Fountain being built in Zebulon

The Crepe Myrtle Garden Club and the city of Zebulon are working together to beautify an area of the city passed by thousands of people each day.They are using funds granted by the Nelson Memorial Garden Fund Foundation to build a water fountain at the triangle where Highway 19 splits as it travels north toward the courthouse square. ’The fountain will feature one big stream in the middle shooting up six to seven feet in the air. There will be 15 streams around the inside edge of the pool that will shoot five to six feet in the air and fall just before they hit the middle stream,’ said Bobby Blalock. ‘It should look like a big flower when it’s finished. It’s also going to be lighted so it can be seen at night.’The fountain’s concrete foundation was poured July 16. When finished it will be covered in rock. After the fountain is completed, an irrigation system will be installed and sod will be planted.’We’re also going to put washed river rock in the three corners of the triangle,’ said Crepe Myrtle Garden Club member Cathy Cox. ‘We’re trying to make it low-maintenance by installing the irrigation system and laying sod.’Club members trim the roses and pull weeds to keep the area beautiful and have been instrumental in installing the water fountain ‘“ which should be completed and operational in about two weeks. Two club members, Blalock and Arnold Jones, did the electrical work to hook up to a power pole donated by Georgia Power. Floyd Construction of Milner built the concrete pool and will install water jets, pumps and lighting. Zebulon water department director Rod Wilson and public works director Claude Hollis helped run water and electrical lines below the turnaround lane. ’Zebulon and Claude and his entire department are exceptional and have helped with everything that was needed,’ said Blalock. The entire project will cost around $25,000, the amount granted by the Nelson Memorial Garden Club. Zebulon receives a Nelson Memorial grant every six years and the funding has been spent in the past to plant shrubbery, roses and other flowering plants at the triangle where the fountain is now being installed. The Nelson Memorial Garden Club was founded in honor of Revolutionary War patriot Thomas ‘Century’ Nelson by his descendant Thaddeus Nelson Morris. The club provides funding for beautification projects in Meansville, Concord and Zebulon and for Pike County. Funding from the Nelson Memorial was recently used to plant several thousands of dollars worth of flowering plants outside the newly renovated courthouse in Zebulon.