By Jamye Durrance

Staff writer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - Diplomat Kofi Annan once said that "education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."

Mr. Annan, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former secretary general of the United Nations, was most likely applying that quote to an international stage.

But for members of the newly formed group, "Friends of the Smyrna Dunes Park," education will be the key to keeping the peace between people and pets at the park right here in New Smyrna Beach.

When complaints started coming in after the county banned Fido and company from the boardwalk earlier this year, the Smyrna Dunes Park Committee was tasked with finding a compromise.

The committee included Volusia County Council member Jack Hayman, Mayor Sally Mackay and residents from the county and city.

The friends group was one result of that committee.

The committee's several recommendations, including limiting dogs on the boardwalk before 10 a.m. and one hour before park closing, will be presented to the Volusia County Council and the city commission next week.

If those two entities approve the recommendations, they will go into effect at the county park and that's where the friends group steps in.

The friends group will have a presence at the park and will assist park staff with educating park visitors about the rules.

"We really believe that with some sort of presence and education it can help," group member Andrea Truslow said.

Ms. Truslow said the group, made up of all volunteers, will try to be present at the park at all times, greeting visitors with a flyer about park etiquette and a doggy bag for cleanup.

Volusia County coastal division director Joe Nolin said the presence should help.

"It gives an understanding of park rules and etiquette," he said. "It teaches appropriate use of the park."

Mr. Nolin said he believes the friends group is the first of its kind in Volusia County. There is another friends group at the Canaveral National Seashore, which is part of the National U.S. Park service.

"They feel strongly about the Smyrna Dunes park and have taken it upon themselves....to be come engaged in the park," he said.

Ms. Truslow said the more than 30 people involved with the committee and the friends group was a grassroots gathering.

They regularly visit the park and became united over what they saw.

"I was frustrated by what I've seen," Ms. Truslow said. "It was blatant misuse of the area."

So, the group has come together and will be responsible with helping park staff spread the word about the new rules for dogs.

They will also host a Smyrna Dunes Park Celebration day sometime in the fall to educate people about the history of the park and the wildlife at the park.