NEWS — County officials host ribbon-cutting ceremony for new park

By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times

County officials presided over the formal opening of a new park Monday, praising the
family that donated the land and the present and former county elected leaders and
employees who worked to create it.

The ceremony was held in the covered metal pavilion at Long Park, a large recreational
space located off Lenawee Avenue northwest of Del Rio. In addition to the pavilion, the
park includes a paved walking track, tennis courts, a baseball field, basketball and
volleyball courts, a soccer pitch, large playground and a splash pad. The park is named
after the family of the late James Long, a local military historian whose family owned
much of the land in the Lake Ridge area before it was developed.
County Commissioner Pct. 3 Fernando Garcia, in whose precinct the new park is located,
served as master of ceremonies for Monday’s event.

Garcia welcomed those attending and called on Father Mike of St. Joseph Catholic
Church to give the invocation. When he was told Father Mike had not yet arrived, Garcia
asked if anyone else would like to offer a prayer.

Nicole Ediger, a resident of the Lake Ridge area who had brought her children to play at
the park, stepped up and offered the invocation.

Members of Del Rio High School Air Force Junior ROTC-Texas

66 color guard
presented the colors.
Lauralie Morales performed the National Anthem.

Garcia began the ceremony by saying, “We’re here to honor the Long family and all of
the people and workers who made this park possible. The first person to recognize is
James Long. He donated this property to the county to build this park in honor of his
family, and we’re lucky enough to have his daughter, Katherine, here today.

“The second person that really needs some recognition is (former) Commissioner (Beau)
Nettleton. Between these two men, their vision for what this park would be is what we
have now. If Katherine’s father hadn’t donated the land and Commissioner Nettleton
hadn’t put years of work and a large part of his budget into this park, we would not be
here,” Garcia said.

He noted Nettleton was unable to attend the ceremony because he was in Lubbock,
Texas, attending his daughter’s freshman orientation.

Garcia said Nettleton “did the lion’s share of the work” on the park.

“I’ve been commissioner for six months now, so I’m like the relief pitcher that comes in
in the ninth inning, gets one out, and everybody cheers. But Commissioner Nettleton is
the one who was here from day one and did a tremendous amount of work,” Garcia said,
asking for a round of applause for both men.
Garcia next recognized all of the county elected officials present, as well as 63 rd Judicial
District Judge Roland Andrade, and the three Del Rio City Council members who
attended. Garcia also recognized hospital board member Robin Palmer and Jorge Jurado,
chief executive officer of Val Verde Regional Medical Center, and Becky Chavez, an elected member of the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District
board of trustees. Dr. Carlos Rios, the school district superintendent, was also present.

Garcia thanked all the vendors and suppliers who assisted with the completion of the
park, as well as County Purchasing Agent Melissa Vasquez and County Engineer Carlos
Velarde.

He thanked the commissioners’ staff for organizing the ceremony – “Elizabeth (Ferrino),
Kassandra (Aguilar) and Alexa (Trujillo).”

“Lastly, I want to thank the men of the Precinct 3 crew that have been working on this
park for years: Jaime Roman, my foreman; Leo Calderon, Eric Nalls, Jesus Morales, Juan
Perez, Eddie Ochoa, Javier Balderas and Samuel Hernandez,” Garcia said.

“If you come out here on the weekend, you would see how busy this park is. There’s
hundreds of people out here and every Monday, this crew comes out and cleans up the
mess, and every day, this park looks great,” Garcia said.

He added, “This park isn’t just for Precinct 3, we have people from all over the county
that come and visit and use this park.”

Garcia then introduced Katherine Long, daughter of James Long, who donated the land
for the park.

“Thank you, Commissioner Garcia, and thank you to everyone who has put energy and
effort into this park. This is an absolute beautiful location, and I know that my dad would

be incredibly proud and incredibly happy to see this,” Long said.

“On behalf of my brother James, my aunt Mary Kay and my cousin Abby, I want to
thank each of you for the effort that went into this park and to the people of the
community. . . I know that they will come at the first opportunity to see what an amazing
park that you’ve created,” she added.

Long said her father passed away several years ago. She called him “a man of few words,
a huge heart and a love of community and many surprises, this park being one of them.”

“Before his passing, he worked behind the scenes to donate this land to create a space for
the community as a way to honor my grandfather and, I imagine, my grandfathers before
him. Well, dad, it’s my turn to surprise you, as you will also be remembered with this
park,” Long said.

Long said her family first settled in Val Verde County in the 1860s, adding, “Del Rio and
service to the community have been an integral part and will always be a part of our
family. My great-great grandfather was a Texas Ranger, my great-grandfather was mayor
of Del Rio, my grandfather served as a member of the school board, and my dad spent
most of his life preserving the history of our city and this community as well as service
through the Lions Club and the Masonic Lodge, which were near and dear to his heart.”

She said the Lake Ridge area was “especially important” to her father and grandfather.

Long called her grandfather “a fun-loving man, and spent as much time on the lake as he
could and outdoors.”

Long recalled that her father, too, loved the lake and said he encouraged her and her
brother to spend time outdoors.

“They felt the Lake Ridge area would become an integral part of Del Rio and to see that
it actually has is just incredibly heart-warming and special to our family,” Long said.

“We hope that the community here and throughout Del Rio enjoys all that this park has to
offer, and that you keep that sense of community and love of the outdoors. May we always remember the power of community in assisting others. It’s something that would
make my dad and my grandfather proud,” Long said.

She said the ceremony “would have meant the world” to her father and that it “means the
world” to her and to the rest of the Long family.

Garcia next introduced County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr., who first thanked Long and
said that without her father’s generosity, the park would not exist.

Owens said the county, through Nettleton, began working on the park in 2021.

He said several county commissioners courts have set aside money for each
commissioner’s precinct, and that money was used in the construction of the park.

He said the court has invested more than half a million dollars in the project, adding that
when it is finished, he believes it will be at a million dollars.

“It’s about quality of life; not just for Precinct 3, as Commissioner Garcia noted, but for
the whole community,” Owens said.

Owens said his grandson loves what he calls the park’s “big slide,” noting the water used
for splash pad is recycled to water the park’s green spaces.

The county judge lauded the Long family and the work Nettleton and Garcia have done
on the park.

The ceremony closed with the presentation of a plaque to Katherine Long by the Del Rio
Chamber of Commerce and the cutting of a red ribbon by Long and Garcia at the park’s
entrance.

The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .