that these people want to see where their
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: money went and we're happy to do that. So mister Vanier,
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna hold you to it. He said that we
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: might be one in October, so we're gonna see what
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: the planning does. We you know, we'd love to take
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: them up through the woods and see the trees change
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: colors and everything. So what a great success. Kudos to
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: everybody that drove, everybody that helped out, Amanda for organizing it,
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: and counselmen Mike Veneer for coming up with the idea.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you so much to everybody that was a
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: part of that. That's awesome and I really hope that
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: that fall drive gets to happen. That will be an
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: absolutely beautiful one.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: It sure will. And then also we do one in
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: the Medals too in October. You can drive your car
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: into the Metals on I can't remember the date, but
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: it's a Sunday. Go to our website. You can drive
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: down the gravel Loop. So what we're all trying to
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: do is open up these places where people that can't
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: get to but they paid for it. You know. Can
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: you imagine going to a store, you know you paid
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: for the place, but you can't use it. Well, we
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: want to bring that open these places that aren't accessible
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: you know by you know, you know, you can ride
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: your bike, but some people can't ride a bike, some
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: people can't walk. So we opened up all the trails
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: up in the woods, went across the bridge, and then
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: we open up the metals too.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: So trying to open.
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: Those areas up to the taxpayers that can't use these
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: areas on a consistent basis.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely love that. And then of course, as always,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: since we do got to go doing. If anybody wants
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: any more information than anything you've talked about or anything
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: that the park District offers, and it's quite extensive, where
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: should they.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: Go Dixonparkdistrict dot com and you give us a call
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: eight one five two eight four three three oh six.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: And remember, you know you can always give your comments
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: and concerns and ideas at the Dixon Park District. We
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: never look at as complaints. We don't get complaints at
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: the PART District. We get concerns, comments and ideas, and
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: that's how we act at the Park District. That's how
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: we act on things.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: There you go, you've got a way to get a
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: hold of them. Check out your park district what all
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: what they have to offered. Dwayne, thank you so much
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: for coming in sharing all the information and all the
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: hard work that you and everyone at the Dixon Park
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: District does to make sure we have these beautiful parks,
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: these facilities and these programs.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: We thank you, sir, happy to do it, and everybody
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: at the PART District just we live by the model
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: we love people, so we appreciate this we appreciate getting
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: the parks ready for everybody.