The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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July 7, 2009

Freedom Park

New Beckley playground equipment a hit

By Andrea Meador

Beckley’s Freedom Park on Eisenhower Drive has received its own makeover in the last three weeks.

New equipment now adorns the park and Mayor Emmett Pugh says additional renovations could be coming in the future.

The three pieces of equipment, including a swing set and a ship and fort joined together by a walkway, were all part of a $24,000 grant from the West Virginia Development Office. Pugh says that within the three weeks since the new equipment was installed, interest in the park has been rejuvenated.

“We thought it would make a good addition to the park,” he said.

“Ever since then, we’ve seen an increase of interest.”

The additions have made some more likely to visit the park. Drema Holbrook, who said she had never stopped at the park before she saw the new equipment, but now she drives from Meadow Bridge three times a week so the kids can play.

“As soon as I drove by the park and saw it, I told the kids, ‘you’ll never believe what Beckley has now,’” Holbrook said. “We’ve been coming here ever since.”

John Duncan, 13, of Shady Spring, says he comes to the park for skateboarding, but his family has shown more of an interest in the park since the new playground items were installed.

“My little brother loves it,” he said. “We come here a lot more so he can play on it.”

Pugh said that he believes the renovations were long overdue.

When New River Park was created, residents lost interest in the Eisenhower Drive location, he explained.

“When we got the new skate park, however, that all changed,” he said. “The park has been there ever since I can remember, so I feel that this is a good thing.”

Although he says the park will never reach the level that New River Park has, he does expect the park to get better with time.

“There isn’t a lot of room for expansion, but we can still make it as good as it can be,” he said.

So what lies in store for City Park?

Pugh says moving the restrooms to the front of the park will be the first step.

“We’ve had problems with vandals in the past, so we want to move it up front and install a security camera outside in the park,” he said.

“In the future, however, I would definitely like to see a shelter built and more updated equipment. All of these renovations are dependent on grant money, however.”

Beckley City Police Chief Tim Deems says there have been a few problems with vandals at the park in the past and an occasional “drunk transient,” adding such incidents are few and far between.

“We do have officers who patrol the area, so it is a safe place,” he said.

“I know that ever since the playground equipment has been installed, we’ve seen a lot more people.

“However, we haven’t really had any other incidents.”

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