News
Hiking trails open at Annie's House
Scott Wagar
07/23/2013
It was a fun day for the students of the Sheyenne Valley Special Education Unit out of Valley City who came to Annie’s House on July 15 to enjoy an afternoon at Bottineau Winter Park enjoying the park’s newest summer addition, hiking trails.
“We brought the kids up to Annie’s House for part of their summer school program to see the facility,” said Nick Klemisch, director of the Sheyenne Valley Special Education Unit. “We had so much fun with the students hiking that we plan to come back this winter to allow our students to be part of Annie’s House adaptive ski program.”
The Sheyenne Valley Special Education Unit is made up of the school districts of Barnes County North, Hope, Maple Valley, Oakes, Page and Valley City, along with St. Catherine’s private school in Valley City.
The group of students spent their morning at Lake Metigoshe going on pontoon rides and fishing. The afternoon was spent at Annie’s House where the kids were given a tour of Annie’s House and spent time on the park’s hiking trails enjoying the footpaths and the Turtle Mountains.
For the volunteer staff of Annie’s House, this was the first special needs group to utilize the park’s hiking trails, and the staff members were pleased with how the day went.
“We had a fun time,” said Gary Nelson, a volunteer staff member of Annie’s House, and who is the father of Ann Nicole Nelson, the only individual from North Dakota who lost her life on 9/11, and who Annie’s House is named after. “The kids really enjoyed themselves and they said they want to come back, which is what we want to hear.”
Outside of the hiking trails, there is also an adaptive fishing dock with a boat house and shelter which individuals will be able to utilize.
The New York Says Thank You Foundation, in association with Gary and Jenette Nelson and the Bottineau Winter Park, established Annie’s House, in honor of Ann Nicole Nelson after she lost her life in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11.
Nelson loved to ski and she had a warm place in her heart for individuals with special needs. With that, Annie’s House became a reality and is the first and only adaptive ski lodge in the state of North Dakota which offers a variety of services to those with cognitive and physical disabilities, along with soldiers who have become physical handicapped while fighting in combat zones on the War on Terrorism.
With the summer adaptive program now in progress at Annie’s House, one more of many dreams in caring for others became a reality for Ann Nicole Nelson. A reality, which came simply, very simply, from the caring soul of a young woman with a heart of love for others.