The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
NEW PLAYGROUND
Government Club students, staff help get new play area off the ground at Roberts Street Elementary
CANASTOTA, N.Y. » It’s not known for certain how long Roberts Street Elementary in Canastota has been without a playground, but that’s about to change.
“I graduated 31 years ago and there was really nothing here then,” fourth grade teacher Tracy Timmins said. “When I was in fourth grade, I think we had one swing set and two basketball hoops.”
“I graduated in 1955 and there was nothing here,” Town of Lenox Supervisor Rocky DiVe- ronica said. “They really didn’t have much for the children to play on.”
It was a long road, but thanks to the perseverance of the children and the community behind them, Roberts Street Elementary broke ground on a new playground early Monday morning.
Timmins said when elementary school students want to play, they go to the parking lot
“Today is an exciting day, not just for our students but our school community.”
— June Clarke, Canastota
superintendent
near the back of the building. There, they play wall ball or go into the nearby field.
Around four years ago, Timmins and her Government Club were looking for a new community project to take on. The club of fourth to sixth graders decided it would be a good thing to bring a playground to Roberts Street Elementary..
“These children W I worked with to get this started are role models,” Timmins said. “They’re the kind of children that take pride in building and giving back. We addressed the board of education and started the process. But we only got about halfway through it.”
Timmins said they were in the process of writing grants, but due to the fact that her Government Club wasn’t a formally recognized club, she couldn’t get any farther with the grant writing process.
“Around that time, Tracey Quinn, president of the PTO, approached us and asked what she could do to help,” Timmins said. “And I told her ‘a lot’. Tracey took over the grant writing process.”
Quinn reached out to a number of places and found funding for the new playground through Assemblyman William Ma gee, D -121, and Sen. David Valesky, D-53. On top of that, the Canastota Lion’s Club provided a $5,000 grant to pay for groundwork.
Magee’s grant will fund phase one of the project, whichwill feature six swing sets, two spin cups, a climb- ing apparatus called the “cosmic twist” and a tossup hoop. One of the swings and the spin cups will be ADA compliant.
Valesky’s grant will fund a large jungle gym, complete with slides and ladders, a “moon walk,” more spin cups and another set of swings.
“Children from grades four to six were involved in helping us choose equipment and took part in a survey that showed us the top three pieces of equipment,” Quinn said. “Swings were obviously the most popular. And this is a great way for us to instill healthy habits and exercise, even if it’s half an hour a day. If we can start this healthy lifestyle at school, maybe it can follow them the rest of their life.”
Around 100 people from the community gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony at Roberts Street Elementary.
“Today is an exciting day, not just for our students but our school community,” Canastota Superintendent June Clarke said. “I’m so proud of Tracy Timmins and her amazing students who came to me a fewyears ago to begin fundraising for a playground for their school. These students persevered and worked hard to make their dream a reality. They wouldn’t have succeeded without the support of their teacher, Ms. Timmins, Roberts Street PTO President Tracey Quinn and Roberts Street Principal Melissa Stanek. They believed in their vision and guided them in their journey. And the key to their success was the support of the Canastota community”
“This is something that will be extremely important to our children and their goals to get a good education,” Magee said. “It’s the first time I’ve been here, but I hope it isn’t the last. It’s nice to be able to find state money to do things like this with. It’s what our job is.”
“Tracey Quinn speaks to the commitment of the parent-teacher organization,” Valesky said. “When we started looking for state resources from the senate side, I thought to myself ‘ What do you mean there’s no playground here already? That’s almost un-American’. We had to do something and to see so many people and organizations come together, it makes Bill’s and my job so much easier when looking for state support for projects like this. So congratulations to everyone involved.”
“The Lion’s Club is honored to help with this tremendous undertaking,” Dr. Kerry Brown of Canastota Lion’s Club said. “Our budget for the year was exhausted, but the Lion’s of New York State and Bermuda are fortunate to have the New York State Ber- muda Lion’s Foundation. The foundation provides matching fund grants to help Lion’s Club complete projects that are beyond the reach of individual club. This project was a perfect match for us.”
“When I started at Roberts Street, I never imagined this vision and I thank the children for making this possible,” Stanek said.
It only seemed fitting that Timmins’s Government Club receive the honor of breaking ground with Quinn to signal the start of construction.
Mike Jeffery of Jeffery Associates said he was the “playground guy” and is overseeing the construction of the new playground, starting after the ceremony.
“I came out to help with the layout, assembly process, installation and certification,” Jeffery said. “For this first phase, it’ll be about four hours to do the drilling and preparing the area. The next day, we’ll be doing the installation. By my understanding, by the end of the week the children will be playing on it.”