AURORA – A group of local women are working with area business owners and government officials to put a new face on the community they love.
The Women of the Aurora Community Park Activities Committee, or “WACPAC” as the group has come to be known, is an organization devoted to the betterment of Aurora through maintaining the Aurora Community Park and promoting events therein. The four-member group made up of Bonnie Kincannon, Lynn Hicks, Leann Ferguson and Christie Hawks, has worked to introduce and keep initiatives to the area, such as car shows and vendor fairs. The group also assists in running long-standing traditions like the Aurora Country Festival. Now, the group has teamed up with local business owners and concerned residents to set its sights on another goal: Cleanup.
“We’re trying to get Aurora cleaned up,” Kincannon said. “We’ve kind of let it go, you know, we’ve kind of let our appearance get a little bit on the shoddy side. So (Marshall County Economic Development Director) Josh Tubbs and Judge (Kevin) Neal and (Commissioner) Bob Gold, they’re all working with us. We’re having regular meetings with community concerned people. They’re trying to see what we can do to get Aurora cleaned up from one end to the other and trying to get this turned back into the tourist town that it once used to be.”
It’s a work in progress but entirely attainable, Tubbs said. Tubbs has been working to facilitate the group’s development and progress in Aurora. The first order of business, he said, was to evaluate the community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
“We identified some areas we thought we could potentially set some goals,” Tubbs said. “… I think they’ve discovered that they weren’t really sure what constitutes a nuisance through the ordinance that the county has in place. … We’ve got a meeting coming up in May. … Scott Brown is going to be there and Troy English is going to come, and they’re going to talk about … and Scott’s just really going to explain the ordinance and explain the process to report a nuisance and kind of how that process works now with the board and the review and so on and so forth. Troy is going to be there to just talk about any sort of refuse issues.”
In addition to cleanup, Tubbs said the group hoped to turn attention toward revitalization efforts in tourism and development in Aurora.
“The other thing they decided the wanted to do was look at some tourism-related signage and some of those things that kind of go hand-in-hand with the new (Highway) 80 coming off of the bridge, and trying to get people to get off and either spend time in Aurora or potentially invest in Aurora,” Tubbs said. “That’s kind of where we are right now. … It seems to me that now they’ve got a group of businesses and residents who really want to try to move some things forward. And it’ll take everybody doing it.”
It’s energy the group has in spades. Kincannon said local business owners had been working to prepare their own properties for the coming season, including new parking lots and landscaping at The Hitching Post and restoration efforts at Kenlake Marina. Other businesses were beginning a fresh start in Aurora, she said, including a new Los Amigos, which was set to open in the former Aurora Barbecue location on Hwy. 68.
The WACPAC, too, has its share of events planned for the year. Kincannon said the group was planning a car show this Saturday, weather permitting, as well as a free movie night in the park open to the public. The group also plans to host “A Total Eclipse at the Park” event, featuring artists and craft vendors selling handmade goods, as well farmers market produce, during the solar eclipse, anticipated to take place Aug. 21.
“Those events will have an impact on the community,” Kincannon said. “… The people that are concerned with Aurora are really working hard to try to get to all come back together.”
The next Aurora community meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18 at the Garden Room at Kenlake State Resort Park. The event is open to the public.