David Ball’s dream job runs until July.
Whether it lasts beyond that remains up in the air.
“If I can stay, I’m gonna try,” said Ball, who serves as director of trails for Thrive Allen County. “It’s definitely been a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal.”
Ball has worked as Thrive’s trails director for the past year, knowing the tentative deadline was approaching.
That’s because the Portland Lehigh Trails system will officially fall under the auspices of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks once it officially opens the Lehigh Portland State Park this summer. The visitors center is expected to open its doors in June, along with various camp sites and other amenities.
With that, responsibility of maintaining the 16 miles of trails surrounding the picturesque 138-acre Lehigh Portland Lake goes to the state.
Ball has done everything in his power to keep the trail system in tip-top shape.
“The trails were already in good shape when I took over,” he said. “I just do what I can to make it even better.”
That means working pretty much every day of the week to ensure the trails are clear for both hikers and cyclists, by mowing down weeds, spraying for invasive species like honeysuckle, cedar trees and poison ivy, and doing what he can to keep other pests like ticks at bay.
He also works to stem any erosion from heavy rains.
“Because the base layer is chip-and-seal, some of it can wash out along the main trail,” he explained. “But they’re in good shape.
“I’ve been out here pretty much five days a week, since I started,” Ball continued. “There’s always something to do.”
In fact, the only week Ball has missed was when his son was born earlier this year.
“I’m starting to get to sleep again,” he joked. “The first couple of weeks were a little touch and go.”
Ball, 31, grew up near Garnett, and worked for a spell as a traveling welder, before moving on to work as a ranch hand at area farms.
It was there that he developed a knack for keeping equipment up and going.
