Students give $ to park (06/06/07)

Some local children have stepped up to the plate to make their community a better place.

Third grade students at East Elementary School, Portland, plan to purchase two new swings and a new piece of playground equipment for the kiddie play area at Weiler-Wilson Park.

Each of three third grade classes at the school were awarded a $100 Care and Share grant from The Portland Foundation. The students combined the funds and also raised an additional $359 to put towards the new equipment. The students want to buy a school bus or fire truck on a spring to play on, said Doug Blankenbaker, assistant street and park department superintendent.

The swings will replace older swings at the playground.

"What a wonderful thing," Portland Park Board president Neil Medler said at Tuesday's board meeting.

Blankenbaker said the students had stores in their classrooms and raised the funds. The third-graders also collected old cellular phones for a company which reworks the telephones, he said.

He expects to order the new items for the park sometime this week. The swings and bus or fire truck should arrive in about two weeks, he said. If any funds are left over after the purchases, the money will be used to paint existing equipment at the park, he said.

Also Tuesday, board members:

•Voted to hire Cook's Nursery and Trim, Portland, to landscape the entrance of Hudson Family Park at a cost of $20,163.40.

Nola Albrecht, landscape architect for The Schneider Corporation, said she requested that Cook's, Yardberry Landscaping Excavating, Anderson; and Country Side Farms and Landscape LLC, Parker City, submit quotes. Cook's was the only company that responded.

The landscaping, which Albrecht said is expected to be complete by July 4, will include several shade trees and perennials.

After the meeting, Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier said the Portland Board of Works will not have to approve the quote because the work will be funded by the park department's budget.

•Heard Albrecht report that the environmental review for the trail system throughout Hudson Family Park has been approved by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

DNR officials reviewed the layout of the trail system and had to determine if it would be detrimental to the environment.

"That's one of the hard, long tasks to get completed," Albrecht said. The review process is required for this project because the trail system is being funded by a TE grant administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

•Learned from Hosier that he is not yet ready to announce another possible source of funding for the Hudson Family Park project.

Hosier said at the May 8 board meeting that he expected to announce the funding source before Tuesday's meeting. He said Tuesday that getting the funding in place is taking longer than expected.

•Learned that Medler recently accepted a $3,000 check from the Portland Breakfast Optimist Club for free swimming days at the Portland Pool. Swimming will be free for children Mondays beginning July 2 until the pool closes for the season.[[In-content Ad]]