Playground renovations in Beech Bottom get celebrated
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BEECH BOTTOM -- The Third Street Playground has been a center of the Beech Bottom community over the years, but the village had to do without the park for about a year while it underwent many improvements.
Village officials and residents celebrated its re-opening Saturday with a ribbon cutting involving many children and a community picnic, fitting because both have been common sights there.
While welcoming residents and visitors, Mayor Becky Uhlly noted crews have worked over the last several months to replace the mulch around the playground equipment with a rubbery surface many attendees described as bouncy, add a handicap-accessible swing to the playset, replace a deteriorating retaining wall with a sturdy one standing 6 feet and removed layers of concrete and asphalt under its basketball court with a concrete surface, installing new posts, backboards, hoops and lighting.
Much of the work was under the direction of Triple H Construction of West Union, W.Va., general contractor for the project; with Adventure Turf of Kenosha, Wisc., supplying the playground's new base.
Uhlly said an unexpected contributor to the effort was the Flatiron Corp., the builder of the new Ohio River bridge just north of the village, which supplied 35 truckloads of dirt needed to level the area occupied by the basketball court.
She estimated that about $452,000 has been invested in the park, not all of it visible to the public, as new drainage structures were installed to divert runoff above the park.
Uhlly noted the project was boosted by a $83,478 grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, with a 100 percent match provided by the village.
She added there's still some work to be done, as a local resident, Brian Kzywdik, has offered to stripe the basketball court; and a path between the court and the lower playground between Third Street and Alley C will be paved.
Uhlly said officials with Southwest Energy have agreed to repair the corner of Third Street and state Route 2 and widen it to improve the turning radius for large trucks entering it.
Community members were involved in marking the park's re-opening in various ways.
Members of Girl Scout Troop 10087 assisted village officials, distributing programs and performing other tasks.
Many children were recruited to cut the ribbon on the court, which Uhlly noted had been broken-in recently by former members of the last basketball team of Beech Bottom Junior High School.
Students at the school would attend Brooke High School the next year, and the team went out on a high note, finishing with a 25-0 record, she noted.
Uhlly said teammates came from as far as Las Vegas, North Carolina and Maryland to see their former coach, retired teacher and principal Curt Tarr, and play on the court, with Terry Lilly, a member still living in Beech Bottom, making the first basket.
Among the many on hand Saturday were Mary Webster and Florence Cronin, who planted a beech tree they and their sister, Ellen Saad of El Paso, Texas, donated in memory of their parents, long-time residents James and Alice McMahon.
Joining them for the occasion were the McMahon's grandchildren, Letitia Ireland and James Cronin; and great-great-granddaughter, Yasmine Demeele.
Councilman Don Hubbard noted the tree was the inspiration for the village's name after George Washington observed many of them growing in that area while passing through it in the late 1700s.
Cronin recalled the three sisters spending many hours on the playground and enjoying the swings there.
Webster said of the playground's new look, "This is fantastic. They've done a lot of work here."
Councilman Greg Sheperd said with the playground reopened, there are plans for a community event there on Oct. 15. Local bands 40 Plus and Pocket Change are slated to appear, with other details to be announced.