PLAYTIME IS NEAR- Unassembled playground equipment was delivered to American Legion Park this week. The playground is a Menard Youth Initiative project in coordination with Menard County's grant-funded improvements for American Legion Park. As Menard does, help came out of the woodwork to safely unload the crates. Bruce Hough on a Higginbotham Bro.'s forklift, Kade Rayburn on the Compton Warehouse skid steer, Jeff Whitson, Tyler Wright and Judge Brandon Corbin also assisted.
By Paige Wright
I can explain! The short answer is- on my computer. I hope… The special feature was to print and be dispersed last week. It was patiently awaiting final photos from graduation ceremonies, to then be sent for the printer to work their magic.
My uneducated guess is the graduation special feature delay initiated, ironically, at graduation. If you were in town the evening of Friday, May 19, you no doubt experienced the severe storm that rolled through— at precisely graduation time, rattling the auditorium walls and knocking out some lighting during the Salutatorian’s address. Now, I am no tech-guru, but I know when a computer gets fried (that’s the technical term). I surmise the much-appreciated rains brought along some lighting and/or wind that had some sort of negative effect on the 1930s-era electrical system at the news office.
The Sunday following graduation I went to the office after church to finish up and send the publication, page by meticulous page (44 of them!), to the fine folks at Q’s Print & Design in San Angelo. That’s when I saw our cozy little office had flooded from the weekend rain. The building has been known to do this, and usually all is well when the water recedes.
Whatever went down, I soon discovered most pages of the completed publication were either missing, incomplete, or corrupted. Other programs and functions were unwell, also. Honestly, it could have been an Adobe inDesign software malfunction since the files in the cloud were also damaged or missing. The thunder and lightning are suspect either way. However it happened, it happened. I realized I would have to start almost completely over, so I got to work. Unfortunately, I was unable to get it completed to my satisfaction and to the printer by the required deadline last week. Life can really get in the way of the fun stuff.
Bummer, but on a brighter note- I think it is better than ever this time around since I’ve had even more time to go over it. I know I said this last week- but look for the graduation special next week, please. For the inconvenience, I am offering each graduating senior 2 free copies. Just come by the news office once we get them in-hand. All others will be inserted into each $1 newspaper the week they materialize. Fingers crossed for June 8. I sincerely apologize, AGAIN, for not being on time. The second delayed week is definitely my fault, but Mother Nature gets the blame for the first one. Ha!
TIME TO PLAY! (Almost)
One thing that has taken some of my time and focus lately is a big delivery that finally took place Wednesday morning- PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT! Last year when the county wrote a LCRA grant to fund improvements to American Legion Park (across from the Manor, where the public pool is), my little non-profit (Menard Youth Initiative) pledged the entirety of the $30,000 raised toward play structures as an in-kind donation. The county and MYI joined forces when we realized we were both working toward park improvements. I had asked the Commissioners about my working toward the playground project within the recent past. If you bought a ‘Work hard. Play Hard. #MENARD HARD’ t-shirt or stadium seat over the last few years or attended last summer’s FINDARANCHfest concert in Hext… you have contributed to this cause, THANK YOU! There have also been several direct MYI donations for various intentions here lately, and that warms my heart. Soon we will be able to see and utilize exactly where your donations went.
So, Wednesday morning the truck driver with the playground equipment arrived bright and early, with no notice. Thanks to Menard Manor Director of Nurses Addison Keele for phoning me when the non-English speaking delivery driver was looking for me at 7:15 that morning! The driver was great, and very patient.
The playground manufacturer recommended “4 or 5 people” to be present to unload the two open crates of fun-filled freight. No problem. I had them committed. I’m glad I thought of having a skid steer there, just in case. Because the case was, we needed it. AND an additional forklift. Thank you to Brandon Burch of Compton Warehouse for sending his right-hand-man Kade Rayburn over with the skid steer, forks attached and ready for action. And another big thanks to Bruce Hough at Higginbotham Bro.’s for immediately arriving on-scene when summoned, with a forklift. Bruce was practically a knight in shining blue Higginbotham polo shirt, dashing in atop his trusty fork-lifted steed to assist. He didn’t even spill his coffee! My other thank yous for the unloading go to Jeff Whitson, Judge Brandon Corbin, and my dear husband Tyler Wright for being there while I stood around and took photos from afar. As a sidenote, one of these long skinny crates weighs 1,812 pounds and the other 1,944 pounds. How big are the 4-5 recommended volunteer unloaders they speak of?!
Back to the playground. I was able to acquire TWO play structures from a great Texas-based company that, unlike most others, was not scared away by my paltry budget. Between the two of them they will accommodate ages 2-12, and pieces from the matching line can be added as we end up with money in the future. Playground equipment is not cheap, unless you find it on super sale like I did these. It was a fortunate find.
These structures are just a starting point toward a larger goal of additional play areas, shade, seating, maybe restroom facilities somewhere along the way… the possibilities are endless, the budget is not.
The next step is purchasing the ground material (fill), borders, and weed barrier. There was a step before that—figuring the amount of material needed and designating the exact layout of the initial structures within the allotted space. I can’t recall much of that phase though. My eyes tend to glaze over and brain function slows to a trickle when calculators emerge, and words like “cubic feet,” and “reducing base overlap” are mentioned. I let the brains deal with that, which brings me to another thank you—Cristy Burch worked with Judge Corbin to plan the structure arrangement and materials needed for this project. Tony Aguilar, the new Menard County Road & Bridge Supervisor, and County Facilities Coordinator Jeff Whitson are in on the planning as well, and I am very grateful for each of these great folks for helping with this phase.
A local contractor will review construction specifications in the next few days and give me a go-ahead on if he can sacrifice his crew for the job or not. I will know more about that next week, but I am guessing we may have an open call for volunteer assemblers in case you’re interested in helping. Stay tuned!
The MYI bank account was basically drained for the purchase of the play structures. Additional estimated costs are not yet totaled. We will consider fill material, borders, weed barriers, and concrete for the footings. One tree will need to be removed, as it has been deemed unhealthy. The remaining healthy trees will be trimmed. In accordance with the other ongoing improvements, an existing electric pole will also be removed. I am considering offering memorial benches/seating for the area to gain some cash for these bills. I have a couple of other ideas to raise some funds, hopefully in a hurry!
In the meantime, if you drive along San Saba Avenue and notice the two huge crates of mystery, you now know what they are and what they are for. You also know just one of the various excuses of why the graduation special is not here yet. There are big things brewing in Menardville!