On Nov. 12 the West End Park and Open Space Commission announced the addition of wellness/fitness stations along the Dave Fleetwood Trail at the West End Regional Park. The trail, located along Evergreen Hollow Road in Brodheadsville, is part of Phase I of a vast park system planned on a 244-acre site known as the Romascavage property in Chestnuthill Township.

The three-quarter mile shared use trail is named in memory of township supervisor Dave Fleetwood, who tragically lost his life in a shooting at a Ross Township meeting on Aug. 5, 2013. Fleetwood was instrumental in raising money for the park and took an active role in its development."The LifeTrail Wellness is an outdoor system specially designed for older adults," said Bernie Kozen, WEPOSC, executive director.The system is based on functional fitness, which focuses on building a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions. The WorldTrail Fitness system provides a full-body challenge designed for all ages and skill levels.The multi-station system features step-by-step instructional signs that guide users through three different exercises at each station, each with options for beginner and advance levels.According to Kozen, the trail is user friendly and can be accessed by everyone."The trail is a hard compacted composite material so you can run, walk, bike or use a wheelchair," Kozen said.There are dog refuse bags available at the trailhead to encourage dog walkers to clean up after their pets.The wellness features of the trail were made possible through a $10,000 ESSA community grant. The open space commission contributed an additional $3,000 to complete the project.The trail is also the site of the Dave Fleetwood Memorial 5K run, which took place last month and raised over $11,000 for the parks future projects.The next project in the works is a leash-free dog park.