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Jacksonville will get new playground By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE - Students at Jacksonville Elementary School will get a climbing wall, a tire swing and a "spica" pole after parents and city leaders joined together to build a new playground. The structure will cost $35,215 and will be similar to the Saturn Playground at Lone Pine Elementary School in Medford, with forts for climbing, rings for swinging and a surface soft enough to cushion falls but strong enough for wheelchairs. The City Council contributed $15,000 from the fees developers pay when they build new subdivisions. Students raised $7,000 and parents will pay $13,215, said Principal Bob Goerke. Students helped select playground pieces, including a track ride, which has handlebars that kids grab to glide from one platform to another. "It was the most expensive piece, but the kids thought it was the most exciting," Goerke said. Students also chose a spica - a metal pole with a seat that allows kids to spin and twist. "It's the gravity of their body weight that makes them spin," playground consultant Kathy McCartney said of the Danish-designed toy. "Kids can go faster and faster. It kind of makes them sick and they love it." The structures are designed and built by Komkan, a Danish company that purchased Pacific Unique Playground in Olympia, Wash., 9 years ago. The company uses timber grown and milled in Washington and ships them around the world for play structures, McCartney said. "Our playgrounds are very popular in Asia, France and Spain," she said. Jacksonville parents hope the new playground will be in place before winter, Goerke said. The school needs a new play structure because of a growing enrollment - 420 students are signed up for the fall - and because some older, dangerous equipment was removed last year. The new playground will benefit every child and parent in town, not just Jacksonville School patrons, he said. "There are very few play structures in town," Goerke said. "The playground at Doc Griffin Park is generally geared for younger children." Jacksonville's new playground will have pieces that should encourage children of all ages to get more exercise, he said. "Play is important to all our lives and it's definitely important to children," Goerke said. "Good, high-quality play structures force children to use different muscle groups. We believe good physical education is important at Jacksonville Elementary School." Jacksonville Elementary has a joint-use agreement for fields and playgrounds with the city of Jacksonville, similar to agreements shared by Medford Parks and Recreation and Medford School District. "If you drive by in the afternoons once school starts, you'll notice the field covered with kids," Goerke said. "The playground structure serves the community on weekends. There are soccer games going on every Saturday and the younger kids can get on the playground while their brothers or sisters play soccer. It keeps them out of trouble." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.