My Family

I'm Dianne Blankenbaker, President of the Walhalla Ravine Association. My partner, Patrick, and I purchased our home on the Walhalla Ravine just last year. My father built our home and wanted to keep it in the family when he re-married and bought a lakeside home in central Missouri.

Pat and I have 2 canine kids, Katie and Bogart, shown in the above photo when Katie was about 3 months old. Katie now weighs 165 pounds while Bogart tips the scales at 210 pounds. They are both very friendly to people, but we are having to work with Katie to try to get her to behave around other dogs. If you're walking in the ravine and see Katie barking and snarling at your dog, the best thing to do is to have your dog sit and stay until Katie is under control or we walk her away from your dog. Unfortunately, every time a dog walks away from her, Katie thinks she got what she wanted and it reinforces her bad behavior. She is not dangerous and has never hurt another dog, but she looks quite frightening when she's worked up. Bogart likes other dogs and is generally just a big cuddle bear. They both slobber a lot, so we can't guarantee the safety of your clothing if you are in slinging distance!

My Goals

As the presiding president of the Walhalla Ravine Association, my goals are straight forward. First, to correctly identify and prioritize issues impacting the quality of life in the ravine, both long term and short term. Second, to give due diligence to investigating solutions and creating effective plans that will not have negative long term impacts. Third, to make measurable progress in implementing our plans. Finally, to build a sense of community so that we can call each other by name when we pass each other in the ravine, know who belongs to the various dogs in the ravine, and recognize each others' children.

My Philosophy

I believe that we make our own lives, our own purpose, and our own happiness. Toward that end, I believe that if we are not happy about our circumstances, we own changing them. I encourage all to participate in our association, even if we don't agree. I believe we can work out solutions through research, communication, and compromise. I also believe that we can make the ravine even more beautiful and safe while protecting it for the enjoyment of generations to come.

Email us:
dkrashb@ameritech.net