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Nobody is left out at this playgroundBy RYAN DAVIS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 19, 2000
Al Ray Roberts had never soared and dipped alone in a real swing before. The opening Wednesday morning of a nearly $45,000 playground for children with special needs at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park marked several firsts. The first swing and slide rides for two 9-year-olds, as well as the dedication of the county's first such playground. The playground has several pieces of equipment designed especially for wheelchairs and walkers, and it was designed with access as a priority, said Rick Buckman, Pasco County's parks division manager. The $22,000 centerpiece of the 2,700-square-foot playground is a sprawling piece of equipment with slides, bridges and spinning plastic boards with math equations. Most important, it has a wheelchair ramp and a transfer platform where children can slide out of their chairs and be assisted through the wide railings, aided by thick poles. It is surrounded by a chest-level sandbox for children in wheelchairs, another sandbox with a digging toy for children in wheelchairs, a finger maze for blind children, a board posting the alphabet in Braille and sign language, and two special swings that secure disabled children. It connects with the park's other playground, which is 9 years old. With bright red, blue and yellow equipment,the special playground looks much like any other. It sounds the same, too. The screech of swings mixed with the chatter of children as adults called out: "Up the stairs and down the swing!" "Deeeee!" Al Ray exclaimed as his swing rose and fell. The fourth-grader at Cotee River Elementary Schoolhas cerebral palsy and can't pronounce the letter "T," so that was his call for teacher Todd Hilkene to watch him. "That means he's doing something really fun, and he wants me to watch," said Hilkene, his teacher for the past five years. "That means he's proud of something he's doing." It's not just a swing that holds a wheelchair or one that a child can ride while sitting on an adult's lap. The swing Al Ray rode Wednesday secures him while providing arm pumps for children who can't use their legs. There were some hitches. A few sections of the new equipment, such as a steep climbing ramp, proved hard for physically disabled kids to handle. And the rough ground from the parking lot to the playground proved a bumpy hike for Dana's walker. The county intends to add rubber mats around the equipment, a sidewalk leading to the playground and a merry-go-around and bouncing spring ride that can hold disabled children. The park has been two years in the making. The county installed the equipment and paid about $4,500 for the specialsmooth, mulch-like surface surrounding the equipment, Buckman said. The rest of the money came from private donations. The largest donor, Pasco Pediatric Foundation, gave $20,000. The 5-year-old foundation is a private agency that aids disabled children. "I can't imagine how it feels to be a kidand never go down a slide," foundation board member Sue Foster said. - Ryan Davis can be reached at 800-333-7505 ext. 3452 or by e-mail at rdavis@sptimes.com.
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