A paved bridge is now installed at the Killeen Municipal Court Garden, courtesy of donations made to and by the Killeen Rotary Club.
The Rotary Club held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Saturday to commemorate a much-needed paved access bridge to and from the garden. Every Saturday, the Bell County Master Gardeners come to the garden to maintain it by weeding, planting, cultivating and watering the area.
“In the past, workers and visitors had to drive through mud to get to the worksite. The new paved bridge has eliminated that problem.” Killeen Club Secretary Melanie Jones said.
The project was spearheaded by Rex Weaver and the Killeen Rotary Club who collected over $14,000 in donations from its members, local businesses and community volunteers to fund this project,
The community garden began with Rotarian Judge Barbara Weaver in 2010.
“She observed that teen-aged offenders relied on parents to pay their fines. She wanted a way to help the parents and have teens work off their fines,” Jones said. “An arrangement was made between the City of Killeen, local businesses, community service clubs, Killeen ISD and the Bell County Master Gardeners to build a community garden. The garden was dedicated to help teenagers learn about community service, gardening and teamwork.”
The garden also serves as a butterfly habitat. Produce and fruit from the garden is donated to two local shelters.
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world, whose mission is to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.” To learn more about the Killeen Rotary Club, go to https://www.killeenrotary.org/
Mario Bautista
