Historical September–October 1999 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The playground planned as a addition to Four Corners Park, at Kingsbury and DesPeres, will soon become a reality. Folks throughout our neighborhood have responded to the inspiring leadership provided by Katrina Stierholz and her Playground Committee. Faced with the very formidable goal of raising $66,000 to construct a simple playground for kids under five, the committee launched what became an extended and exhausting effort to reach this daunting goal.
With a strong committee that included Beth Bender, Joan Bender, Andy and Linda Cross, Steve and Nancy Kramer and Betul Ozmat, as well as many other supporters and collaborators along the way, grants were written, events were held, and individual contributions were solicited. Assistance from Dan Skillman, Parks Commissioner and Alderman Lyda Krewson helped to cut costs, identify in-kind services and guarantee that the proposed design is in compliance with city building standards, ADA requirement and the needs of the Parks Department.
A $15,000 grant recently received from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust pushed fundraising over the top.
But YOUR support, the neighbors of Skinker DeBaliviere, has been simply amazing! So many have given, too many to be listed in this article, but keep your eyes open.
As construction planning continues and groundbreaking occurs, we plan to celebrate our neighborhood’s success as well as the committee’s accomplishments. Stay tuned for further information. And plan to join in the celebrations! Update: On September 21, the Board of Public Service was asked by its director, Ernest Harrell, to cancel the construction permit the Board had formally awarded to Skinker DeBaliviere to construct the playground.
As best as it can be ascertained, Harrell wanted only Board engineers supervising this construction which is on city-owned land and contains city monies assigned to the project by Alderman Krewson. Thanks to the hard work of the alderman and the committee which included calls to the mayor’s office as well as sentiments of several Board members, Harrell pulled back his request. At this writing, the Playground Committee is going forward with its plans to begin building.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September–October 1999.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1999_09.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
