(Produced by Miami Valley Communications Council - MVCC)
The City of Springboro hosted a naming ceremony in August 2020 for “Logan’s Bark Park,” in honor of Logan Turner, a Springboro High School graduate (’08) who was one of nine people that passed away in the Oregon District mass shooting on Aug. 4, 2019.
The Dog Park is located at Hazel Woods Park, just southwest of Clearcreek Park in Springboro (3789 W. Lower Springboro Rd.). In February of this year, at the request of Ms. Geri Dey, Second-Grade Teacher at Five Points Elementary, and her students, Springboro City Council decided to name the area set aside for dogs at Hazel Woods Park, “Logan’s Bark Park.”
The park naming was prompted by a letter-writing campaign by Geri Dey’s second-grade class at Five Points Elementary. Turner grew up in Springboro and graduated from Springboro High School in 2008. “I’ve known Logan since he was in second grade. Our boys grew up together,” Dey said. “He loved dogs. I considered Logan to be my third child.” Dey said. “Logan is not going to be forgotten.”
At the ceremony, Mayor John Agenbroad spoke to a capacity crowd of city leaders, Springboro Schools’ administration, and community members. The Turner family was on hand to unveil the “Logan’s Bark Park” sign, to commemorate the park in Logan’s honor.
Dey’s students wrote letters and illustrated renderings of the park sent to the city council to convince them to name the park after Turner. “One reason is because it would bring people and dogs together,” a handful of the students wrote in their letters. The second-graders developed the project beyond the park-naming campaign. “We decided we are writing a book. We named it Logan’s Bark Park,” Dey said. During the naming ceremony, Ms. Dey’s second-grade class read from the book.
For this upcoming school year, Ms. Dey said her incoming class will be working on a new book to be published that will go along with the first “Logan’s Bark Park” book.