Anyone driving past Murphy Park or Bull Branch Park at night will see lights shining on brand new fountains courtesy of the Taylor Rotary Club. "This is Rotary's gift to Taylor," said Dennis Ritcher.

On Thursday, the Rotary Club installed new fountains in the parks. Recent beautification included the dedication of the Murphy Park Rotary Fountain. This fountain will be lit during the evening hours and will reflect the successes of the Taylor Ducks by glowing green for victories.

Rotary President George Qualley said there was a fountain about 12 years ago in the pond near the pavilion in Murphy Park. He said the fountain was stolen, and later someone came back to steal the pump, but was caught by the police.

"Standing up there hearing what past Rotarians have done . . . I said it's time to face up," Qualley said. "We're a good town and we cannot let a couple people who are not focused properly run us."

While the club concentrated on Murphy Park, an anonymous donor wanted to honor Clark Jackson, who is a member of Rotary and was instrumental in developing the park. That project resulted in the dedication of the Rotary fountain at Bull Branch Park. The Clark Jackson Rotary Fountain will also celebrate the victories of the Taylor Ducks by glowing green in the evenings.

"Our goal was to do a second fountain in Bull Branch Park next year," Qualley said. "Once we got the money, we decided to get it all done at once."

Rotary members have been working on the fountains since November, and encountered everything from pulling permits to unexpected water lines and beavers.

"Taylor is such a great place to live that's why we did this," said Brian Gray.

For nearly 100 years, the Rotary Club of Taylor has sought to beautify and support local city parks while also supporting improvement projects around the world.

The Taylor Rotarians recommitted themselves to providing assistance in park projects and the ongoing beautification of Taylor. This recommitment was part of their dedication of the Rotary Medallion to celebrate the work of earlier Rotarians in the establishment of Liberty Garden.