Kingfisher Trails has been awarded the contract by the State of Oklahoma to begin Phase 2 of the Francis Nature Trail. When the Wal-Mart Supercenter was under construction here in Kingfisher, the Wal-Mart Corporate Office gave Kingfisher Trails, Inc. a $25,000 gift to help provide matching funds for the trail that would terminate at the plaza dedicated to Wal-Mart founder and Kingfisher native son, Sam Walton, between the entrances to the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Being a running enthusiast herself, store manager Gretchen Phelps has approved local donations totaling $4,500 to assist in the new phase of construction.

The Francis Nature Trail is made possible by the support of John and Sue Francis and John and Jane Kenney, who own the land behind the Kingfisher Wal-Mart and who have a civic-minded approach in their development efforts.

Those couples donated the easement upon which the trail passes.

The previous construction starts at the Walton Plaza on the south end and winds to the west, behind Wal-Mart, through a draw and wildlife area, and up Virginia Ave. to the southwest edge of the Cimarron Nursing Center. It proceeds from there north to connect to Mitchell Drive, north of the nursing center.

The new project will cross the wheat field farmed by Danny Francis (with tractor crossings), over to 13 th Street to the west. Also included in the project is the “Overstreet Corridor” which will create a Trail Connection between the Trail that ends at the north end of the Stonebrook Addition, east to the Safe Routes to School sidewalk along 13 th Street.

Kingfisher Trails is currently competing for a new grant project, called “TACO-23” that will close other gaps in the Trail system and provide citywide trail amenities, like trail-side maps, mileage markers, and signage about local points of interest. The grant award winners are expected to be announced in June.