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Club appeals to community for playground funds help

About $6,700 is needed to rebuild the playground at the Boys & Girls Club that was destroyed by fire.

LACOOCHEE - Finally, there's a plan to rebuild the Lacoochee Boys & Girls Club playground destroyed in an early October fire set by three boys.

"It's going to happen," said Boys & Girls Clubs director of facilities Richard Someillan. "I don't have the money yet, but it's going to happen."

There's even a target date: Dec. 15.

But it's not going to happen without the money, and not without volunteers. For that, the Boys & Girls Clubs is turning to the community.

That's who must raise the $6,667 needed to replace the fire-scorched equipment, Someillan said, and that's who must do the actual rebuilding, too.

The original $70,000, high-tech, modern-day playground was donated by the Washington, D.C., charity KaBoom! and Home Depot. More than 100 volunteers converged in Lacoochee in December to erect the structure.

But last month, authorities say, a 13-year-old and two brothers ages 12 and 14 were playing with matches underneath the slide, igniting the mulch there. The boys later said they thought they put the fire out before leaving.

Instead, authorities say it smoldered overnight before turning into a blaze that consumed the slides, tunnel, climbing platform and rope walkway. Other parts of the playground and the Boys & Girls Club building itself at 38749 Patti Lane were undamaged.

The boys were charged with criminal mischief and recently released after spending 21 days at the Juvenile Detention Center, according to George Jarosik, program director of the Lacoochee club. The boys' names are being withheld by the St. Petersburg Times because of their ages.

Kids at the club are still grappling with the loss of their playground, Jarosik said, which remains off-limits to children because of safety concerns.

"They're all upset with the three who did it," he said, "because they all know who did it."

The damage estimate then was $35,000. But after meeting with representatives from KaBoom! and Home Depot, Someillan said, those organizations decided not only to give Lacoochee a second chance at a new playground but also cut the community a break.

That's why it will cost only $6,667 to replace the equipment instead of the original damage estimate.

"It was (huge)," Someillan said, "and they're giving us a great deal."

Getting volunteers to rebuild Lacoochee's much-needed playground shouldn't be a problem, Jarosik said.

"I've already contacted people to volunteer their help to rebuild," he said. "There's the sheriff's department, they're going to volunteer and I have a juvenile program where I'm going to get the kids to volunteer."

Money, though, is the big issue. To the Boys & Girls Clubs surprise, Someillan said, not one cent has yet been donated toward rebuilding the playground.

"We have had people that have called in concern with what's going on," Someillan said. "But not one donation has come in. But now we have a goal, so hopefully people will start calling in and pledging."

That money has to come from the community, Someillan said, because the Boys & Girls Clubs already have a more pressing winter mission: buying clothes and other goods for needy area children.

"My problem is that here I am closing in on Christmas, and I've got to raise money for clothing and shoes and stuff like that," Someillan said. "I'm tied up. I can't raise the almost $7,000 we need for the playground.

"So I'm hoping the community will come through."

Anyone interested in donating money to the Lacoochee playground may contact the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay at (813) 875-5771.