Monday, August 11, 2008

Postbulletin.com: Volunteers pick up where Kingsland voters left off - Sun, Aug 10, 2008

Postbulletin.com: Volunteers pick up where Kingsland voters left off - Sun, Aug 10, 2008:
"SPRING VALLEY -- 'Is that 724147?' Peggy Merkel asked, looking at a blueprint for a new playground.
Nope, 178829.
Where is 724147? And what is 724147?
Someone eventually solved the mystery, and about 25 volunteers continued building a playground where children in a few weeks will play.
Merkel didn't know she'd have to solve puzzles and find parts when she said she'd helped lead a project to raise money for a new playground at the new elementary school in Spring Valley. She just knew the district didn't have the money and kids need to play.
After turning down requests for a new elementary school several times, district voters two years ago approved building an elementary wing onto the high school. To win voter approval, district leaders had to scale back plans. Then when bids came in, they were high, said School Board Chairman Mitch Lentz, who was one of the 25 volunteers on Saturday. The board kept as many academics as it could and left out recreational items.
Lentz was confident people would step up.
They did.
In fact, they did much more than he expected, saving the district nearly a half million dollars. Other volunteer projects included building a softball/baseball field, painting inside the building and moving old playground equipment to the new school for special education and pre-school children."

No comments: