Full Text:

Head O'Meadow Parents Build New Playground

(with cuts)

BY JEFF WHITE

In the end, the parents got it done.

Through the long hours of last weekend, the determined group finished a

project one year in the making. They built a new playground for the students

of Head O'Meadow Elementary School.

Tina Griesse headed the Playground Committee and was responsible for

coordinating the project, from assembling volunteers to amassing the

construction equipment. "Most playgrounds take longer [than a year], but we

knew exactly what we wanted," she said.

It was a matter of safety, according to Mrs Griesse, whose husband, Bob, also

took on a lot of the coordinating responsibilities. "My first reaction when I

saw the old playground was that it was just that, old," she recalled. "Then I

got close and saw safety issues."

More than anything, Mrs Griesse saw the overall wear and tear that led to many

of the parts being deemed unsafe.

During the early stages of planning, the committee met once a week, while the

initial coordinating took place. The Highway Department, School Buildings and

Ground Supervisor Dominick Posca and Head O'Meadow Principal William Bircher

were all involved in the project's first months.

Mr Posca's maintenance crews helped pull out all of the old playground

equipment, while he proved instrumental in moving the project through the

approval stages with the Board of Education and the First Selectman.

The Board of Education added $5,000 in funding to Head O'Meadow's budget that

was approved this year. The PTA, who generated $30,200 largely through

fund-raisers, shouldered much of the financial burden for the project.

The committee received additional support in the form of donated supplies and

services. Ring's End of Bethel donated the concrete, wood, beams and

galvanized nails used for the project. Datin Brothers, Inc, of Westport lent

their excavating skills to the effort. The Highway Department donated

man-hours, digging the holes and supplying backhoes and loaders needed to move

wood carpeting.

Area food stores and restaurants, such as My Place, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Big

Y, Grand Union and Bagelman, donated food for the breakfasts and lunches,

which supplemented food brought by parents assigned to organize the meals for

the project.

"It's amazing how the community never thinks twice [about helping]," said Barb

Nardoci, another member of the volunteer committee.

And then there were the volunteers themselves, parents with children in the

school, many of whom took part of Friday off from their jobs to begin the

project under rainy skies. According to Mrs Griesse, 20 to 30 volunteers

worked on Friday, 30 to 40 on Saturday, and another 20 to 30 on Sunday.

Saturday proved to be the day that the most work occurred on the playground.

Most of holes needed for the structure were dug, and the volunteers worked to

assemble the nine-foot sky tower, the highest part of the new playground. Much

of the actual assembly work, attaching the numerous parts together, took place

on Friday, so it was only a matter of setting the parts up and attaching them

on Saturday.

Sunday saw the finishing touches performed on the playground. Parts were

tightened, the Highway Department laid the gravel and wood carpeting,

completing the project by 5 pm.

"I thought this was a huge success," said Mrs Griesse two days after the

project's completion. "The people we worked with were just fabulous. They

couldn't have been any nicer, and they all said that they had a lot of fun."

Besides the new sky tower, the finished playground boasts many innovative

diversions, such as spring trainers based on weight distribution, a moving

sidewalk and "mountain climber" monkey bars. A completely enclosed tubular

slide and a covered access ramp to the sky tower round off the playground,

which is handicap accessible, according to Mrs Griesse.

The volunteers had help designing the playground from a company called

Playground Systems, which specializes in such projects. Playground Systems

provided an on-site manager from a subordinate company, Dr Play, who oversaw

the actual construction and guided the volunteers' efforts.

Mrs Griesse feels that by utilizing volunteers, Head O'Meadow's new playground

cost the town considerably less money than if a professional service did all

the work, which begs the question: Will the school system utilize more

volunteer work forces in the future to perform such projects, instead of

hiring outside contractors?

Bob Griesse thinks that parents would be willing to give their time. "People

are just waiting to help. If [parents] see a need, they'll volunteer."

By Tuesday of this week, the playground was not ready for students to use,

needing a few more days for concrete to dry and the structure to set. Mrs

Griesse hoped that it would be ready by the end of the week.

For Mrs Griesse, who has two sons at the school, it will be enough to see Head

O'Meadow's students enjoying their new playground. "Whenever the kids start

playing on this, I'll probably be out there with my baseball hat and

sunglasses, watching them play, because that is the best."