Playgrounds to be welcome additions

Playgrounds are great places where children can exercise, socialize and have fun. So we’re always pleased to hear about new playgrounds being created in Lake County.

The News-Herald ran a couple of recent stories about playgrounds that either have been built or will be constructed in the near future. It was great to read about the efforts made by various groups to establish these playgrounds, and we wanted to devote some extra attention to the projects.

In the Willoughby-Eastlake School District, support-staff employees saw the need for an outdoor environment that would allow students with disabilities to interact with their peers.

Because many of the support-staff employees work with students with disabilities, they understood the importance of providing an area that would be accessible to all students while removing the physical barriers found on a typical playground, said Nancy Knack, guidance secretary at North High School.

“During a membership meeting, the members discussed our yearly community involvement project and the suggestion was made that our special-education student population would benefit from an area where they can experience the joy and fun of being a child,” she said. “We made the unanimous decision of constructing an adaptive playground area.”

A meeting was then scheduled with members and Steve Johnson, director of operations and safety, wherein he studied the property located at Royalview Elementary School in Willowick and allocated an area for the Heart Hub Adaptive Playground to be built.

During various events taking place throughout the school district, support staff began speaking with other staff members and student groups regarding Heart Hub. It was this communication that prompted Eric Frei, principal at North High School, to inquire about donating funds raised during spirit week at North and South high schools.

North and South students collectively raised $21,624.22 under the guidance of Frei, South High Principal Brian Patrick and their advisers.

“We are hoping to break ground on the area in the early spring of 2023 and have it completed by the start of the 2023-24 school year,” Knack said. “The playground will be the first of its kind for our students. Previously, there has not been a dedicated area that focused on providing equipment created specifically to address the physical limitations faced by some of the children.”

Knack said the playground will provide an area for socialization and interaction with staff and peers which focuses on abilities rather than disabilities. In addition, the physical education teacher will be able to have an outside area to use with students.

“The focus of the Heart Hub is to allow all children to use their abilities to engage in outdoor activities with their peers while removing the physical barriers they face in many circumstances,” Knack said.

Meanwhile, in Kirtland, residents and officials gathered last week at the Kirtland Community Center to celebrate a new playground which many of them helped fund and build.

Planning for the playground began in 2019, noted Kirtland Kiwanis President Mike Sams. While older kids made use of the community center’s baseball and soccer fields, there was not a playground for their younger siblings.

Over the next three years, various community groups pitched in to raise money, including Kirtland Kiwanis, the Kirtland Kiwanis Foundation, the state Kiwanis organization, Kirtland’s Youth Soccer League and Youth Baseball League, the police and fire departments, and the city Builders Club.

Mayor Kevin Potter noted that an anonymous donor contributed $6,500 to the project, while the Kirtland Service Department also supported the endeavor.

The city also contributed $9,000, Potter added at the Sept. 7 City Council meeting.

The initial cost for the project was $36,000, Sams said, though that was brought down to $29,000 since the playground was installed by volunteers from Kirtland Kiwanis. Volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other community members helped lay down mulch.

“A lot of people from the community showed up,” he said, later adding, “It’s truly a community project with everybody who sponsored it, everybody that helped out with it.”

In conclusion, The NewsHerald congratulates everyone who has been involved with these playground projects in Willowick and Kirtland. Your hard work will create a lot of opportunities for children to play.

Your hard work will create a lot of opportunities for children to play.