New playground set to open for Huron students

HURON — All Woodlands Intermediate students will now be able to play on the school's new playground.Over about three years, Huron Schools' parent-teacher organization raised more than $60,000 for the new playground, including inclusive equipment for disabled students. Funding came from fundraisers, donations and grants.Woodlands principal Mark Doughty said the school's playground has two structures, one of them being 30 years old.A rendering of new playground equipment Woodlands Intermediate will have after the district's parent-teacher organization raised more than $60,000. "Due to its age, several of the support posts had started rotting," he said. "Every year we have to disassemble and discard parts of the play structure to make sure the structure was safe for the students. So it was time to work to get the structure replaced for the safety of our students."A rendering of new swing set playground to debut at Woodlands Intermediate soon after the district's parent-teacher organization raised more than $60,000 to replace old equipment and make the playground more inclusive for students with disabilities. The playground's new structures include a small merry-go-round spinner with seating, swings with larger seats and a playset with two slides and portions students can climb on. The equipment was manufactured by BCI Burke Company of Wisconsin is being installed by Snider Recreation of North Royalton."Our goal was to try and make our playground more inclusive for students with disabilities," Doughty said.A portion of new playground equipment sits at Woodlands Intermediate Tuesday afternoon. Huron Schools' parent-teacher organization raised more than $60,000 for new equipment. All structures are expected to be ready for students by the first day of school Wednesday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony taking place at the playground that morning. Afterward, students will get to try it out. The school let students have a role in choosing which equipment the school's playground should have. "It's awesome to see (the process) come to an end here and open the playground for the start of the year here," Doughty said. "It's been a long time coming — we started working on this almost three years ago. The students are excited about it."Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook.com/CaitliNearhood