EDWARDSVILLE — Just about every day, Ann Leh Culp drives past the dog park that bears her boy’s name.
Now, she’s hoping that a lot more individuals in Edwardsville, specifically dog owners, will learn more about his name.
On Wednesday afternoon, a commitment event for a brand-new indication was held at Brent Leh Dog Park, situated on the corner of Olive and West Schwarz streets.
Leh, a popular regional vet, passed away at the age of 32 on Oct. 6, 2018, from injuries suffered in a bike mishap.
Leh was a team member at Hawthorne Animal Hospital in Glen Carbon, which was established by his grandpa, Merrill Ottwein.
“This is beautiful and it’s such a wonderful tribute to him. Animals were his passion, and he would be so delighted, and I know he’s watching all of us,” said Culp.
“I’m not surprised by the outpouring of love he gets. He had so many friends and everyone who knew him loved him. He made everybody feel special and people remember that. There is hardly a week that goes by that we don’t hear some kind of story about him.”
‘Powerful effect’
The Brent Leh Dog Park indication was created by Sherrie Hickman with Creative Options in late 2022, and it was set up on May 23 by Engraphix Architectural Signage after workers from the Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Department excavated and put the footing for the indication.
“The city was trying to get identical signs made for all the city parks, but COVID got in the way, and they had to wait until they got a bid that worked for them,” Culp said. “Everything was running behind, however we lastly got the indication, and it indicates the world to us.
“We were here when they installed it and it was so striking. Just seeing his name in print had a very powerful impact on me.”
In addition to a big group of pals that participated in Wednesday’s event, relative at the occasion consisted of Brent Leh’s bro Rick Leh and partner Laura and child Devyn; his sweetheart Molly Harris and her child Luca; his dad Richard Leh Jr.; his stepfather Mike Culp; his aunties, Amy Zagar (who took a trip here from Dallas) and Emily Ottwein; his uncle Paul Ottwein and partner Amber; his grandpa Merrill Ottwein, 94, and his grandma Grace Ottwein, 91.
The dog park was relabelled in Leh’s honor in 2019, thanks to his family and friends.
“You can tell that the public is enjoying the dog park. Every day there are people here and it’s one of our most popular parks,” said Nate Tingley, director of Parks and Recreation.
“The environment that you get, when people are here with their dogs, everybody seems get a positive experience. It’s become a great asset for Edwardsville residents.”
Cooperative effort
Over the previous 4 years, Tingley has actually supervised many enhancements to the park, consisting of including a frost-free water source to enable year-round access to water, extra benches for dog owners to unwind while they’re at the park and additional dog-waste stations to make it simple to tidy up after their animal.
The city has actually likewise changed dead trees and eliminated a few of the thick locations around the park. Additional trees and landscaping are amongst the enhancements prepared.
“Under the supervision of (former Parks and Recreation Director) Bob Pfeiffer, they saw a need for a dog park, so I give a lot of credit to him and his staff,” Tingley said. “With the investment of assistance after Brent Leh’s awful death, the contributions of his family and his pals spent for a great deal of these enhancements. A great deal of acknowledgment requires to go to them also.
“The improvements to the park have definitely been worthwhile. Today’s ceremony is a great way to recognize the work that has been put into the dog park, but there is more to come. We’re going to keep investing in this park because so many people enjoy coming here.”
Pfeiffer, who was with the city for 44 years and was Parks and Recreation director for 38 years, likewise participated in the event.
“I was director at the time and Katie Grable was my assistant,” said Pfeiffer, who retired in 2019. “She contributed in protecting grants for the task. We obtained some quotes and we had the ability to get it finished on time at a truly good rate.
“We were criticized at first when we applied for grants and some people thought it was going to be a waste of money. Now it’s one of the most popular sites that we have in our city. I go by it almost every day and it always has people and dogs in it.”
Pfeiffer’s child Stacy Seibert, on the other hand, contributed in obtaining individuals to help make enhancements to the park.
“Brent Leh was one of her closest friends and she did it in memory of him,” Pfeiffer said.
