Tails are wagging in Warner Robins

Many people and dogs were happy to be at a location off Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins on Thursday.

The city opened Wellston Park, which has 37 acres, a 1-mile walking trail and perhaps most significantly, the city’s first dog park.

More than 100 people and many dogs of all sizes attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterward, dogs ran happily after Frisbees, balls and each other inside the 1-acre off-leash park.

Peggy Stevens, of Warner Robins, brought her two small mixed-breed dogs, Rags and Ruffles. Rags loves to chase after a Frisbee and Ruffles loves to chase after Rags. But she previously had to go to the dog park in Macon to have plenty of room for them to play.

She said they will be regular visitors to the new Warner Robins park.

“I think it’s awesome,” she said. “We are really glad to have this one 10 minutes from our house.”

In addition to the dog park, the rest of the park is also open to dogs on a leash.

The idea for Wellston Park dates back to 1999 when the land was donated to the city by local developer Charlie McGlamry and the children of Ed Bayer, who founded Warner Robins Building Supply. Their intent was for it to become a park, but nothing happened with it until 2014 when Bayer’s son-in-law, Jim Taylor, began a push to see it get developed.

He organized a wide array of businesses and volunteers who were willing to donate to it, and with that Mayor Randy Toms agreed to take it to City Council get funding. Taylor said the city has spent about $150,000 on it while about $2 million in goods and services has been donated, including the value of the land.

Members of the 116th Air Control Wing at Robins Air Force Base did significant work on building the trail, while Houston County public works cleared the land. It took Taylor a while to name all the other businesses and organizations that contributed.

Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker said the park is a good example of people working together to make something happen.

“If you have partnerships you can do an awful lot of things,” Stalnaker said. “Those partnerships happen because people come together for a common cause, and the common cause is to make life better for the citizens that live here and work here and play here.”

Jarred Reneau, the city’s recreation director, said it is the largest passive park in the city.

“I think it’s going to be a great place for the community to come together and build relationships,” Reneau. “It’s just a great place for quality of life.”

The park is located on Olympia Drive, across from Arby’s on Watson Boulevard. Future plans include restoration of a 1925 farm house that was moved to the park to be turned into a meeting space and offices.

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Tails are wagging in Warner Robins."