JUNE 22 • 2023 | 11
was completely devoted to dogs.
His parents now care for Idan’s
Reilly, in addition to their own
dog, Zippy.
“You have no idea how
full my heart is,” said Mark,
a member of the Dog Park
Committee for his city’s Parks
and Recreation Commission.
He was jubilant about seeing
the mural, following months of
anticipating Salamon’s sketch
painted on a 50-foot-long
space. Mark said he and Aviva
appreciate getting the city
approvals that were required to
start the mural.
CELEBRATING IDAN’S LIFE
Idan was the youngest of three
brothers born on the kibbutz
where their parents met in
northern Israel, in the western
Galilee region. London-born
Mark Phillips and Detroiter
Aviva Schiff were married on
Lag b’Omer 1977 at Kibbutz
Adamit. In 1986, planning to
take a year off, Mark and Aviva
moved to north Oak Park with
their sons Segev, Roey and Idan
in tow. They chose a rental
home not far from Aviva’s now
deceased parents, Sara and
Bernie Schiff, of Huntington
Woods. The Phillips family
decided to stay. Today, Mark
and Aviva enjoy hosting
gatherings in the home they
purchased in 1990, frequently
welcoming fellow members of
Congregation Beth Shalom and
the progressive Zionist group,
Ameinu Detroit.
Aviva remembered Idan as a
Oak Park
& Bark
Working with Oak Park
city officials, chair Andrew
Cissell and fellow volun-
teers on the Dog Park
Committee will soon see
their longtime goal real-
ized of creating a desig-
nated dog park. With 300
votes, Oak Park & Bark
was the name chosen in a
city-wide contest.
Opening this summer
— perhaps in July — will
be a fenced-in play and
exercise space for dogs
with their owners on 1.75
grassy acres. The land
is close to Lessenger
Early Childhood Center
on Albany Street. Oak
Park & Bark will be open
to screened, vaccinated
dogs year-round, with
shorter hours in winter.
Residents will be charged
$35 for an annual pass,
entitling them to a fob to
use the park. Dogs of the
same size will be kept
together after all enter a
common “staging” (sort-
ing) area.
According to David
DeCoster, director of the
Oak Park Department of
Public Works, park ame-
nities will include a dog
drinking fountain outside
the chain-link enclosure,
a bottle-filling station and
a doggy shower facility. In
addition, park members
will have 10 benches for
sitting while watching
their dog(s) and ample
parking spaces. The city
also plans to offer classes
to dog owners on how
best to enjoy the park.
Oak Park & Bark will be
located at 21920 Scotia
Road.
continued on page 12
Oak Park Mayor Marian McClellan
Mark and Aviva Phillips
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER