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Soda Springs breaks ground on ADA-compliant community playground

Idaho State Journal - 11/19/2017

SODA SPRINGS — “It may be community built, but really, it will build the community.”

That is the mantra of the nonprofit organization, Friends of the Soda Springs City Park, which on Friday broke ground on the Caribou CommUNITY Playground — a park in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act that its creators say is designed for people of all ages and abilities to play and learn.

“We want the park to unify all children, young and old,” said Georgia Brown, a co-general coordinator for Friends of the Soda Springs City Park. “We also wanted it to be open for all abilities because every child should be welcome at the park.”

Committed to enriching the lives of Soda Springs and the surrounding communities, Friends of the Soda Springs City Park embarked on its mission to revamp the existing park about 18 months ago.

The need to update the existing park is evidenced by the state of current state of playground fixtures, including several metal swings, rusty monkey-bar sets and a rickety carousel with wooden seats.

“We started thinking that we needed a new playground because the old one was silly, ridiculous and kids were getting hurt playing on it,” Brown said. “Most of the equipment that we have now is not safe for young children. Plus, there are some children in our community with disabilities and we could tell that the playgrounds around here weren’t set up for them to participate.”

Brown said that not only will the park unify children of all ages and abilities, but will also unify the surrounding communities near Soda Springs.

“This is a playground that Grace, Bancroft or anybody in Caribou County can come play and feel welcome at,” Brown said.

Bearing the early winter weather common in Southeast Idaho, several dozen sponsors, volunteers, city officials and members of the community put up with the chilling winds and frosty earth to break ground for the park, though construction will begin next year.

Despite the poor weather, Mitchell Hart, the Soda Springs City Council president, said he was impressed with how many people came to show their support.

“This is impressive to have so many people show up for the groundbreaking, but it’s not a surprise,” Hart said. “This friends group has been pretty undeterred and determined. As I was driving over here today, I thought the weather was a nice metaphor for projects like this. There are many headwinds and storms, but this group of supporters have moved forward through those headwinds.”

Hart continued, “The city of Soda Springs wants to express our appreciation to them, and we look forward to this being a legacy of the city for many years to come.”

All ADA-compliant, the features planned for the Caribou County CommUNITY playground coincide with the rich history of the area, complete with a tractor, teepee and combine. And if approved by the Soda Springs City Council, the park will also feature a splash pad, and the main water fountain will be a geyser to symbolize a landmark of the Oregon Trail — the Soda Springs Geyser.

“This is an ADA-accessible playground that has ramps and some sensory additions for kids with autism,” Brown said. “And we wanted to play off the things that we have in or around our community.”

Of the many sponsors in attendance, Roger Gibson, the plant manager of Monsanto and the president of the Southeast Idaho United Way Board of Directors, said he was beyond impressed by the work and efforts of the group, which raised just shy of $170,000 for the park and an additional $28,000-plus for the splash pad.

“I’ve been so impressed with these ladies,” Gibson said. “They have just been a ball of fire, and it’s been a pleasure to see their excitement, enthusiasm and their grit to get this thing done.”

Gibson continued, “This park is a beautiful concept that is great for the community. It will be a resource for this community for a long time to come.”

Gibson said that United Way decided to sponsor the park about a year ago.

A park built for the community, the Caribou County CommUNITY playground will also be built by the community.

Construction on the park is set to begin May 29, and for five days, members of the nonprofit organization, sponsors, volunteers and anyone interested in participating will work together to build the playground.

And while Brown said fundraising efforts have been extremely successful, they haven’t quite reached their goal yet. Further, Brown said she encourages anyone who may be interested in making a donation to visit their website, friendsoftheparksoda.com.

“So many people put so many hours into this project that we are beyond excited to finally break ground,” Brown said. “To see it get to this point is just so awesome.”

Children and parents watched as ground was broken on the CommUNITY Playground at the Soda Springs City Park on Friday afternoon.

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

Children and parents watched as ground was broken on the CommUNITY Playground at the Soda Springs City Park on Friday afternoon.

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

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