Bark park ballots put Lynchburg back in top spot

With just one week of voting left, Lynchburg is still working its tail off to nab the grand prize in PetSafe’s “Bark for Your Park” contest.

“Would you like to vote for the dog park?” supporter Thomas Strayhorn asked passersby recently during a busy Saturday at the Lynchburg Community Market. “Have you heard about the contest?”

Volunteer-manned booths, sometimes equipped with laptops to allow for immediate voting, are popping up at the market, Friday Cheers and Hillcats home games. Fliers are dotting windshields and announcement boards. The occasional car can be seen roaming the city with “Vote 4 Lynchburg” scrawled across its windows.

“We’re trying everything we can to get the word out,” said Strayhorn, who’s also president of the citizens group Friends of the Lynchburg Dog Park. “It’s been very exciting. I’m not a very competitive person, but I’m excited about this. I really want it.”

Lynchburg, one of 15 finalists in the national “Bark for Your Park” contest, has found itself dueling a stubborn competitor in Huntington, W.V., which has knocked the Hill City out of first place on at least two occasions.

Shortly after voting began on July 13, Lynchburg leapt into the No. 1 spot, only to be upended by Huntington after the first few days. The city briefly reclaimed the crown last week and was again beat back by Huntington.

But, by Tuesday afternoon, the city had successfully battled its way back into the top spot.

This nerve-wracking tug-of-war demonstrates how close the competition is and how important it will be to keep up the pressure in the final days of voting, according to Lynchburg supporters.

“We must be in neck-in-neck,” Strayhorn said.

 PetSafe, a pet products company and sponsor of the “Bark for Your Park” contest, has been posting an online “Leaderboard” containing every finalist city’s ranking since voting got underway.

But the company has kept the vote totals themselves under wraps and, after today, will no longer update the Leaderboard in order to keep the identity of the winner a surprise.

The “Bark for Your Park” contest is offering a $100,000 prize to one community to build a dog park. The winner is being chosen through a public online vote that will continue through Aug. 3.

Supporters can cast up to two votes a day — one at the contest’s website and one at PetSafe’s Facebook page.

“I’ve been telling everyone I meet to vote twice a day every day,” said Kathy Comninaki, who was among those volunteering at the community market last Saturday. “A city of this size, we should be able to do it … I mean, what’s not to like about dogs, right?”

Volunteers say it’s been harder to draw non-dog owners into the campaign, but they add that a dog park’s benefits aren’t just limited to the four-legged set. Amenities such as dog parks can become regional destination points, supporters note, and will contribute to maintaining a healthy and vibrant community.

The Bank of the James, a major regional employer, has been encouraging its employees to take time each day to cast their vote for Lynchburg.

In addition to being a worthwhile community project, bank officials say a dog park could be a useful recruiting tool for companies looking to lure job candidates away from bigger cities.

“From a business perspective, it’s important for an area to offer as many amenities as possible,” said chief financial officer Todd Scruggs, adding that resources such as parks and trails help bolster the community’s quality of life and make it a more competitive location.

“Certainly any company, not just Bank of the James, that is looking to recruit is going to want the area to be as attractive as possible,” Scruggs said. “I think it would be a plus to have something like the dog park.”