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August 5, 2021 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN PAGE 5

NORTHVILLE
NORTHVILLE

Flying high

Eagle Scout builds new canine

agility course in township park

Northville Township teen Jonathon with Rebel, his Golden Retriever.
Barringer's Eagle Scout project went to the This course is housed in the back of the
dogs. large dogs' section of Marv Gans
Barringer organized, raised funds, Community Park, where there was space
recruited assistance and built a six-obsta- to accommodate the layout.
cle agility course at the Northville The obstacles include: a pause table,
Township Dog Park at Marv Gans where a pooch waits to start and finish a
Community Park that allows both dogs and course; a hoop, in two sizes, for both small
their “best friends” exercise while bond- and bigger dogs to jump through; a dog
ing. walk (ramp) used to teach a dog to refrain Boy Scout Jonathon Barringer and his dog, Rebel, enjoy the Dog Agility Course he
designed and built at Marv Gans Community Park as his Eagle Scout project.
Barringer, a University of Detroit Jesuit from jumping off early; two bar jumps,
High School student in Boy Scout Troop made out of PVC pipe, each has four differ-
755, hosted a grand opening of the course ent heights; weave poles, six flexible poles
last week. He recruited dog trainer Elly to weave through and a tunnel, a one-way
Price to teach mini-agility dog training obstacle a dog must go all the way through.
classes to introduce canines and the own- Barringer designed the course focusing
ers to the equipment and to learn some on quality and longevity. It cost $5,000 to
basic commands. build.
Agility is a growing dog sport in the To raise money for the construction of
United States. The American Kennel Club the obstacle course, Barringer collected
(AKC) reports more than one million and cashed in refundable bottles, picked
entries to the AKC Agility program each up dog waste for donating customers, start-
year. ed a GoFundMe campaign and secured
With the help of the owner, a dog races $2,500 in business sponsorships.
against the clock while navigating an “Jonathon worked very hard and did a
obstacle course by using cues and body great job on the agility course,” said The Dog Agility Course includes multiple training obstacles including hoops, ramps, a
language of the owner for direction and Northville Parks and Recreation Director tunnel and weaving poles.
guidance. Mark Gasche. “We expect it will be a popu- cent of Scouts achieve this rank. During “I'm happy how it turned out.”
All breeds and all sizes can partake in lar addition to our dog park, as we have the project, Barringer demonstrated lead- The Marv Gans Community Park Dog
agility. observed many of the members already ership and organizational skills while per- Park is off Five Mile Road, west of Beck
“I got the idea for this as my Eagle working with their dogs on the course.” forming a project for the benefit of their Road. It is open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Project after I took my dog to an agility An Eagle Project is a requirement to get community, Scouting officials said. daily. To become a dog park member, visit
course that was far away,” said Barringer, the Eagle Scout designation, the highest “I was 16 when I started this project and http://northvilleparksandrec.org/parks_and
17. He wanted something closer to work rank in the Boy Scout program. Only 4 per- it took six months to build,” Barringer said. _facilities/parks/dog_park.
Six Mile Road bridge closed during I-275 reconstruction

Construction barrels are The I-275 exit and entrance Will Carlton Road in Wayne 275.org/. Road, is on hold pending some
already in place in the ramps will remain open. Some County in six phases over four Separately, Wayne County is necessary surface treatment on
Northville area. lanes on 275 may close inter- years. resurfacing Seven Mile Road the bridge over Johnson Creek.
The Michigan Department of mittently during off-peak hours The Five Mile bridge repair from Beck to Clement roads Once that bridge work is com-
Transportation (MDOT) closed for the bridge project. was delayed until 2022, so the and Northville Road between pleted, the Wayne County road
the Six Mile Road bridge over I- The bridge closure is part of timeline on the Six Mile bridge Seven Mile Road and Johnson crew will return to resurface
275 last week for repairs which Revive 275, a project to repair project was moved up. Street. the remaining half mile.
will continue approximately and rebuild 24 miles of I-275 For more information on Beck Road, the section from The exact timeline is
eight weeks. between Six Mile Road and Revive 275, visit https://revive Curtis Road, south to Six Mile unknown.