Funds donated to rebuild kids’ park

MILLINOCKET – A local group of volunteers is spearheading an effort to replace the town’s playground, which was torn down in 2002.

Providing Area Recreation for Kids already has raised roughly $3,000 over the last week and a half to help replace the wooden components of Creative Playground, according to Guilds Hollowell, a PARK spokesperson. The park was taken down for safety reasons, he said.

Organizers are aiming to raise $100,000 to create “Katahdin Pride” – a multigenerational playground and park, Hollowell said. Park plans would locate the facility at the town’s recreation complex behind Stearns High School and include a playground for 2- to 5-year-olds, as well as a playground for 5- to 12-year-olds, he said. The park also would include paved walking and biking paths, a common garden, a place to launch canoes and kayaks along the Millinocket Stream, and water fountain and restroom facilities, he said.

The park complex will create a new option for local adults and visitors who may not be interested in hunting, fishing or hiking, according to Tina McLeod, a PARK committee member and organizer for the project. The park also will give children a healthful alternative to television, she said.

“If there’s something new, kids are going to want to go out and do that,” McLeod said. “It also promotes quality family time, which is hard to come by these days.”

PARK is pursuing grants from corporate entities and foundations and is hoping the town will contribute some funding for the project, Hollowell said. The group hopes to break ground this summer and construct at least one of the play structures, McLeod said. Ultimately, the goal is to have PARK become a committee that will raise funds for recreation projects throughout East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket, Hollowell said.

PARK is holding a yard sale at the Business Resource and Innovation Center on Saturday, May 1, as a fund-raiser, he said. For information on PARK events or to get involved, call McLeod at 723-8223.