Kids Kingdom now dream come true

Published 5:00 am Monday, April 8, 2002

Parents, grandparents and volunteer works got to sit back andwatch Sunday as children enjoyed the first play time at the KidsKingdom.

The excitement was high as children counted down from 10 to 1for the ribbon cutting at the community playground, which was builtby volunteer workers in five days. As soon as Linda Kergosien,Alexander Junior High Quest teacher, cut the ribbon, a sea ofchildren filed through the entrance and tested the newplayground.

Children of all ages excitedly ran and played in the park astheir parents observed from benches or wandered through theplayground, too.

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“The kids approve,” said Beth Evans as she looked around thepark at the hundreds of smiling faces.

Children played in the large sand box area, slid down poles,climbed through the castle, went down slides, swung high in theair, hung from monkey bars and shimmied through tires.

“I think it’s a great place for kids to come play,” said12-year-old Cameron Jenkins, who worked three days at the park lastweek.

Toddlers filled the air with laughter as they enjoyed a specialsection of the park called Tots Kingdom. The smaller version ofKids Kingdom has a slide and swings, as well as spring horses,tic-tac-toe and a tube for crawling that opens into a frogmouth.

“This makes it all worth while,” said Leigh Sereduck, aconstruction captain, as she watched the children play in the areashe helped build.

Many other parents talked about how much fun their children werehaving as they tried to supervise the mass of youngsters runningback and forth, jumping from here to there, or crawling throughthis and that.

The parents and volunteers, which totaled over 1,000 for theweek, were glad they had donated their time and skills to creatinga special place for the children in Lincoln County.

“It was fun because I knew it was going toward a good cause,”said Robbie Fields, a mother of three and a Brookhaven policeofficer who worked four evenings on the playground with herchildren.

Barry Segal, site consultant, commented about such dedicationamong local residents who worked on the project.

“I’ve really enjoyed being here. I’ve been doing this for 21years now in hundreds of little communities, and this certainly isone of the best,” he said to a crowd of people decked out in KidsKingdom t-shirts Sunday evening.

Segal and Stan Grover, another site consultant, were presentedwith gift baskets filled with toy dump trucks and hard hats inappreciation for their dedication to the project. They were alsogiven a poem about kindness and commitment.

“They (volunteers) did a very good job. I think the kids willreally enjoy it,” said Zachary Bryant, 11, who worked at the siteFriday night.

Volunteers will still be needed the next few weeks as thefinishing touches are put on Kids Kingdom. A few pickets remain forsale and some still need to be put in place, while landscaping alsoneeds to be completed, said Don Doty, Kids Kingdom co-chair.

A parking lot will also need to be added, along with a pavilion,bathroom and walking trail within the next two months.