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U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Visits Kickapoo Tribe

By Brian Hagen

07/01/2013

U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, and longtime friend of Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Steve Cadue, addresses the crowd attending the groundbreaking for the Billy Mills Cross Country Park.

(KNZA)--A spirited welcome Monday morning for U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills, in attendance at the Kickapoo Tribe Pow Wow Grounds, west of Horton, as the Kickapoo Tribe prepares construction of a park named in his honor.

The Billy Mills Cross Country Park is planned to be developed on tribal land just east of the tribal headquarters, complete with walking trails, an arboretum and historic tribal center.

Mills, who suffers from type 2 diabetes and hypoglycemia, says the emphasis of the project will be focused on the prevention and treatment of diabetes.

Mills has been friends with Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Steve Cadue for decades, and says Cadue should be commended for developing the idea of the park.

Mills, prior to Monday morning's formal groundbreaking ceremony, took time to visit with attendees, posing for personal photos, and greeting the numerous children in attendance.

Among the youth in attendance were members of the Kickapoo Tribe's division of the Boys and Girls Club of America.

It's near their facility that a half mile-trail, ceremonially connected with the Billy Mills Cross Country Park, will be built. That trail is funded through a near $50,000 grant through the Kansas Sunflower Foundation.

The Billy Mills Cross Country Park will be planned, and designed, by the Lawrence based firms of Treanor Architechts and Landplan Engineering.

Mills became the U.S. Olympic Gold Medal Winner int eh 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

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