New CAES playground to open in time for school

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

After more than two and a half years of fundraising, the playground that will replace the beloved Structure  is nearing completion. And at its School Year’s Eve celebration on Tuesday, Aug. 28, Chester-Andover Elementary School will cut a ribbon to officially open the new installation to fun, just before the start of school.

For that past couple of weeks, Cory White and his son Alex have been erecting a timber frame pavilion that will be used as an outdoor classroom and as a shady spot for parents to gather while their children play. Then on Monday, the playground equipment was delivered and the concrete base was poured and on Tuesday, technicians, school employees and volunteers began the job of assembling the new equipment.

In addition to a host of fundraising events and activities, Pennies for the Playground, which has spearheaded the effort to replace the 26-year-old  Structure  at Chester-Andover Elementary School, also received a “Promise Communities” grant for $150,000.

The Structure has been deteriorating over the years and accounts for a lot of large slivers for children who play there. Chris Meyer, president of the Pennies for the Playground, has said the organization would continue raising funds applying for grants to add for more equipment to complement the central piece.

Back on June, 15, CAES held a year-end picnic and said goodbye to the Structure.

The School Year’s Eve celebration will take begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday Aug. 28 with thanking the multitude of people who donated and helped with fundraising, followed by the ribbon cutting. The celebration is scheduled to run through 6:30 p.m. And school starts on Wednesday.