PORT CLINTON — For much of 7-year-old Hope’s life, cerebral palsy had kept her from running around with her four siblings.
But on Friday, Hope was one of dozens of other kids simply out for a good time at the park.
It seemed that all of Port Clinton was at Friday’s grand opening of the Flagship Collaborative Play Place, an “accessible-for-all” playground at Lakeview Park, across from the shore of Lake Erie. Hope, her four siblings, and her parents were in town from Kentucky visiting the kids’ grandparents.
“She loves to be active and play with her brothers,” Camaron Young, Hope’s mother, said, turning the merry-go-round where Hope sat with two of her brothers. “She normally is much more limited.”
The renovation of Lakeview Park makes it northwest Ohio’s first fully accessible playground. It will offer children with disabilities — as well as caretakers with disabilities, who themselves may have a hard time playing with their children — the opportunity to join in a favorite activity for many kids.
By the time all of the involved parties arrived for the ribbon-cutting, excited kids had been running around for hours. Tory Thompson, dubbed by many as the brains behind the operation, spoke from atop the jungle gym — and was frequently interrupted when young children pushed her legs aside and went down the slide.
Ms. Thompson spoke about the process of orchestrating the project, from presenting the idea to Port Clinton City Council in November, 2014, to raising over $500,000 from community members.
All construction work — completed in just three weeks — was done by members of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 200th Red Horse squadron from nearby Camp Perry. The guardsmen’s participation made the project much simpler and saved $90,000, said Trish McCartney, chairman of the Play Place Committee.
“This project and this day celebrate what’s right about Port Clinton and our community,” state Sen. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green) said during the ceremony.
Also present were state Rep. Steven Arndt (R., Port Clinton) and Port Clinton Mayor Hugh Wheeler, Jr. An aide to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) presented two flags that had flown over the U.S. Capitol in honor of the park’s reopening.
The project came together remarkably quickly, in large part because of community volunteers’ commitment. Other cities have not been so lucky: Cincinnati has been working on a similar-sized project for more than seven years, Ms. Thompson said.
Col. Andy Stephan, commanding officer for the Red Horse squadron, led the engineering project and worked with 25 other squadron members to build the playground from the ground up. Many of those men and women were at the ceremony, some of whom brought their own children.
“They kept asking to come play, but I said no,” Master Sgt. Tom Barron said of his 2-year-old and his 6-year-old, who got excited whenever he drove them by the construction site before the park opened. But now that the park is open, he said, “they are having a blast.”
The project is a collaboration of the Port Clinton Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club, Lake Erie Adventure Play, Port Clinton Lions Club, and Friends of Port Clinton Parks. The park’s total cost was $503,000 — all donated funds — and as of the dedication, all but $4,300 had been raised.
Before the remodeling, Lakeview Park resembled most other parks — mulch on the ground and just one or two pieces of Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant equipment. The new playground has a rubber floor and ramps reaching the playground. Most swings and other attractions have safety features.
“Right here is my utopia,” Ms. Thompson said. “We can bring together all members of the community in play and friendship.”
Contact Gabby Deutch at: gdeutch@theblade.com, 419-724-6050, or on Twitter @GSDeutch.
First Published July 2, 2016, 4:00 a.m.