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Pocono News Section
Popular Playground in Peril
Popular Playground in Peril - Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 5:30PM EST
Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 @ 05:30pm EST
DANVILLE, MONTOUR COUNTY- There's something missing at Kidsville these days. The sound of children's laughter can no longer be heard on this playground.
The Washies Fire Company owns the land, and their insurance company says Kidsville is no longer safe. So, for now, it's closed.
A public meeting is set for tonight to help determine the future of the popular playground. The organizers of tonight's meeting say if the community doesn't step up, the playground will soon be gone for good.
Angie Mullen of Danville said, "It's kind of sad. All the kids in the neighborhood liked playing on it. But it's just so infested right now with bugs. It's a shame that it wasn't upkept throughout the years."
Just over a decade ago, about a thousand volunteers built a playground that was shiny and new. But years of vandalism and a lack of maintenance recently have left Kidsville in a state of disrepair.
Don Lutz, president of the Washies Fire Company, said, "Mulch needs to be re-done, the weeds of course need pulled out, and just a good cleanup and maintenance, and some structural issues that have to be addressed."
We're told there's money available, it's the volunteers to do the work that are in short supply. Lutz explained, "Well you get a handful of volunteers so many times, the same volunteers, they get a little disheartened with the job too."
A meeting scheduled for tonight at 7 at the Washies Fire Company will help shape the future of Kidsville. Organizers of that meeting say it's up to the community to do its part.
Lutz noted, "We don't want this to be a Band-Aid fix this year and then three years down the road have to go through the same thing."
People we spoke with wonder if their neighbors will respond to the call for help. Mullen added, "Sure, I think there's enough people to step up and say yeah we'll volunteer, but when the actual day comes, are they going to come out and do it?"
Again, the meeting to help save Kidsville will be tonight at 7:00 at the Washies Fire Company building on Railroad Street in Danville. | |
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