Part of Park Sold, Funds Diverted

After selling a part of Cave Hill Nature Center to the Turnpike Commission as required by the highway widening project, the Carlisle Borough Parks and Rec Department has allocated the $17,500 toward building nature trails at another park--Thornwald--on the other side of town. The allocation is a saddening reflection of a long-standing pattern of public neglect. In 1984 the edge of the property with the facility which is now Bekins Ace Moving was eased for a utility right-of-way, and although the project degraded natural resources, those funds were also not dedicated to the Park's improvement or upkeep. A more recent Turnpike contractor's proposal to compensate the Borough for the privilege to dump fill in the park is worth watching. This proposal has the potential to more significantly and detrimentally effect the park than any previous, and may amount to a significant receipt. With the Borough's dedication to maintenance of the park called into question since the 1970s, these latest moves will indicate whether the Town and Department are committed to giving the park the transfusion it needs, or bleeding it to death.