As a child, all I wanted to do was play on the playground. I would climb the ladder, swing across the monkey bars, and jump down, landing my two feet on the wood-chipped ground. Then I would run over to the swing set, and my mom would push me as I pumped my legs, saying “higher mom, higher!”
As an able-bodied young girl, the thought of not being able to jump, run, or swing without assistance never crossed my mind.
For 7-year-old Haylee, she and her mother Stephanie Burke think about it every time they visit a playground in Henderson County.
Haylee has been bound to a wheelchair all of her life, with several different disabilities that affect her cognitive and physical abilities. Stephanie says all Haylee wants to do is play with her sisters on the playground.
“As a mom with two older children who love to be outside and be active, I was highly disappointed for Haylee each time we went to the park,” says Stephanie. “All they offered was a place to park her wheelchair, and there was nothing for her to do. Just because she has different abilities shouldn’t mean she’s not allowed to play in her own way.”
South Heights Elementary special education teacher, Stacey Keown says it has always been her dream to provide a playground for Henderson children of all abilities.
“My dream was always an accessible playground,” says Stacey. “And I wanted to make sure that we hit every type of disability, from social emotional disabilities to cognitive, to physical. I wanted a playground that was all-encompassing for any type of disability and a typically-developing child so that they can play together.”
In 2014, Stacey along with Lindsey Newman, Andrea Payne, Shasta Ligon, and Natalie Daniels developed a plan through their Henderson Leadership Initiative project to add an ADA accessible playground at Newman Park in Henderson.
“HLI board members gave us a task of what our dream in Henderson would be,” says Stacey. “If we could have all the resources, time, money, whatever, what would our dream be for Henderson? We talked about a butterfly garden, an amphitheater where we could have outdoor lessons, and a playground that is accessible to all students. This would be a place that a kid could be a kid, but be in nature, education, as well as physical play.”
In early 2015, the HLI group presented their “big idea” to Henderson community leaders, which inspired an idea by Assistant City Manager Buzzy Newman.
“As an HLI graduate, it was a lightbulb that came on,” says Buzzy. “Several years ago, the city of Henderson received a federal land and water grant to build a park on the east end. We kept getting delayed and delayed to get approval to do it. I thought, why don’t we take the land and water grant money and (the HLI group’s) vision, and put the two together?”
Three members of the group, Stacey, Lindsey, and Andrea, kept the dream alive by presenting multiple times to the city commission, eventually obtaining permission to build the park.
The city commission approved $100,000 budget for Newman Park (1015 Sand Lane) and Central Park (10 S. Main St.), using the land and water grant (worth $80,000 with the city’s 50/50 match). To obtain the extra funding for the project, HLI members were asked to raise an extra $10,000, in which the city would match.
“We had a couple of donations from family and friends at first, but then the local Experiencing Autism Together group completely surprised us with a large gift,” says Andrea. “It completely astounded us. We also completed several grant applications, including the Henderson Breakfast Lions and the Partnership of Women.”
The group exceeded their expectations, raising $12,000 in a short amount of time.
After that, Stacey says they began picking out playground equipment, with input from Riverview School and parents of children with disabilities. Together, they developed a rendering of each playground, which included a pour-in-place rubber surface.
“We decided that we wanted a pour-in-place surface instead of the wood fibers that wash away and become uneven for students in wheelchairs or arm crutches to use. The pour-in-place surface was a little more expensive, but it is more durable and has more longevity,” says Stacey.
The pour-in-place surface brought the total cost of the project to $117,671.21. City Parks and Recreation Director, Trace Stevens, offered money in his operational budget to supplement the extra cost.
The Newman Park play structure will have several decks connected by ramps and protected by guard rails, a “wave slide,” and “stepping stone climber.” Also, there will be an interactive play panel, which includes a plank climber, a wide-end balance beam, a hand cycle, a noise-making rotating disc, a telescope, crawl tube, percussion plan and other items.
Central Park will include a 12-passenger capacity merry-go-all accessible whirl (at least two seats will have upper body support harnesses), an arch swing that can accommodate multiple users at the same time, and inclusive roller table, and activity panels.
Playground equipment currently at both locations will remain intact with the ADA accessible playgrounds build nearby. Stacey says integrating equipment for children with all abilities was the main goal of this project.
“One thing I did not understand, when we were designing Central Park, it had to be integrated with existing playground equipment,” says Buzzy. “I thought just the opposite – that you don’t want children without disabilities playing on the ADA playground. And Stacey corrected me and said, ‘no, you need to because it’s all about treating (children with disabilities) just like you do (kids without disabilities).’”
Buzzy says the playground equipment was delivered in late September. Installation of both the playground equipment and pour-in-place rubberized surface are weather dependent, but is set to begin in October and will take approximately two weeks. For the rubberized surface to be done correctly, the outdoor temperature must be at least 50 degrees. Buzzy says the goal is to hold a dedication ceremony at the end of October or first of November.
While a lot of HLI groups present their “big idea” and then move on, for some reason, Lindsey, Stacey, and Andrea continued.
“I have been approached by parents of disabled children at South Heights Elementary (where she works as a Kindergarten teacher) or other places, where people knew me, and they would be like ‘thank you’ or ‘it’s about time.’ For them to acknowledge our work, just to be so happy about it, how could you stop?” says Lindsey.
Lindsey also speaks highly of her group member and friend Stacey, saying she lead the whole “shebang.”
“Stacey was the total ringleader on this whole project,” says Lindsey. “She went through the hard parts to make it easier for everybody else.”
Stacey says she continued the project because of her passion for the Henderson community as well as the special needs population.
“If it’s something that you’re passionate about, and you see there’s a potential of becoming a reality, then you just push and push and push,” says Stacey. “We didn’t really take no for an answer… and I guess I’m just stubborn.”
Stacey also says the group “couldn’t have done it without the help of HLI giving them a voice, and Buzzy’s support along the way.”
After all is said and done, Haylee will finally have a place to play with her sisters.
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